At the age of 19, Gardot was involved in a bicycle accident and sustained a head injury. Music played a critical role in her recovery. She became an advocate of music therapy,[1] visiting hospitals and universities to discuss its benefits. In 2012, she gave her name to a music therapy program in New Jersey.[2]
Early life and education
Gardot was born in New Jersey and was brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Polish immigrant. Her mother, a photographer, traveled often, so they had few possessions and lived out of suitcases.[3][4] Gardot studied fashion at the Community College of Philadelphia.[5]
Accident and therapy
While riding her bicycle in Philadelphia in November 2003,[6][7] Gardot was struck by an SUV and sustained head, spinal, and pelvic injuries.[1] Confined to a hospital bed for a year, she needed to relearn simple tasks and was left oversensitive to light and sound.[3] Suffering from short- and long-term memory loss, she struggled with her sense of time.[8][9]
Encouraged by a physician who believed music would help heal her brain, Gardot learned to hum, then to sing into a tape recorder, and eventually to write songs.[10]
Given her oversensitivity to sound, she chose quieter music. On the treadmill, she listened to bossa nova by Stan Getz, specifically "The Girl from Ipanema". Unable to sit comfortably at the piano, she learned to play guitar on her back.[4] During her recovery, she wrote songs that became part of the self-produced EP Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions.[11] Gardot was reluctant to record her songs at first, stating that they were too private for the public to hear, but relented and allowed her songs to be played on a Philadelphia radio station.[4]
Gardot started music lessons at the age of nine and began playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of 16 on Fridays and Saturdays for four hours a night. She insisted on playing only music she liked, such as The Mamas & the Papas, Duke Ellington, and Radiohead.[16]
During her time in the hospital she learned how to play the guitar and began writing songs, which were made available as downloads on iTunes and released on Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions in 2005. She began to play these songs at venues in Philadelphia and was noticed by employees of the radio station WXPN, operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She was encouraged to send a demo tape to the radio station, and the tape found its way to the Universal Music Group.[3] She released her first album, Worrisome Heart (Verve, 2006), then My One and Only Thrill (Verve 2009), produced by Larry Klein.
Discography
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
^"Unchained Melody". Telegraph Magazine. London. May 5, 2012. When she was 19 a road accident nearly ended Melody Gardot's life – and started her acclaimed singing career. Eight years on, she still can't escape the pain but it hasn't stopped her traveling the world to record her third album
^ abcdIley, Chrissie (March 29, 2009). The Sunday Times Magazine. pp. 12–17.
^ abc"The Making of Melody". European Intelligence Wire. September 20, 2009.
