Gillian Welch
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Gillian Welch (born October 2, 1967 in New York City) is a singer-songwriter whose musical style combines elements of bluegrass, neotraditional country, Americana, old time string band music and folk into a rustic style that she dubs "American Primitive". All of her recordings feature the close-harmonies and unconventional guitar work of her musical partner, David Rawlings. Her music is often described as haunting or soothing.
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[edit] Biography and career
Welch was born in Manhattan and was adopted when she was three days old. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of four. By the age of seven, she had learned to play the guitar. Studying at the University of California, Santa Cruz Welch discovered bluegrass music through the "mountain soul" stylings of The Stanley Brothers. After a short stint in a local band, Welch moved to Boston and studied at the Berklee College of Music.
In Boston, Welch met and began dating David Rawlings, who would become her longtime musical partner. In 1992, they moved to Nashville and began building a career. In Nashville, she met T-Bone Burnett, producer to such artists as Los Lobos, Sam Phillips, Counting Crows, and Elvis Costello. In 1996, Welch released her first album, Revival, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1997. Since then, she has recorded other albums and collaborated on the songs "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" and "I'll Fly Away" on the soundtrack of the Coen Brothers hit film O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Welch has also collaborated with good friend and singer/songwriter Ryan Adams on the albums Heartbreaker and Destroyer. She and Rawlings toured with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Buddy Miller in 2004 as The Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue. Welch and Rawlings have collaborated with Old Crow Medicine Show and appear in their video of their song "Wagon Wheel".
[edit] Discography
- Revival, 1996
- Hell Among the Yearlings, 1998
- Time (The Revelator), 2001
- Soul Journey, 2003
[edit] Videography
- The Revelator Collection, DVD, 2002
[edit] Covers
Many artists have recorded songs penned by Gillian Welch and by Welch and Rawlings:
- "Orphan Girl" from the album Revival has been covered by:
- Tim and Mollie O'Brien on the 1994 album Away Out On The Mountain.
- Emmylou Harris on the 1995 album Wrecking Ball.
- Suzannah and Georgia Rose on the 1999 album Across the Blue Mountains.
- Dry Branch Fire Squad on the 2005 album Live at the Newburyport Firehouse (retitled as "Orphan Child") .
- "One More Dollar" and "Tear My Stillhouse Down" were both recorded by The Nashville Bluegrass Band on their 1995 album, Unleashed.
- The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band included "Dry Town", on their 1999 album Bang Bang Bang.
- Joan Baez included "Caleb Meyer" and "Elvis Presley Blues" on her 2003 release Dark Chords on a Big Guitar.
- Jimmy Buffett has recorded "Elvis Presley Blues" on his 2006 album, Take the Weather with You.
- Alison Krauss & Union Station, "New Favorite" appears on Alison Krauss & Union Station Live, and New Favorite.
- The Holmes Brothers, "Everything Is Free" appears on Simple Truths
- Kathy Mattea, "455 Rocket" and "Patiently Waiting" appear on Love Travels (1997)
- Trisha Yearwood, recorded "Two Days From Knowing" as the B-Side single for "You Can Sleep While I Drive" (1995)
- Jessica Haines & Mark Kaiser recorded "Caleb Meyer" on their 2006 release, "So Here's To You"
- The Secret Machines, "Everything Is Free" appears on the CD single for All At Once (It's Not That Important)
- Chris Thile covered "Wayside/Back in Time" on his 2006 release "How to Grow a Woman from the Ground".
- Peter Mulvey recorded "Caleb Meyer." It appears on his album "Ten Thousand Mornings."
[edit] Trivia
- Welch had a cameo appearance in the Coen Brothers movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, which featured two of her performances, as a girl in a record store trying to obtain a copy of the Soggy Bottom Boys' recording of "Man of Constant Sorrow."
- On Old Crow Medicine Show's album Big Iron World, Welch plays drums and Rawlings produces.
