Tori Amos

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Biography

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos ; August 22, 1963) is an American pianist , singer-songwriter and composer . She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument. Some of her charting singles include " Crucify (song)|Crucify ", " Silent All These Years ", " God (Tori Amos song)|God ", " Cornflake Girl ", " Caught a Lite Sneeze ", " Professional Widow ", " Spark (Tori Amos song)|Spark ", " 1000 Oceans ", and " A Sorta Fairytale ", her most commercially successful single in the U.S. to date.

As of 2005, Amos had sold 12 million albums worldwide. She has been nominated for 8 Grammy Award s. Amos was also named one of People Magazine s 50 Most Beautiful People in 1996.

Early life

Amos was born in Newton, North Carolina . When she was two, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland , where she began to play the piano. By age five, she had begun composing instrumental pieces on piano and, while living in Rockville, Maryland , she won a full scholarship to the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory of Music . Her scholarship was discontinued at age 11 and she was asked to leave. Amos has asserted that she lost the scholarship because of her interest in rock music|rock and popular music, coupled with her dislike for reading from sheet music. In 1972, The Amos family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland , where her father, Reverend Edison Amos, became pastor of the Good Shepherd United Methodist church. At the age of 13 she began playing at gay bar s and piano bar s, chaperoned by her father. http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2012/01/14/20120114tori-amos-played-first-gig-gay-bar-age-13.html

Amos first came to local notice by winning a county teen talent contest in 1977, singing a song called "More Than Just a Friend". As a senior at Richard Montgomery High School , she co-wrote " Baltimore (Tori Amos song)|Baltimore " with her brother Mike Amos for a competition involving the Baltimore Orioles . The song won the contest and became her first single, released as a 7" single pressed locally for family and friends during 1980 with another Amos-penned composition as a B-side , "Walking With You". Prior to this period she performed under her middle name, Ellen, but permanently adopted Tori after a friend's boyfriend told her it suited her. At age 21, Amos moved to Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles to pursue her music career after several years performing on the piano bar circuit of the Washington, D.C.|D.C. area.

Atlantic years (1986–2001)

Y Kant Tori Read

In 1986, Amos formed a music group, Y Kant Tori Read , the name of which was a reference to her days at the Peabody Conservatory, where she was able to play songs on her piano by ear, but was never successful at sight reading .David Wallechinsky & Amy Wallace: The New Book of Lists . Canongate, 2005. ISBN 978-1-84195-719-7. In addition to Amos, the group was composed of Steve Caton (who would later play guitars on all her subsequent albums until 1999), drummer Matt Sorum , bass player Brad Cobb and, for a short time, keyboardist Jim Tauber. Following several phases of writing and recording, during which Amos has since asserted that the band lost their musical edge and direction due to interference from record executives, in July 1988, the Y Kant Tori Read 's self-titled debut album was released. Although its producer, Joe Chiccarelli , has stated that Amos was very happy with the album at the time, it is now out of print and Amos has expressed no interest in reissuing it. Following the album's commercial failure and the group's subsequent disbanding, Amos began working with other artists (including Stan Ridgway , Sandra Bernhard , and Al Stewart ) as a backup vocalist. She also recorded a song called "Distant Storm" for the film '' China O'Brien ''; in the credits, the song is attributed to a band called Tess Makes Good. It was the only song recorded by the band, and its only commercial release was in the film.

Solo career

Despite the disappointing reaction to Y Kant Tori Read , Amos still had to comply with her six-record contract with Atlantic Records, who in 1989 wanted a new record by March 1990. The initial recordings were declined by the label, which Amos felt was because the album had not been properly presented. The album was reworked and expanded under the guidance of Doug Morris and the musical talents of Steve Caton , Eric Rosse , Will MacGregor, Carlo Nuccio, and Dan Nebenzal, resulting in Little Earthquakes , an album recounting her religious upbringing, sexual awakening, struggle to establish her identity, and sexual assault. This album became her commercial and artistic breakthrough.

Amos traveled to New Mexico with personal and professional partner Eric Rosse in 1993 to write and largely record her second solo record, Under the Pink . The album was received with mostly favorable reviews and sold enough copies to chart at #12 on the Billboard 200 , a significantly higher position than the preceding album's position at #54 on the same chart.

Her third solo album, Boys for Pele , was released in January 1996. The album was recorded in an Irish church, in Delgany , County Wicklow , with Amos taking advantage of the church recording setting to create an album ripe with baroque influences, lending it a darker sound and style. She added harpsichord , harmonium , and clavichord to her keyboard repertoire, and also included such anomalies as a gospel music|gospel choir , bagpipe s, church bells, and drum programming. The album garnered mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising its intensity and uniqueness while others bemoaned its comparative impenetrability. Despite the album's erratic lyrical content and instrumentation, the latter of which kept it away from mainstream audiences, Boys for Pele is Amos's most successful simultaneous transatlantic release, reaching #2 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Top 40 upon its release at the height of her fame.

Fueled by the desire to have her own recording studio to distance herself from record company executives, Amos had the barn of her home in Cornwall converted into a state-of-the-art recording studio, Martian Engineering Studios.

From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back , released in May 1998 and September 1999, respectively, differ greatly from previous albums as Amos's trademark acoustic piano-based sound is largely replaced with arrangements that include elements of electronica , dance music, vocal washes and sonic landscapes. The underlying themes of both albums deal with womanhood, and Amos's own miscarriages and marriage. Reviews for From the Choirgirl Hotel were mostly favorable and praised Amos's continued artistic originality. While not her highest chart debut, debut sales for From the Choirgirl Hotel are Amos's best to date, selling 153,000 copies in its first week. To Venus and Back , a two-disc release of original studio material and live material recorded from the previous world tour, received mostly positive reviews and included the first major-label single available for sale as a digital download.

Motherhood inspired Amos to produce a cover song|cover album , recording songs written by men about women and reversing the gender roles to show a woman's perspective. That idea grew into Strange Little Girls , released in September 2001, one year after giving birth to her daughter. The album is Amos's first concept album , with artwork featuring Amos photographed in character of the women portrayed in each song. Amos would later reveal that a stimulus for the album was to end her contract with Atlantic without giving them new original songs; Amos felt that since 1998, the label had not been properly promoting her and had trapped her in a contract by refusing to sell her to another label.

Epic Records years (2002–07)

With her Atlantic contract fulfilled after a 15-year stint, Amos signed to Epic Records|Epic in late 2001. In October 2002, Amos released '' Scarlet's Walk '', another concept album. Described as a "sonic novel ", the album explores Amos's alter ego , Scarlet, intertwined with her cross-country concert tour following 9/11 . Through the songs, Amos explores such topics as the history of America, American people, Native Americans in the United States|Native American history, pornography , Sadomasochism|masochism , homophobia and misogyny . The album had a strong debut, demonstrating that Amos' fan base remained intact through the label change. However, ''Scarlet's Walk'' is Amos' last album to date to reach certified gold status. Note: User must define search parameters, i.e. "Tori Amos".

Not long after Amos was ensconced with her new label, she received unsettling news when Polly Anthony resigned as president of Epic Records in 2003. Anthony had been one of the primary reasons Amos signed with the label and as a result of her resignation, Amos formed the Bridge Entertainment Group. Further trouble for Amos occurred the following year when her label, Epic/Sony Music Entertainment, merged with BMG Entertainment as a result of the industry's decline. Amos would later hint in interviews that during the creation of her next album, those in charge at the label following the aforementioned merger were interested "only in making money", the effects of which on the album have not been disclosed.
Amos released two more albums with the label, The Beekeeper (2005) and American Doll Posse (2007). Both albums received mixed reviews, some of which stated that the albums suffered from being too long. The Beekeeper was conceptually influenced by the ancient art of beekeeping , which she considered a source of female inspiration and empowerment. Through extensive study, Amos also wove in the stories of the Gnostic gospels and the removal of women from a position of power within the Christian church to create an album based largely on religion and politics . The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 , placing her in an elite group of women who have secured five or more US Top 10 album debuts. American Doll Posse , another concept album, was fashioned around a group of girls (the "posse") who are used as a theme of alter-egos of Amos's. Musically and stylistically, the album saw Amos return to a more confrontational nature.The interview with Paul Tingen regarding American Doll Posse can be found here Like its predecessor, American Doll Posse debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 .

During her tenure with Epic Records, Amos also released a retrospective collection titled Tales of a Librarian (2003) through her former label, Atlantic Records; a two-disc DVD set Fade to Red (2006) containing most of Amos's solo music videos, released through the Warner Bros. reissue imprint Rhino; a five disc box set titled A Piano: The Collection (2006), celebrating Amos's 15 year solo career through remastered album tracks, remixes, alternate mixes, demos, and a string of unreleased songs from album recording sessions, also released through Rhino; and numerous official bootlegs from two world tours, The Original Bootlegs (2005) and Legs and Boots|Legs & Boots (2007) through Epic Records.

Universal Music years (2008–present)

Universal Republic (2008–2011)

In May 2008, Amos announced that, due to creative and financial disagreements with Epic Records , she had negotiated an end to her contract with the record label, and would be operating independently of major record labels on future work. In September of the same year, Amos released a live album and DVD, Live at Montreux 1991/1992 , through Eagle Rock Entertainment , of two performances she gave at the Montreux Jazz Festival very early on in her career while promoting her debut solo-album, Little Earthquakes . By December, after a chance encounter with chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group , Doug Morris , Amos signed a "joint venture" deal Universal Republic Records .

Abnormally Attracted to Sin , Amos's tenth solo studio-album and her first album released through Universal Republic, was released in May 2009 to mostly positive reviews. The album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 , making it the Amos' seventh album to do so. Abnormally Attracted to Sin , admitted Amos, was a "personal album", not a conceptual one. Continuing her distribution deal with Universal Republic, Amos released Midwinter Graces , her first seasonal album, in November of the same year. The album features reworked versions of traditional carols, as well as original songs written by Amos.

During her contract with the label, Amos recorded vocals for two songs for David Byrne (musician)|David Byrne's collaboration album with Fatboy Slim , entitled Here Lies Love , which was released in April 2010. In July of the same year, the DVD Tori Amos- Live from the Artists Den was released exclusively through Barnes & Noble .

After a brief tour from June to September 2010, Amos released the highly exclusive live album From Russia With Love (Tori Amos album)|From Russia With Love in December the same year, recorded live in Moscow on 3 September 2010. The limited edition set included a signature edition Lomography Diana F+ camera, along with 2 lenses, a roll of film and 1 of 5 photographs taken of Tori during her time in Moscow. The set was released exclusively through toriamos.com and only 2000 were produced. It is currently unknown as to whether the album will receive a mass release.

Deutsche Grammophon (2011–present)

In September 2011, Amos released her first classical music album, Night of Hunters , featuring variation (music)|variations on a theme to pay tribute to such renowned composers as Bach , Chopin , Debussy , Enrique Granados|Granados , Satie and Schubert , through the Deutsche Grammophon label, a division of Universal Music Group . She is currently writing the music for Samuel Adamson's musical adaptation of the George MacDonald story The Light Princess for the Royal National Theatre , which was originally expected to debut in spring 2012Zimmeman, P. (September 09, 2011). . Glide Magazine CD Review. Retrieved on: 2011-09-13. but has now been deferred.Truman, Matt (October 20, 2011). "Guardian" Retrieved on 2011-10-20 Amos has, however, confirmed the release of an album in 2012 marking the 20th anniversary of her debut album Little Earthquakes .Allison Stewart (December 08, 2011). . The album will consist of songs from her back catalogue rearranged and performed by the Metropole Orchestra .

In print

Released in conjunction with The Beekeeper , Amos co-authored an autobiography with rock music journalist Ann Powers entitled Piece by Piece (book)|Piece by Piece (2005). The book's subject is Amos's interest in mythology and religion, exploring her songwriting process, rise to fame, and her relationship with Atlantic Records.

Image Comics released Comic Book Tattoo (2008), a collection of comics|comic stories, each based on or inspired by songs recorded by Amos. Editor Rantz Hoseley worked with Amos to gather 80 different artists for the book, including Pia Guerra , David W. Mack|David Mack , and Leah Moore .

Additionally, Amos and her music have been the subject of numerous official and unofficial books, as well as academic critique, including Tori Amos: Lyrics (2001) and an earlier biography, Tori Amos: All These Years (1996).

In 2011 Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, a sociology graduate student at Western Michigan University, received her PhD for a dissertation entitled “All I Am: Defining Music as an Emotional Catalyst through a Sociological Study of Emotions, Gender and Culture". http://www.wmich.edu/grad/dissertation/dis-archive/trierbieniekadriennem.html Trier-Bieniek focused on Amos' female fans and the emotional support they receive from listening to Amos' music. Now a professor at Valencia College, Trier-Bieniek continues to publish academic work born from this study.

Personal life

Family

Amos is the third child of Rev. Dr. Edison and Mary Ellen Amos. She was born at the Old Catawba Hospital in Newton, North Carolina , during a trip from their Georgetown, Washington, D.C.|Georgetown home in Washington, D.C. Her maternal grandparents were of mixed European and Cherokee|Eastern Cherokee ancestry; of particular importance to her as a child was her grandfather, Calvin Clinton Copeland, who was a great source of inspiration and guidance to her as a young child, offering a more pantheism|pantheistic spiritual alternative to her father and paternal grandmother's traditional Christianity .

Early in her professional career, Amos befriended author Neil Gaiman , who became a fan after she referenced him in the song "Tear in Your Hand" and also in print interviews. Although created before the two met, the character Delirium (DC Comics)|Delirium from Gaiman's The Sandman (DC Comics Modern Age)|The Sandman series (or even her sister Death (DC Comics)|Death ) is inspired by Amos; Gaiman has stated that "they steal shamelessly from each other". She wrote the foreword to his collection Death: The High Cost of Living ; he in turn wrote the introduction to Comic Book Tattoo . Gaiman is godfather to her daughter and a poem written for her birth, Blueberry Girl , was published as a children's Blueberry Girl|book of the same name in 2009.

Amos married English sound engineer Mark Hawley on February 22, 1998. Their only child, a daughter named Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley, was born in 2000. They divide their time between Sewall's Point in Florida, Kinsale (County Cork) in Ireland, and Cornwall in England.

Activism

In June 1994, Amos co-founded RAINN , The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a toll-free help line in the US connecting callers with their local rape crisis center. Amos, herself a survivor of sexual assault, was seen as unlocking the silence of her assault through her music; thus "Unlock the Silence" went on to become a year-long campaign for RAINN when Amos became a national spokesperson for the organization. By the summer of 2006, RAINN had received its one millionth caller and the organization's success has led to it ranking in "America's 100 Best Charities" by Worth Magazine|Worth , and one of the "Top 10 Best Charities" by Marie Claire .

Discography

Up to 2011, Amos has released 12 studio albums during her solo career. Apart from the first two albums, the other 10 are self-produced.

Little Earthquakes (1992)

Under the Pink (1994)

Boys for Pele (1996)

From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)

To Venus and Back (1999)

Strange Little Girls (2001)

'' Scarlet's Walk (2002)

The Beekeeper (2005)

American Doll Posse (2007)

Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009)

Midwinter Graces (2009)

Night of Hunters (2011)

Additionally, Amos has released over 30 singles, over 60 B-sides, and has contributed original material to nine film soundtracks, including Higher Learning (1995), Great Expectations (1998 film)|Great Expectations (1998) and Mission: Impossible II (2000) among others.

Tours

Amos, who has been performing in bars and clubs from as early as 1976 and under her professional name as early as 1991 has performed more than 1,000 shows since her first world tour in 1992. In 2003, Amos was voted fifth best touring act by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine. Her concerts are notable for their changing set lists from night to night.

; Little Earthquakes Tour : Amos's first world tour began on January 29, 1992 in London and ended on November 30, 1992 in Auckland . She performed solo with a Yamaha CP-70 unless the venue was able to provide a piano. The tour included 142 concerts around the globe.
; Under the Pink Tour : Amos's second world tour began on February 24, 1994 in Newcastle upon Tyne and ended on December 13, 1994 in Perth, Western Australia . Amos performed solo each night on her iconic Bösendorfer piano, and on a prepared piano during "Bells for Her". The tour included 181 concerts.
; Dew Drop Inn Tour : The third world tour began on February 23, 1996 in Ipswich , England, and ended on November 11, 1996 in Boulder . Amos performed each night on piano , harpsichord , and harmonium , with Steve Caton on guitar on some songs. The tour included 187 concerts.
; ''Plugged '98 Tour'' : Amos's first band tour. Amos, on piano and Kurzweil Music Systems|Kurzweil keyboard, was joined by Steve Caton on guitar, Matt Chamberlain on drums, and Jon Evans on bass. The tour began on April 18, 1998 in Fort Lauderdale and ended on December 3, 1998 in East Lansing, Michigan , including 137 concerts.
; Five and a Half Weeks Tour / To Dallas and Back : Amos's fifth tour was North America–only. The first part of the tour was co-headlining with Alanis Morissette and featured the same band and equipment line-up as in 1998. Amos and the band continued for eight shows before Amos embarked on a series of solo shows. The tour began on August 18, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ended on December 9, 1999 in Denver , including 46 concerts.
; Strange Little Tour : This tour was Amos's first since becoming a mother in 2000 and her first tour fully solo since 1994 ( Steve Caton was present on some songs in 1996). It saw Amos perform on piano, Rhodes piano , and Wurlitzer electric piano , and though the tour was in support of her covers album, the set lists were not strictly covers-oriented. Having brought her one-year-old daughter on the road with her, this tour was also one of Amos's shortest ventures, lasting just three months. It began on August 30, 2001 in London and ended on December 17, 2001 in Milan , including 55 concerts.
; ''On Scarlet's Walk / Lottapianos Tour'' : Amos's seventh tour saw her reunited with Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans, but not Steve Caton . The first part of the tour, which featured Amos on piano, Rhodes, and Wurlitzer, was six months long and Amos went out again in the summer of 2003 for a tour with Ben Folds opening. The tour began on November 7, 2002 in Tampa and ended on September 4, 2003 in West Palm Beach , featuring 124 concerts. The final show of the tour was filmed and released as part of a DVD/CD set titled Welcome to Sunny Florida (the set also included a studio EP titled '' Scarlet's Hidden Treasures , an extension of the Scarlet's Walk album).
; Original Sinsuality Tour / Summer of Sin : This tour began on April 1, 2005 in Clearwater, Florida , with Amos on piano, two Hammond organ|Hammond B-3 organs, and Rhodes. The tour also encompassed Australia for the first time since 1994. Amos announced at a concert on this tour that she would never stop touring but would scale down the tours. Amos returned to the road in August and September for the Summer of Sin North America leg, ending on September 17, 2005 in Los Angeles . The tour featured "Tori's Piano Bar", where fans could nominate cover songs on Amos's website which she would then choose from to play in a special section of each show. One of the songs chosen was the Kylie Minogue hit "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which Amos dedicated to her the day after Minogue's breast cancer was announced to the public. Other songs performed by Amos include The Doors ' "People are Strange", Depeche Mode 's "Personal Jesus", Joni Mitchell 's "The Circle Game", Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna 's " Live to Tell " and " Like a Prayer (song)|Like a Prayer ", Björk 's " Hyperballad ", Led Zeppelin 's " When the Levee Breaks " (which she debuted in Austin, Texas, just after the events of Hurricane Katrina), Kate Bush 's "And Dream of Sheep" and Crowded House 's "Don't Dream It's Over", dedicating it to drummer Paul Hester who had died a week before. The entire concert tour featured 82 concerts, and six full-length concerts were released as The Original Bootlegs .
; American Doll Posse World Tour : This was Amos's first tour with a full band since her 1999 Five and a Half Weeks Tour , accompanied by long-time band mates Jon Evans and Matt Chamberlain, with guitarist Dan Phelps rounding out Amos's new band. Amos's equipment included her piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, and two Yamaha S90 ES keyboards. The tour kicked off with its European leg in Rome, Italy on May 28, 2007, which lasted through July, concluding in Israel ; the Australian leg took place during September; the North American leg lasted from October to December 16, 2007, when the tour concluded in Los Angeles . Amos opened each show dressed as one of the four non-Tori personae from the album, then Amos would emerge as herself to perform for the remaining two-thirds of the show. The entire concert tour featured 93 concerts, and 27 full-length concerts of the North American tour were released as official bootlegs in the Legs and Boots series.
; Sinful Attraction Tour : For her tenth tour, Amos returned to the trio format of her 2002 and 2003 tours with bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain while expanding her lineup of keyboards by adding three M-Audio MIDI controllers to her ensemble of her piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, and a Yamaha S90 ES keyboard. The North American and European band tour began on 10 July 2009 in Seattle , Washington (U.S. state)|Washington and ended in Warsaw on 10 October 2009. A solo leg through Australia began in Melbourne on 12 November 2009 and ended in Brisbane on 24 November 2009. The entire tour featured 63 concerts.
; Night of Hunters tour : Amos' eleventh tour was her first with a string quartet, Apollon Musagète, (Amos' equipment includes her piano and a Yamaha S90 ES keyboard) and her first time touring in South Africa . It kicked off on 28 September 2011 in Finland , Helsinki Ice Hall and ended on 22 December 2011 in Dallas , Texas .. Retrieved on: 2011-09-13

Award nominations

; Grammy Awards
|-
| 1995
| Under The Pink
| Best Alternative Music Album
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| 1997
| Boys for Pele
| Best Alternative Music Album
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| From the Choirgirl Hotel
| Best Alternative Music Album
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| " Raspberry Swirl (song)|Raspberry Swirl "
| Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| To Venus and Back
| Best Alternative Music Album
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| " Bliss (Tori Amos song)|Bliss "
| Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| Strange Little Girls
| Best Alternative Music Album
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| " Strange Little Girl "
| Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|}
Note: In 2003 the Tori Amos album '' Scarlet's Walk '' (deluxe edition) was nominated in the category "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging", this nomination went to the art directors Dave Bett and Sherri Lee. Also in 2003, "Timo on Tori (Don't Make Me Come To Vegas) a remix of the Tori Amos song Don't Make Me Come to Vegas was nominated in the category "Best Remixed Recording, Non Classical" this nomination went to the remixers Mark Buttrich and Timo Maas.

; Brit Awards
|-
| 1995
| & mdash;
| Best International Female
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|}

; MTV Video Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|1992
| rowspan=4| Silent All These Years
| Best Female Video
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| Best Cinematography in a Video
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| Best New Aruist in a Video
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|-
| Breakthrough Video
| style="background:#fdd;"| Nominated
|}

Notes and references

Copyright Citations

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1. Maynard James Keenan

Alternative Music Artists