Elliott Smith is our focus this week & we are joined by Jamie Fisher whose new book - Nobody Broke Your Heart: An Intimate Biography of Elliott Smith is out now in the UK & the US.
What differentiates Jamie’s book from others about Elliott Smith is the people who she spoke to when writing it - the Smith family were involved & talked to her at length.
Elliot Smith’s formative influences included Bob Dylan, Hank Williams Jr. & the Beatles & he started to write songs early in life, often holding onto melodies for years before finalising them into songs.
Elliott Smith’s parents separated when he was young & tensions with his stepfather led to his relocation to Portland, Oregon.
While there he formed Heatmiser with Neil Gust, Tony Lash & Jason Hornick.
All the while he was writing his own softer, gentler material but was hesitant to pursue it out of respect for his band mates.
The recordings that become his debut solo album Roman Candle are made for around $20 & despite never being intended for release, do come out on local label Cavity Search Records.
Elliott moved to the Kill Rock Stars label after meeting label founder Slim Moon & his self-titled follow up appeared in 1995, featuring Needle In The Hay, his best known work to date.
In 1997 film director Gus Van Sant becomes enamoured with Elliott’s music & approaches him to contribute music to his next film, Good Will Hunting, written by & starring Matt Damon & Ben Affleck.
Four of Elliott’s songs from the Either/Or album ultimately appear on the soundtrack & lead to an appearance at the 1998 Academy Award Ceremony, wearing a now legendary white suit, performing Miss Misery which closes the movie.
Elliott Smith sings with DreamWorks & now has a bugger budget & access not available to him before, his next album Figure Eight follows.
Despite the label being happy with the records sales, Elliott was not, constantly comparing himself to The Beatles & Bob Dylan.
Elliott passes away on August 6th 2003 & his final recordings, From a Basement on the Hill is released posthumously in 2004.
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