Jewel Kilcher é nata il 23 maggio 1974 a Homer

Jewel

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Jewel Kilcher é nata il 23 maggio 1974 a Homer, Alaska. Con i genitori e due fratelli ha vissuto in una sorta di baracca senza doccia nè tv. La sua biografia e aneddotica ha talmente incuriosito il pubblico da indurre una casa editrice a offrirle una cifra record per avere l'esclusiva delle sue memorie dell'infanzia passata coltivando l'orto e suonando in tutta l'Alaska con i genitori (uno dei momenti memorabili dello show della famiglia Kilcher era lo yodel che la piccolissima Jewel aveva imparato dal nonno svizzero). Dopo il divorzio di mamma e papà, Jewel venne equamente "spartita" tra il padre, con cui ha cantato per 7 anni in bar e ristoranti, e la madre Lenedra, che le insegnava musica, arte e poesia. Seguono l'iscrizione a un'accademia d'arte del Michigan grazie a una borsa di studio e il trasloco a San Diego, dove comincia a lavorare stabilmente come entertainer. Sua residenza, un furgone in un parcheggio; suo menu, carote e burro di noccioline. Nel 1994 la sua gavetta ha fine: nel 1994 firma con la Atlantic e registra materiale live e brani scritti quando aveva tra 17 e 19 anni, che verranno inclusi nel primo disco "Pieces of you". Solo nel 1995 il singolo "Who will save your soul", in una seconda pubblicazione, comincia a decollare, fino ad arrivare al n.2 delle charts nel maggio 1997. Nel frattempo, è diventata la beniamina di Bob Dylan e Neil Young, che la vogliono come supporter, e della stampa, nonostante le rimostranze di Joni Mitchell, che si sente "plagiata" - ma Jewel dice di ispirarsi più a Rickie Lee Jones. Nel 1997 esce un suo libro di poesie, "A night without armor", e nel 1998 è protagonista di un film di Ang Lee intitolato "Ride with the devil". Alla fine dello stesso anno esce "Spirit", suo secondo album. Discografia:*
Pieces of you (1995)
Spirit (1998)

*tutti i titoli sono CGD/Warner

English Version

NOT only have the last few years seen an explosion in the numbers of talented female singer- songwriters, but the age at which they achieve their breakthroughs seems to be diminishing steadily. Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, and Jewel all released major- label debuts before reaching the age of twenty- one. Unlike McLachlan, who didn't achieve success for another five years, though, the first albums by both Jewel and Fiona Apple established them as budding stars. That doesn't mean success came easily or immediately for Jewel, however. Though she's been singing and performing music since she was a small child, her life has followed a rather circuitous path, and her musical career has been many years in the making.

Born Jewel Kilcher on May 23, 1974, the future singer- songwriter grew up in Homer, Alaska, living with her parents and two brothers in a home situated on an eight- hundred- acre plot of land. Their house had no TV or running water, which meant no shower and no regular bathroom — just an outhouse in the yard, where it could be bitterly cold come wintertime (talk about Northern exposure!). Growing up, Jewel helped tend the horses that they raised, as well as haying and working in the family's garden.

Her parents were a singer- songwriter duo who performed all over the state, and by age six, Jewel was performing with them. Carrying forward the legacy of her grandfather, who had immigrated to Alaska from his native home in Switzerland, she developed an astounding ability to yodel at an early age, and soon this became a regular feature of her parents' show.

A few years later, Jewel's parents divorced. She still toured with her father off and on for another seven years, singing with him in various bars and restaurants. Meanwhile, her mother, Lenedra, taught her about music, art, and poetry, in the process giving Jewel a gift that helped her immeasurably in dealing with the trauma of her parents' split. According to Jewel, she began writing poetry extensively at this time as a means of self- expression, and that early experience, along with her rich musical background, produced the dynamic, thoughtful, and even analytical singer- songwriter we see today.

Jewel then took a major step, heading off to Michigan's renowned Interlochen Arts Academy for her junior and senior years of high school. She won a vocal scholarship to go there, but even that only covered seventy percent of her expenses. Most of the remainder was raised at a solo concert — her first ever — and by donations from the townspeople of Homer. Interlochen proved to be a broadening experience for Jewel. She studied opera, sculpture, dance, and drama, and during her second year there started playing the guitar and writing her own songs.

Finishing school, Jewel moved to San Diego, where her mother had relocated. She didn't want to go to college, and she wasn't happy just surfing or traveling around, so she took several run- of- the- mill jobs, disliked them, and even got fired a couple of times. In a bold move, she elected to give up full- time employment in favor of living in her van and writing songs. The bohemian lifestyle suited her, as did a steady diet of carrots and peanut butter. She spent her days writing poetry in coffeehouses, and at night she was networking with local musicians.

Pretty soon, she landed a regular Thursday- night gig at the Innerchange Coffeehouse in Pacific Beach. By early 1994, this diamond in the rough was putting on three- to four- hour shows of original material before ever- larger crowds. She collaborated with Steve Poltz, lead singer of San Diego's veteran novelty- rock band the Rugburns, and several members of his band joined in, along with other area musicians.

Word spread to Los Angeles, and in March, Jewel was signed to Atlantic Records. In July of 1994, she recorded four sets of live material at the Innerchange, some of which made its way onto Pieces of You, her debut album. (Jewel wrote the songs between the ages of seventeen and nineteen.) During the last half of the year, she did short coffeehouse tours in several other cities, attempting to increase her celebrity outside of San Diego and Alaska. When the CD eventually came out in February of 1995, it received generally favorable reviews, but even then, the road to success contained further obstacles.

Although Jewel toured ceaselessly opening for other bands around the country, Pieces of You didn't break into the Billboard Top 200 album chart for some fourteen months. The first single from the record, "Who Will Save Your Soul" (said to be the third song she ever wrote), garnered airplay in a few major markets, but was otherwise ignored. A second single, "You Were Meant for Me," was solicited in the fall of 1995, and it, too, went largely unnoticed. But Atlantic kept trying. Another push was made for "Who Will Save Your Soul," and in the late spring of 1996, Jewel's hard work began to pay off. Her relentless touring combined with some high- profile television appearances (including Late Night With Conan O'Brien and stints on the Tonight show with Jay Leno, and Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee) got radio programmers to take notice.

In its second life, "Who Will Save Your Soul" began a slow, steady climb up the Billboard singles chart, eventually peaking at No. 11 in September. The label followed up that success with a re- release of "You Were Meant for Me" in November. It, too, began a slow ascent up the charts, and twenty- four weeks later, in May of 1997, the song reached No. 2. In the meantime, Pieces of You had gone triple platinum, and more than two years after its release, it showed no signs of slowing down.

Jewel's unusual path to success brought her to the attention of a number of big- name film and music figures. Sean Penn became her pal, Jackson Browne was photographed carrying around her guitar case, and she was cast as Dorothy in an all- star benefit production of The Wizard of Oz, which was staged in New York in November of 1995, and eventually shown on television and released on CD. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Dave Matthews are just a few of the artists who have asked her to open shows, and the music industry establishment recognized her with two 1997 Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal.

Despite her newfound celebrity status, Jewel makes a point of maintaining a solid connection to her roots, proudly carrying a Tupperware container of genuine Homer, Alaska, soil wherever she travels. As for her future, having already written and recorded more than a dozen new songs since Pieces of You was released, she seems an unlikely candidate for a sophomore slump. In fact, her second album, Spirit, released in 1998, debuted at No. 3 on the charts with impressive first-week sales of over 350,000. The troubadour will record an album of Christmas songs just in time for a little end-of-the-millennium holiday cheer.

With a rare combination (at least in this day and age) of talent and a strong work ethic, Jewel's brightest days are likely still ahead of her.