Mary Chapin Carpenter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mary Chapin Carpenter | ||
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 Mary Chapin Carpenter poses with Lt. Max J. Wildermuth during a USO show
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| Background information | ||
| Born | February 21, 1958 | |
| Origin | Princeton, New Jersey | |
| Genre(s) | Country | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar | |
| Years active | 1987 - Present | |
Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958 in Princeton, New Jersey) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning country/folk singer-songwriter and guitarist with a diverse musical style.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Childhood
Carpenter, the daughter of a Life Magazine executive, spent two years in Japan as a child, moving to Washington, D.C. in 1974. She attended Princeton Day School, a private coeducational day school, before graduating from the Taft School in 1976. Carpenter has described her childhood as a "pretty typical[ly] suburban," with her musical interests defined chiefly by whatever albums her older sisters had lying around.[1] This included records by The Mamas & the Papas, the Beatles, and Judy Collins, along with some Woody Guthrie albums of her mother's.
Carpenter spent much of her time in high school playing the guitar and piano; in fact, while at Princeton Day School, legend has it that "classmates threatened to cut her guitar strings if she played 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' one more time."[2]
[edit] Early performing and alcoholism
Despite her interest in music, Carpenter says she never considered performing publicly until, shortly after graduating from Taft, her father suggested it. "He said, 'There's a bar down the street, they have open-mike sessions, why don't you go out and play at one of those things?'" Carpenter recalled for Rolling Stone in 1991. "That was the first time it occurred to me, frankly."[1] She added that the audience was "polite," but that she "wanted to throw up."
Carpenter graduated from Brown University in 1981 with a degree in American Civilization. She considered music a hobby at first, and, despite playing some summer sets in Washington's vibrant 80s music scene for extra money, kept on thinking she'd eventually get a "real job."[1] At those gigs, most played in bars, Carpenter developed a serious drinking problem. "I had a big problem," she later recalled. "It was awful. I had to make a lifestyle change in a drastic way. It's still so painful to me to think about how I was."[1]
Thinking that music was part of the problem, Carpenter stopped performing and began interviewing for regular work, though when someone offered her a position she "panicked," and became determined "to go back into music but [to] change some things."[1] She decided to play only original material, rather than covers, and she also quit drinking. Within a few years, Carpenter had landed a manager and recorded a demo tape that led to a deal with Columbia Records.
[edit] Hometown Girl and "Is She Country?"
Carpenter's first album, Hometown Girl, was released in 1987. It was produced by Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer-songwriter John Jennings, with whom she had been performing in the D.C. area, and who has remained a long-time collaborator. Though songs from Hometown Girl got play on public and college radio stations, it wasn't until Columbia started promoting Carpenter as a "country" artist that she found a wider audience.[3] As Time critic Richard Corliss wrote, "She didn't go country; country went her."
For a long time, Carpenter was ambivalent about this pigeonholing, saying she preferred the term "singer-songwriter" or "slash rocker" (as in country/folk/rock.)[1] She told Rolling Stone in 1991, "I've never approached music from a categorization process, so to be a casualty of it is real disconcerting to me."
Some music critics argue that Carpenter's style covers such a wide range of influences that the question isn't even between "country" and "folk." Corliss described the songs in her album A Place in the World as "reminiscent of early Beatles or rollicking Motown,"[4] and one reviewer of Time* Sex* Love* noted the "wash of Beach Boys-style harmonies....backwards guitar loops" and use of a sitar on one track,[5] all elements that wouldn't be commonly found on a country or folk album.
In 2001, Carpenter herself definitively answered the question (though it was a kind of non-answer.) She said, "Lots of times people ask me, 'Are you still a country artist?' I have to tell them I don't know the answer."[5]
[edit] Mainstream success in the 90s
After 1989's State of the Heart, Carpenter released Shooting Straight in the Dark in 1990, which yielded two big hits, the Grammy Award-winning "Down at the Twist and Shout" and "You Win Again," which gained some adult contemporary airplay as a crossover. Two years later, Carpenter released the album that, to date, has been her biggest popular success, the triple-platinum Come On Come On (1992). The album was also met with critical acclaim, with The New York Times writing that Carpenter had "risen through the country ranks without flash or bravado: no big hair, sequined gowns, teary performances....enriched with Ms. Carpenter's subtlety, Come On Come On grows stronger and prettier with every listen."[6]
The songs of Come On Come On had the qualities that would come to identify her work: often humorous fast-paced country-rock songs, tempered by slower and softer songs that often speak to social or relational issues. "Passionate Kisses" (written by fellow singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams), which would end up one of Carpenter's biggest hits, is a song with a rock flavor musically and lyrics listing simple desires such as "a comfortable bed", "food to fill me up", and "time to think." A number of her songs speak to women, urging them on through hard times or troubled relationships. In Come On Come On's "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", co-composed by Carpenter and Don Schlitz, the singer makes the case for strength and self-respect. This was inspired by her indignance at a 1970s series of Geritol television commercials in which a man boasts of his wife's seemingly limitless energy and her many accomplishments, then concludes with the patronizing tag line, "My wife...I think I'll keep her."
As a result of the success of Come On Come On, Carpenter began performing regularly on TV shows such as Late Night with David Letterman and Austin City Limits, and at musical events across the country, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado. She tours frequently and has remained very loyal to her hometown of Washington, DC, returning almost every summer to perform at the popular outdoor venue Wolf Trap. Carpenter's follow-ups to Come On Come On, 1994's Stones in the Road and 1996's A Place in the World, were commercial successes, though not on the earlier album's level.
[edit] Changes in Carpenter's recent work
After a five-year break from the music scene, the singer-songwriter returned with 2001's Time*Sex*Love, a departure that The New York Times described as "essentially a concept album about middle age."[7] (The newspaper added, "Ms. Carpenter....is harder than ever to define stylistically.")
One common theme in Carpenter's 2000s-era music is that of taking life at one's own pace, rather than rampant goal-driven materialism, such as Time*Sex*Love's "The Long Way Home," which pokes fun at a man who "retire(s) at thirty to his big-ass house next to the putting green." That album had a different feel musically, incorporating elaborate orchestra melodies, but with the characteristic lyrical depth. Understandably, it had less broad appeal than her earlier work. Carpenter says that this came as a surprise to her, though--explaining that, "When the record was released, I really believed there were several radio-friendly songs....it has been since proven to me that is not exactly the case." [5]
More recently, Carpenter has referred to her Come On Come On recording period as the time "when I was having songs on the airwaves,"[8] though, like the characters in her songs, that kind of goal-driven materialism does not seem to matter much to her anymore. (This is in stark contrast to the artist who, in 1991, was described by Rolling Stone as someone who "clearly wants broader pop success.") In 2001, she explained, "When I think of the artists I admire and seek out musically....It's not about where I find them on the radio dial, or how many records they're selling. It's more a sense that I've connected with what they have to say and it ends up being more than just a momentary connection; I want to continue to see what they have to say."[8]
As of 2007, Carpenter has released nine albums of new material and two best-of compilations. In addition to her solo work, her career has included a number of collaborations with such artists as Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, and Shawn Colvin. Carpenter is also well-known as a songwriter, writing songs for a variety of artists including friend Trisha Yearwood ("Where Are You Now"), Cyndi Lauper (Carpenter co-wrote "Sally's Pigeons") and the song "Love Goes On" as a tribute to writer Marjorie Williams, who died of cancer in 2005.
Carpenter's new album , The Calling, released on March 6, 2007 by Rounder Records' rock/pop imprint Zoë, features commentary about contemporary politics, a reaction to the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a track entitled "Houston," and an incendiary track entitled "On With the Song," dedicated to the Dixie Chicks, and addressing the visceral reaction to the trio.
[edit] Personal life
Despite a series of relationships, including one with collaborator John Jennings, the media made much of Carpenter's single status throughout the nineties (in a 1994 profile, Entertainment Weekly even dubbed her "a spokes-singer for the thirtysomething single woman.")[9] In 2002, Carpenter married Tim Smith, a contractor. They currently reside on a farm near Charlottesville, Virginia and call their home "Elysium." Throughout her career, she has actively supported various charities, including CARE and Habitat for Humanity, and has conducted fundraising concerts for such causes as the elimination of landmines.
[edit] Awards
- Grammy Awards
- 1994: Grammy Award for Best Country Album winner - Stones In the Road
- 1991-1994: Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
- Country Music Association Awards
- 1992 and 1993: Country Music Association (CMA) Female Vocalist of the Year
- Academy of Country Music Awards
- 1992: Academy of Country Music Top Female Vocalist
- 1989: Academy of Country Music Top New Female Vocalist
[edit] Trivia
- Broadway star and Tony Award winner Betty Buckley very much enjoys the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter and covers her songs during her shows. In a story the two singers often share during their live shows, Carpenter once went to one of the Broadway star's performances and afterwards presented her with a personal letter. Buckley keeps the note in a frame and has said that getting it was "one of the highlights of my life."[citation needed]
- Carpenter's lyrics have been used for two children's books published by Harper Collins, "Halley Came to Jackson" (from the 1990 Shooting Straight in the Dark album) and "Dreamland." The book "Dreamland" was intended to help children deal with war and violence and the song appears on an accompanying lullaby collection "Till Their Eyes Shine," along with contributions from Gloria Estefan and Carole King.
- Ranked #21 in CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 US #183; US Country #28 |
 US #70; US Country #11 |
 US #31; US Country #6 |
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 US #10; US Country #1; UK#26 |
 US #20; US Country #3; UK#36 |
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 US Country #60 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Album | US Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "How Do" | State of the Heart | #19 |
| 1989 | "Never Had It So Good" | State of the Heart | #8 |
| 1990 | "Quittin' Time" | State of the Heart | #7 |
| 1990 | "Something of a Dreamer" | State of the Heart | #14 |
| 1990 | "You Win Again" | Shooting Straight in the Dark | #16 |
| 1991 | "Right Now" | Shooting Straight in the Dark | #15 |
| 1991 | "Down at the Twist and Shout" | Shooting Straight in the Dark | #2 |
| 1991 | "Going Out Tonight" | Shooting Straight in the Dark | #14 |
| 1991 | "I Feel Lucky" | Come On Come On | #4 |
| 1992 | "Not Too Much to Ask (with Joe Diffie)" | Come On Come On | #15 |
| 1992 | "Passionate Kisses" | Come On Come On | #4 |
| 1993 | "The Hard Way" | Come On Come On | #11 |
| 1993 | "The Bug" | Come On Come On | #16 |
| 1993 | "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" | Come On Come On | #2 |
| 1994 | "I Take My Chances" | Come On Come On | #2 |
| 1994 | "Shut Up and Kiss Me" | Stones in the Road | #1 |
| 1994 | "Tender When I Want to Be" | Stones in the Road | #6 |
| 1995 | "House of Cards" | Stones in the Road | #21 |
| 1995 | "Why Walk When You Can Fly?" | Stones in the Road | #45 |
| 1996 | "Let Me Into Your Heart" | A Place in the World | #11 |
| 1997 | "I Want to Be Your Girlfriend" | A Place in the World | #35 |
| 1999 | "Almost Home" | Party Doll and Other Favorites | #22 |
| 2001 | "Simple Life" | Time* Sex* Love* | #53 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Wing, Eliza. "Country’s Unlikely Star: Bending the genre, Mary-Chapin Carpenter shoots straight for the top." Rolling Stone, 03/21/91.
- ^ Duncan, Petie Oliphant, and Stuart Duncan. "100 Years of Theatre," speech given at the Princeton Day School Centennial Follies, October 1999. Reprinted in Princeton Day School Mame playbill, February 2000.
- ^ Corliss, Richard. "Getting there the hard way", Time, 1992-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ Corliss, Richard. "Ironic, don’tcha think?; Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin can teach their better-selling juniors a thing or two", Time, 1996-11-11. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ a b c Abbott, Jim. "Chapin Carpenter is no longer sure if she can be called ‘country.’" The Orlando Sentinel, 2001-08-03.
- ^ Schoemer, Karen. "RECORDINGS VIEW: A Salute to the Quiet Heroines", The New York Times, 1992-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
- ^ Sack, Kevin. "Confronting Middle Age With Songs And Pluck" (fee required), The New York Times, 2001-08-14. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
- ^ a b Mary Chapin Carpenter. PBS: Austin City Limits: Interviews. (2001-07-31). Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Kennedy, Dana. "MUSIC NEWS: Not So Happy At Last", Entertainment Weekly, 1994-11-11. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
[edit] External links
- BPI/UK Sales Database
- UK Every Hit
- Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Internet Movie Database
- Mary Chapin Carpenter — Official site.
- Interview with Mary Chapin Carpenter on her song "Grand Central Station" about a clean-up worker at Ground Zero in New York City (May 6, 2004)
- Interview with Mary Chapin Carpenter at NPR featuring songs from Between Here and Gone (Thanksgiving Special, November 24, 2004)
- RIAA Gold & Platinum Database
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1958 births | Living people | American country singers | American female singers | American songwriters | Brown University alumni | Country music songwriters | People from New Jersey | Grammy Award winners | The Taft School alumni
