name	Big Star
alt	Prominent in the foreground, two guitarists concentrate on their playing, while the drummer, a little behind them to their left, toils away.
background	group_or_band
origin	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
genre	Rock, power pop
years active	1971–1974, 1993–2010
associated acts	The Box Tops, The Posies
website	bigstarband.com
past members	Alex ChiltonJody StephensAndy HummelChris BellJohn LightmanJon AuerKen Stringfellow }}

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the work of British Invasion groups including The Beatles and The Kinks, as well as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and other U.S. acts. To the resulting power pop, Big Star added dark, nihilistic themes, and produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before it broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" in the words of ''Rolling Stone'', earning recognition decades later, according to Allmusic, as the "quintessential American power pop band" and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll".

Big Star's first album—1972's ''#1 Record''—met with enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations and by the time a second album was completed in January 1974, both Bell and Hummel had left. Like ''#1 Record'', ''Radio City'' received excellent reviews, but record company problems again thwarted sales—Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album was deemed too uncommercial for release and shelved before receiving a title, the band broke up late in 1974. Four years later, the first two Big Star LPs were released together as a double album. The band's third album was finally issued soon afterward; titled ''Third/Sister Lovers'', it found limited commercial success. Shortly thereafter, Chris Bell was killed in a car accident at the age of 27.

The Big Star discography drew renewed attention in the 1980s when R.E.M. and other popular bands acknowledged its influence. In 1992, further interest was stimulated by Rykodisc's reissues of the band's albums, complemented by a collection of Bell's solo work. In 1993, Chilton and Stephens reformed Big Star with recruits Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, and gave a concert at the University of Missouri. The band remained active, performing tours in Europe and Japan, and released a new studio album, ''In Space'', in 2005. Chilton died on March 17, 2010, after being admitted to a New Orleans hospital with heart problems. Hummel, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, died on July 19, 2010. These deaths leave Stephens as the sole surviving founding member.

First era: 1971 to 1974

Formation of the band

Alex Chilton was the lead singer for the blue-eyed soul group The Box Tops from 1967 to 1970 when the band had a #1 hit with the song "The Letter". At the age of sixteen, Alex Chilton recorded a solo studio album. He was offered the role of lead vocalist for Blood, Sweat & Tears, but turned the offer down as "too commercial". Chilton had known Chris Bell for some time: both lived in Memphis, each had spent time recording music at Ardent Studios, and each, when aged 13, had been struck by the music of The Beatles during the band's 1964 debut U.S. tour. A song Chilton wrote nearly six years after he first witnessed a Beatles performance, "Thirteen", referred to the event with the line "Rock 'n' roll is here to stay". Chilton asked Bell to work with him as a duo modeled on Simon & Garfunkel; Bell declined, but invited Chilton to a performance by his own band, Icewater, comprising Bell, drummer Jody Stephens, and bassist Andy Hummel. Attracted by Icewater's music, Chilton showed the three his new song "Watch The Sunrise", and was asked to join the band. Both "Watch the Sunrise" and "Thirteen" were subsequently included on Big Star's first album, ''#1 Record''. The now four-piece band adopted the name Big Star when one member was given the idea from a grocery store often visited for snacks during recording sessions. One of many Big Star Markets outlets in the Memphis region at the time, it had a logo consisting of a five-pointed star enclosing the words "Big Star"; as well as the store's name, the band used its logo but without the word "Star" to avoid infringing copyright.

''#1 Record''

Although all four members contributed to songwriting and vocals on the first album, Chilton and Bell dominated as a duo intentionally modeled on John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The album was recorded by Ardent founder John Fry, with Terry Manning contributing occasional backing vocals and keyboards. The title ''#1 Record'' was decided towards the end of the recording sessions and evinced, albeit as a playful hope rather than a serious expectation, the chart position to be achieved by a big star. Although Fry—at the band's insistence—was credited as "executive producer", publicly he insisted that "the band themselves really produced these records". Fry recalled how Ardent, one of the first recording studios to use a sixteen-track tape machine, worked experimentally with the band members: "We started recording the songs with the intent that if it turned out OK we'd put it out [...] I wound up being the one that primarily worked on it: I recorded all the tracks and then they would often come late at night and do overdubs. One by one, they all learned enough engineering."

Describing the mix of musical styles present on ''#1 Record'', ''Rolling Stone'''s Bud Scoppa notes that the album includes "reflective and acoustic" numbers, saying that "even the prettiest tunes have tension and subtle energy to them, and the rockers reverberate with power". Scoppa finds that in each mode, "the guitar sound is sharp-edged and full".''#1 Record'' was released in June 1972, and quickly received strong reviews. ''Billboard'' went as far as to say, "Every cut could be a single". ''Rolling Stone'' judged the album "exceptionally good", while ''Cashbox'' stated, "This album is one of those red-letter days when everything falls together as a total sound", and called it "an important record that should go to the top with proper handling". Proper handling, however, was not forthcoming: Stax Records proved unable to either promote or distribute the record with any degree of success, and even when the band's own efforts to get airplay generated interest, fans were unable to buy it as Stax could not make it available in many stores. Stax, in an effort to improve its catalog's availability, signed a deal with Columbia Records, already successful distributors in the U.S., making Columbia responsible for the entire Stax catalog. But Columbia had no interest in dealing with the independent distributors previously used by Stax and removed even the existing copies of ''#1 Record'' from the stores.

''Radio City''

The frustration at ''#1 Record'''s obstructed sales contributed to tension within the band. There was physical fighting between members: Bell, after being punched in the face by Hummel, retaliated by smashing Hummel's new bass guitar to pieces against the wall. Hummel took revenge at a later date: finding Bell's acoustic guitar in the latter's unattended car, he repeatedly punched it with a screwdriver. In November 1972, Bell quit the band. When work continued on songs for a second album, Bell rejoined, but further conflict soon erupted. A master tape of the new songs inexplicably went missing, and Bell, whose heavy drug intake was affecting his judgment, attacked Fry's parked car. In late 1972, struggling with severe depression, Bell quit the band once more, and by the end of the year Big Star disbanded.

After a few months Chilton, Stephens and Hummel decided to reform Big Star, and the three resumed work on the second album. The title chosen, ''Radio City'', continued the play on the theme of a big star's popularity and success, expressing what biographer Robert Gordon calls the band's "romantic expectation". As Hummel put it, Stephens recalled: "''Radio City'', for me, was just an amazing record. Being a three-piece really opened things up for me in terms of playing drums. Drums take on a different role in a three-piece band, so it was a lot of fun. [...] ''Radio City'' was really more spontaneous, and the performances were pretty close to live performances."

Although uncredited, Bell contributed to the writing of some of the album's songs, including "O My Soul" and "Back of a Car". Shortly before the album's release, Hummel left the band: judging that it would not last, and in his final year at college, he elected to concentrate on his studies and live a more normal life.

''Rolling Stone'''s Ken Barnes, describing the musical style of ''Radio City'', opens by noting as a backdrop that the band's debut, ''#1 Record'', established it as "one of the leading new American bands working in the mid-Sixties pop and rock vein". ''Radio City'', Barnes finds, has "plenty of shimmering pop delights", although "the opening tune, 'O My Soul,' is a foreboding, sprawling funk affair"; Barnes concludes that "Sometimes they sound like the Byrds, sometimes like the early Who, but usually like their own indescribable selves". ''Radio City'' was released in January 1974 and, like ''#1 Record'', received excellent reviews. ''Record World'' reported, "The sound is stimulating, the musicianship superb, and the result is tight and rollickingly rhythmic." ''Billboard'' judged it "a highly commercial set". ''Rolling Stone'''s Bud Scoppa, then with ''Phonograph Record'', affirmed, "Alex Chilton has now emerged as a major talent, and he'll be heard from again". ''Cashbox'' called it "a collection of excellent material that hopefully will break this deserving band in a big way". But just as ''#1 Record'' had fallen victim to poor marketing, so too did ''Radio City''. Columbia, now in complete control of the Stax catalog, refused to process it following a disagreement. Without a distributor, sales of ''Radio City'', though far greater than those of ''#1 Record'', were minimal at only around 20,000 copies.

''Third/Sister Lovers''

In September 1974, eight months after the release of ''Radio City'', the two remaining members of Big Star returned to Ardent Studios to work on a third album. Chilton and Stephens were assisted by producer Jim Dickinson and an assortment of musicians including drummer Richard Rosebrough, and Lesa Aldridge, Chilton's girlfriend, who contributed on vocals. The sessions and mixing were completed in early 1975, and 250 copies of the album were pressed with plain labels for promotional use.

Parke Putterbaugh of ''Rolling Stone'' described ''Third/Sister Lovers'' as "extraordinary". It is, he wrote, "Chilton's untidy masterpiece. [...] beautiful and disturbing"; "vehemently original"; of "haunting brilliance":

To listen to it is to be "plunged into a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. Songs are drenched in strings and sweet sentiment one minute, starkly played and downcast the next. No pop song has ever bottomed out more than "Holocaust", an anguished plaint sung at a snail's pace over discordant slide-guitar fragments and moaning cello [...] On the up side, there's the delicious pop minuet "Stroke It Noel," the anticipatory magic of "Nightime" ("Caught a glance in your eyes and fell through the skies," Chilton rhapsodizes) [...] Big Star's baroque, guitar-driven pop reaches its apotheosis on songs like "Kizza Me," "Thank You Friends" and "O, Dana". [...] Without question, ''Third'' is one of the most idiosyncratic, deeply felt and fully realized albums in the pop idiom.

Fry and Dickinson flew to New York with promotional copies and met employees of a number of record labels, but could not generate interest in the album. When a similar promotion attempt failed in California, the album was shelved as it was considered not commercial enough for release. Fry recalled, "We'd go in and play it and these guys would look at us like we were crazy". In late 1974, before the album was even named, the band broke up, bringing Big Star's first era to its end. Dickinson later said that he was "nailed for indulging Alex on Big Star ''Third'', but I think it is important that the artist is enabled to perform with integrity. What I did for Alex was literally remove the yoke of oppressive production that he had been under since the first time he ever uttered a word into a microphone, for good or ill.

Since quitting the band in 1972, Bell had spent time in several different countries trying to develop his solo career. In 1978, after his return to Memphis, the first two Big Star albums were released together in the UK as a double album, drawing enthusiastic reviews and interest from fans. Soon afterwards Big Star's recognition grew further when, four years after its completion, the third album too was released in both the U.S. and the UK. By now, the hitherto untitled ''Third/Sister Lovers'' had become known by several unofficial names including ''Third'' (reflecting its position in the discography), ''Beale Street Green'' (acknowledging the legendary site nearby, once a focal point for Memphis blues musicians) and ''Sister Lovers'' (because during the album's recording sessions, Chilton and Stephens were dating sisters Lesa and Holliday Aldridge).

Not long after the release of ''Third/Sister Lovers'', Bell died in a car accident. He apparently lost control of his car while driving alone and was killed when he struck a lamp post after hitting the curb a hundred feet before. A blood test found that he was not drunk at the time, and no drugs were found on him other than a bottle of vitamins. Bell is believed to have either fallen asleep at the wheel or become distracted.

Second era: 1993 to 2011

Big Star returned in 1993 with a new line-up when guitarist Jon Auer and bassist Ken Stringfellow joined Chilton and Stephens. Auer and Stringfellow remain members of The Posies, founded by the pair in 1986. Stringfellow is also known for his work with R.E.M. and The Minus 5. First-era material dominates Big Star's performances, with the occasional addition of a song from the 2005 album ''In Space''; Stringfellow recalled that during the 1990s, "We were working out the set list and we went to this little cafe. Little did I know we'd be playing that set for the next ten years". The resurrected band made its debut at the 1993 University of Missouri spring music festival. A recording of the performance was issued on CD by Zoo Records as ''Columbia: Live at Missouri University''. The concert was followed by tours of Europe and Japan, as well as an appearance on ''The Tonight Show''.

''In Space'' was released on September 27, 2005 on the Rykodisc label. Recorded during 2004, the album consists of new material mostly co-written by Chilton, Stephens, Auer and Stringfellow. Reviewing ''In Space'', ''Rolling Stone'''s David Fricke first points out the context for its release: "a world expecting that American Beatles ideal all over again" from a band that "achieved its power-pop perfection when no one else was looking". In Fricke's estimation, the seemingly unrealistic expectation is in part met: "It's here—in the jangly longing and ice-wall harmonies of 'Lady Sweet'"; Fricke finds though that such songs are interleaved with "the eccentric R&B; and demo-quality glam rock that have made Chilton's solo records a mixed blessing", and that "'A Whole New Thing' starts out like old T.Rex, then goes nowhere special". Warming nevertheless to "the rough sunshine" of "Best Chance", Fricke says in conclusion: "''In Space'' is no ''#1 Record'', but at its brightest, it is Big Star in every way".

The band appeared at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium on October 20, 2007. San Francisco-based band Oranger, performed as opening act. Big Star performed at the 2008 Rhythm Festival, staged from 29–31 August in Bedfordshire, UK. On June 16, 2009, the ''#1 Record''/''Radio City'' double album was reissued in remastered form. The same month, it was announced that a film of Big Star's history, based on biographer Rob Jovanovic's book ''Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band'', is in pre-production. On July 1, 2009, Big Star performed at a concert in Hyde Park, London, UK. On September 15, 2009, Rhino Records issued a four-CD box set containing 98 recordings made between 1968 and 1975. ''Keep An Eye On The Sky'' includes live and demo versions of Big Star songs, solo work, and material from Bell's earlier bands Rock City and Icewater.

Chilton died on March 17, 2010 after being admitted to hospital with heart problems. He had been scheduled to perform with Big Star in Memphis, Tennessee three days later. The remaining members, joined by special guests original bassist Andy Hummel, M. Ward, Evan Dando, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, and Chris Stamey, staged the concert as a tribute to him. Hummel, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, died on July 19, 2010. Asked about the band's future plans, Stephens told Billboard, "It's music we all really love to play, and we love to play it together, so we're trying to figure out a way forward where we can keep doing it."

After the EP ''Live Tribute to Alex Chilton'' was released in June 2011, Stephens wrote on the Ardent blog that the tribute performance in May 2010 was the last performance for Big Star as a band.

Musical style and influences

Bell took up guitar when twelve or thirteen, but only on hearing the first Beatles records was he motivated to play the instrument regularly. He acted as lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist for a sequence of bands, performing songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Animals. Chilton's first awareness of music came at the age of six when his brother repeatedly played a record by The Coasters. His father's liking for jazz then exposed him over the next few years to the music of Glenn Miller, Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck. Chilton's enthusiasm for music took hold when at age thirteen he first heard Beatles records; he recalled having known of 1950s rock and roll but "by 1959 Elvis was syrup and Jerry Lee was pretty much gone, and the rockabilly thing was sort of over so I didn't get really caught up in the rock scene until the Beatles came along".

Chilton took up electric guitar at thirteen, playing along with Beatles songs, later saying, "I really loved the mid-sixties British pop music [...] all two and a half minutes or three minutes long, really appealing songs. So I've always aspired to that same format, that's what I like. Not to mention the rhythm and blues and the Stax stuff, too". Chilton abandoned his guitar-playing when with The Box Tops, then took up the instrument again; he met Roger McGuinn, guitarist for The Byrds, and developed particular interest in electric guitar and acoustic folk. Stephens enjoyed the music of Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers, The Who, The Kinks and, in particular, The Beatles. He first played drums at home with his brother, then with a handful of bands in the years before Big Star formed. Hummel likewise was a member of more than one band during his early musical years, again influenced by The Beatles and other British Invasion acts. The bassist also played acoustic guitar for personal enjoyment, following the styles of Simon & Garfunkel and Joni Mitchell and using finger-picking techniques to play folk and bluegrass. Most songs on the first three albums are credited to either Bell/Chilton or Chilton, but some credit Hummel, Stephens and others, as either writer or co-writer. At the only seven live performances in the original era, the last of which took place before the second album's release, all four members contributed vocally.

While primarily inspired by the music of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands, acknowledging too the jangle pop and power pop of the period, Big Star also incorporated dark, nihilistic themes to produce a striking blend of musical and lyrical styles. The body of work resulting from the first era was a precursor of the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s, at the same time yielding material today considered an outstanding example of power pop. The stylistic range is evident from modern day critiques. Bogdanov et al., commenting on ''#1 Record'' in their ''All Music Guide to Rock'', perceive in "The Ballad of El Goodo" a "luminous, melancholy ballad", whereas John Borack's ''Ultimate Power Pop Guide'' singles out ''Radio City'''s "September Gurls" as a "glorious, glittering jewel" of power pop. Borack notes too that ''Third/Sister Lovers'' is "slower, darker and a good deal weirder" than the first two albums, identifying "Holocaust" as "Alex Chilton at his haunting best", yet finds "Thank You Friends" exemplifying "left-field gems" also present in which "the hooks are every bit as undeniable" as before. Jovanovic writes that when recording what Peter Buckley in his ''Rough Guide to Rock'' terms the "snarling guitar rock" of the first album's "Don't Lie To Me", the band, deeming conventional instruments inadequate for the task, wheeled two Norton Commando motorcycles into the studio and gunned the engines to intensify the song's bridge. Bogdanov et al. reserve "snarl" for a ''Radio City'' song, "Mod Lang"; here Buckley writes that "the power of the performance and the erratic mix gave a sense of chaos which only added to the thrill".

Legacy and influence

Although Big Star's first era came to an end in 1974, the band acquired a cult following in the 1980s when new acts began to acknowledge the early material's significance. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck admitted, "We've sort of flirted with greatness, but we've yet to make a record as good as ''Revolver'' or ''Highway 61 Revisited'' or ''Exile on Main Street'' or Big Star's ''Third''. I don't know what it'll take to push us on to that level, but I think we've got it in us." Chilton, however, told an interviewer in 1992, "I'm constantly surprised that people fall for Big Star the way they do... People say Big Star made some of the best rock 'n roll albums ever. And I say they're wrong."

Today, critics cite Big Star's first three albums as a profound influence on subsequent musicians. ''Rolling Stone'' notes that Big Star "created a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations of rockers, from the power-pop revivalists of the late 1970s to alternative rockers at the end of the century to the indie rock nation in the new millennium". Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, identifies Big Star as "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll", whose "impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground". Ankeny describes Big Star's second album, ''Radio City'', as "their masterpiece—ragged and raw guitar-pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity".

In 1992, Rykodisc generated further interest in the band when it reissued ''Third/Sister Lovers'' and released a posthumous compilation of Bell's solo material, ''I Am The Cosmos''. In his 2007 book ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide'', John Borack ranks the ''#1 Record''/''Radio City'' double album at #2 in his chart "The 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums". ''Rolling Stone'' includes ''#1 Record'', ''Radio City'' and ''Third/Sister Lovers'' in ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time'' and "September Gurls" and "Thirteen" in ''The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time''. In addition to R.E.M., artists including Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, Primal Scream, the Posies, and Bill Lloyd and the dB's cite Big Star as an inspiration, and the band's influence on Game Theory, Matthew Sweet and Velvet Crush is also acknowledged.

Big Star's "I'm In Love With A Girl" from ''Radio City'' features in the soundtrack of the 2009 film "Adventureland". The 2006 tribute album ''Big Star, Small World'' includes Big Star covers by The Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Gin Blossoms, Wilco, Afghan Whigs, Whiskeytown and others. The 1987 tribute song "Alex Chilton", co-written by three members of The Replacements, was released as a single from the album ''Pleased to Meet Me'' and contains the lyric "I never travel far without a little Big Star". In 1998, ''#1 Record'''s "In the Street" was used as the theme song for the sitcom ''That '70s Show'', and in 1999, a new version titled "That '70s Song (In the Street)" was recorded by Cheap Trick for the show. "That '70s Song" and Big Star's own "September Gurls" are included on the 1999 album ''That '70s Album (Rockin')'' released by the television program's producers. "September Gurls", Borack says, "was and is the sine qua non of power pop, a glorious, glittering jewel with every facet cut and shined to absolute perfection. [...] a peerless, aching distillation of love and longing. 'September Gurls' may not actually be the greatest song ever recorded, but for the duration of its 2:47 running time, you can be forgiven for believing it is."

Personnel

Alex Chilton – guitars, piano, vocals (1971–1975, 1993–2010)

Jody Stephens – drums, vocals (1971–1975, 1993–2010)

Chris Bell – guitars, vocals (1971–1972)

Andy Hummel – bass, vocals (1971–1973)

John Lightman – bass, backing vocals (1974)

Jon Auer – guitar, vocals (1993–2010)

Ken Stringfellow – bass, vocals (1993–2010)

Discography

;Studio albums

''#1 Record'' (Ardent/Stax, 1972)

''Radio City'' (Ardent/Stax, 1974)

''Third/Sister Lovers'' (PVC, 1978)

''In Space'' (Rykodisc, 2005)

''Third [Test Pressing Edition]'' (Omnivore Recordings, 2011)

;Live albums

''Live'' (Rykodisc, 1992)

''Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93'' (Zoo, 1993)

''Nobody Can Dance'' (Norton, 1999) – rehearsals and live recordings

;Compilations

''Biggest'' (Line Records, 1994) – greatest hits

''The Best Of'' (Ace Records, 1999) – greatest hits

''Big Star Story'' (Rykodisc, 2003) – greatest hits with one new track

''Keep an Eye on the Sky'' (Rhino, 2009) – box set with a live disc

Notes

References

Ankeny, Jason. [ Big Star Biography]. Allmusic.com. Accessed June 29, 2009.

Bogdanov, Vladimir, Woodstra, Chris, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ''All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul''. Backbeat Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3.

Borack, John M. ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide''. Shake Some Action — PowerPop, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9797714-0-8.

Buckley, Peter. ''The Rough Guide to Rock''. Rough Guides, 2003. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.

Eaton, Bruce. ''Big Star's "Radio City" (33 1/3)''. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8264-2898-1.

Gordon, Robert. ''It Came From Memphis''. New York: Pocket Books, 1995. ISBN 0-7434-1045-9.

Jovanovic, Rob. ''Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band''. London: Fourth Estate, 2004. ISBN 0-00-714908-5.

External links

Official site

Category:American power pop groups Category:Musical groups established in 1971 Category:Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Musical quartets Category:Musical trios Category:Norton Records artists Category:Pre-punk groups Category:Rock music groups from Tennessee Category:Rykodisc artists Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1974 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1993 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2011

de:Big Star es:Big Star fr:Big Star gl:Big Star it:Big Star he:ביג סטאר pt:Big Star ru:Big Star sv:Big Star uk:Big Star

Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kenneth Arnold Chesney
Birth date	March 26, 1968
Origin	Luttrell, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument	vocals, guitar, bass
Height	5'7.5" (1.71 m)
Genre	Country
Occupation	singer-songwriter
Years active	1993–present
Label	Capricorn, BNA
Associated acts	Buddy Cannon, George Strait, Dave Matthews, Uncle Kracker, Gretchen Wilson
Website	Official website }}

Kenneth Arnold "Kenny" Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, 20 of which climbed to the top of the charts.

Over the life of his career, Chesney has been honored with numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA), American Music Awards (AMA), Country Music Television (CMT), Billboard Music Awards (BMA), People's Choice Awards (PCA), and the French Country Music Awards (FCMA).

Chesney recently produced and co-directed a film for ESPN, "The Boys Of Fall". Chesney has received six Academy of Country Music awards (including four consecutive Entertainer of the Year Awards from 2005 to 2008), as well as six Country Music Association awards. He is one of the most popular touring acts in country music, regularly selling out the venues at which he performs. His 2007 ''Flip-Flop Summer Tour'' was the highest-grossing country road trip of the year.

The Country Music Association honored Chesney with the Entertainer of the Year award in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Other notable awards include the Academy of Country Music's 1997 New Male Vocalist of the Year, 2002 Top Male Vocalist of the Year, and the Triple Crown Award in 2005. He was awarded his fourth consecutive Entertainer of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music on May 18, 2008.

Early life

Chesney was born on March 26, 1968, in Knoxville, Tennessee at St. Mary's Medical Center and raised in Luttrell, Tennessee, better known as the home of Chet Atkins. He is the son of David Chesney, a former elementary school teacher, and Karen Chandler, a hair stylist in the Knoxville area. Chesney has one sibling, a younger sister named Jennifer Chandler. In 1986 Chesney graduated from Gibbs High School where he played baseball and football. Chesney received his first guitar for Christmas and began teaching himself to play. Chesney studied advertising at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City TN, where he was a member of the ETSU Bluegrass Program and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. In 1989 Chesney recorded a self-released demo album at Classic Recording Studio in Bristol, Virginia. He sold 1,000 copies while performing at the local clubs in Johnson City and used the money from album sales to help buy a new guitar. Chesney graduated from East Tennessee State in December 1990 with a degree in advertising. After graduation he headed to Nashville and performed at several local clubs. He became the resident performer at The Turf, a honky tonk bar in the city's historic district.

Career and awards

''Signing first publishing and record deals''

In 1992, the head of publisher/writer relations at BMI, Clay Bradley, recommended Chesney to his friend at Opryland Music Group, Troy Tomlinson, by saying: "I met this kid today from East Tennessee. He’s a good singer, a good songwriter, and more than anything, I think you’re going to really like him as a person.” For the audition for Tomlinson, Chesney performed five songs. Tomlinson's reaction was enthusiastic, later telling HitQuarters:

"First of all I was attracted to the songs, because I thought that he painted great pictures in his lyrics, particularly for someone who had not been around the typical Music Row co-writes. I thought that he sang very well too. But more than anything there was a kind of this ‘I-will-do-it’ look in his eyes - I was really drawn in by the fact that he was so set on being successful in this business."

Chesney left the audition with a songwriter’s contract. An appearance at a songwriter’s showcase the following year led to a contract with Capricorn Records which had recently started a country division. He released his debut album ''In My Wildest Dreams'' in April 1994. When Capricorn closed its country music division in Nashville and moved to Atlanta, Georgia Chesney signed with BNA Records.

''In My Wildest Dreams (1994)''

Chesney's first album, ''In My Wildest Dreams'', was released on the independent Capricorn Records label in 1994. The album's lead-off singles, "The Tin Man" and "Whatever It Takes", both reached the lower regions of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The album sold approximately 10,000 copies before Capricorn Records closed its country music division later that year.

''All I Need to Know (1995)''

After Capricorn's closure, Chesney signed with BNA Records, which released his album ''All I Need to Know'' in 1995. The album produced three hit singles. "Fall in Love" and "All I Need to Know" both reached the Top Ten, while "Grandpa Told Me So" peaked at #23. "The Tin Man" was also included on this album, although it was not released as a single at the time.

''Me and You (1996-1997)''

Released in 1996, Chesney's second major-label album was ''Me and You''. Although its lead-off single peaked just outside the Top 40 on the country charts, the album's title track (which was reprised from ''All I Need to Know'') and the single "When I Close My Eyes" (which was previously recorded by Larry Stewart on his 1993 debut album ''Down the Road'') both peaked at #2 on the ''Billboard'' country charts. ''Me and You'' was also Chesney's first gold-certified album. A cover of Mac McAnally's 1990 single "Back Where I Come From" was also included on this album. Although Chesney's version was never released as a single, it has become a regular song played during his concerts. In recognition of his successful year, Chesney was honored with the 1997 Academy of Country Music's New Male Vocalist of the Year award.

''I Will Stand (1997-1998)''

''I Will Stand'', Chesney's third album for BNA, was released in 1997. "She's Got It All" was the album's lead-off single, becoming Chesney's first #1 single, spending three weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' country charts. The album's second single, "A Chance", peaked just shy of the Top Ten. In 1998, "That's Why I'm Here" went to #2 on ''Billboard'' and reached the top of the charts on ''Radio & Records'', giving Chesney his third #1 single overall.

''Everywhere We Go (1999)''

''Everywhere We Go'', released in 1999, was Chesney's fourth album for BNA. The album produced two consecutive #1 singles in "How Forever Feels" and "You Had Me from Hello" (the latter inspired by a line in the movie ''Jerry Maguire''). The album also produced two more hits, including "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and "What I Need to Do", which peaked at #11 and #8 on the country charts, respectively. ''Everywhere We Go'' was Chesney's first platinum-selling album.

''Greatest Hits (2000)''

By 2000, Chesney released his ''Greatest Hits'' compilation album. It included four new tracks, as well as updated versions of "Fall in Love", "The Tin Man", and "Back Where I Come From". The new version of "The Tin Man" was one of the disc's three singles, along with two of the new tracks, "I Lost It" and "Don't Happen Twice".

''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (2002-2003)''

The album ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems'' was released in 2002. The lead-off single, "Young", peaked at #2, while the follow-up "The Good Stuff" spent seven weeks at #1, becoming ''Billboard's'' #1 country song of the year for 2002. The video for "Young" was honored by CMT with the Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year awards for 2002. In 2003, ACM honored Chesney as Top Male Vocalist of the Year, while "The Good Stuff" received the award for Single Record of the Year. The following year, CMT recognized the video produced for "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" as the Hottest Video of the Year.

''All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan (2003)''

In 2003, Chesney recorded ''All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan''. The album's title track peaked at #30 on the country charts from holiday airplay.

''When the Sun Goes Down (2004-2005)''

2004 saw the release of Chesney's album ''When the Sun Goes Down''. Its lead-off single, "There Goes My Life", spent seven weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' country charts. On April 21, 2004, the accompanying video was honored by CMT with the Male Video of the Year award. The album's title track, "When the Sun Goes Down", a duet with Uncle Kracker, was also a #1 single. The video from the third single from the album, "I Go Back", was honored on April 11, 2005, with the Male Video of the Year by Country Music Television.

''When the Sun Goes Down'' was honored with the 2004 CMA award for Album of the Year, while Chesney was honored as the Entertainer of the Year. He was also presented with the American Music Award's 2004 Artist of the Year award.

''Be as You Are'' and ''The Road and the Radio (2005-2006)''

In January 2005, Chesney released the album ''Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair)'', supporting the album with his ''Somewhere in the Sun Tour''.

In the spring of 2005, Chesney was honored with the prestigious Triple-Crown Award presented by the Academy of Country Music. This award was presented after Chesney's 2004 Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award was combined with 1997's New Male Vocalist of the Year award and 2003's Top Male Vocalist of the Year award. The following year, on May 23, 2006, Chesney was honored with his second Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Chesney released his second album of the year in November, ''The Road and the Radio'', producing three #1 singles. "Living in Fast Forward", "Summertime", and "Beer in Mexico" all hit #1, while "Who You'd Be Today" and "You Save Me" broke the Top Five.

''Live: Live Those Songs Again (2006)''

''Live: Live Those Songs Again'' is Chesney's first live album. Released on September 19, 2006 on BNA Records, the album includes live renditions of 15 songs, including 11 singles. "Live Those Songs", "Never Gonna Feel Like That Again", "On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful", and "Back Where I Come From" were never released by Chesney as singles, while "Back Where I Come From" had been released as a single from Mac McAnally's 1990 album ''Simple Life''.

Collaborations

Chesney, along with Tim McGraw, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's single "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album ''For the Love''. The official single version, featuring only Lawrence's vocals, was released in August 2006, but did not reach the Top 40 on the country charts until January 2007, when ''For the Love'' was released. After the album's release, the version with McGraw and Chesney began receiving significant airplay, helping to boost the single to #1 on the country charts. The song became Lawrence's first #1 single in 11 years, as well as the second-slowest climbing #1 single in the history of the ''Billboard'' music charts.

Chesney also co-wrote Rascal Flatts' 2007 single along with Neil Thrasher and Wendell Mobley, "Take Me There", which served as the lead-off single to their album ''Still Feels Good''.

Chesney also recorded a duet with Reba McEntire on her #1 2007 album, ''Reba: Duets''. "Every Other Weekend" peaked at #15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart and #104 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The album has sold 2.1 million copies world-wide and is certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million. "Every Other Weekend" was the final single from the album.

''Super Hits (2007)''

On November 7, 2007 Chesney was named the CMA Entertainer of the Year for the third time in four years. The following week, on November 15, 2007, the compilation ''Super Hits'' album was released as part of Sony BMG's ''Super Hits'' series.

''Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (2007-2008)''

On September 11, 2007, Chesney released the album ''Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates''. The album represented a move to a more gulf and western sound with a number of "breezy, steel-drum island songs." Kanye West's album ''Graduation'', as well as 50 Cent's album ''Curtis'', were released on the same day. Kanye West and 50 Cent were in the midst of a competitive sales war, with 50 Cent claiming he would end his solo rap career if West sold more albums than he did (remarks he later retracted as terms with of contract conflicted with the promise). Kenny Chesney, however, decided he would give country music a place in the competition, claiming country artists were just as popular as rap artists. Chesney came in third place in the number of record sales between the three musical artists.

The album's lead-off single, "Never Wanted Nothing More", became Chesney's 12th song to hit the top of the ''Billboard'' country charts. On the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart dated for the week ending September 15, 2007, Chesney's single "Don't Blink" debuted at #16, setting a new record for the highest debut on that chart since the inception of SoundScan electronic tabulation in 1990. This record was broken one week later by Garth Brooks' song "More Than a Memory", which debuted at #1 on the same chart, making it the first song ever to do so. The third single off of ''Just Who I Am'' album, "Shiftwork", a duet with George Strait peaked at #2 on the ''Billboard'' country chart. During the week of June 28, 2008, the fourth single, "Better as a Memory", became Chesney's 14th single to hit the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. Chesney started his ''Poets and Pirates Tour'' on April 26, 2008 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. During the introduction of his set, his boot was caught between a hydraulic lift and the lip of the stage surface, crushing his foot and causing a severe hematoma from the ankle down, with most of the damage centering in his toes. It took approximately 30 seconds to pry his foot loose as he squatted down on the stage while the band continued to play an extended introduction of the song. When Chesney finally freed himself, he stood up and kept holding his hand on his knee as he began to sing.

Chesney did not acknowledge the injury during the early part of his performance. However, he was visibly limping and seemed to rest near a drum riser while leaning over and holding his knee during the instrumental breaks of his hit songs. As he came offstage, a doctor from the University of South Carolina cut off Chesney’s cowboy boot and immediately began treating the foot injury. X-rays taken later revealed several crushed bones in his right foot.

The injury did not cause him to postpone any shows, saying "He (the doctor) told me it's going to hurt – though nothing could hurt worse than Saturday, I don't think – and they can give me something to deaden the pain when I get out there. I also have to have a doctor standing by should something give, but I'm going to tape it up, and I'm going to get out there."

On May 19, 2008, just a day after being honored as the ACM Entertainer of the Year at the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Chesney criticized the lack of choice in the producers' awarding the honor based on fan votes. "The entertainer of the year trophy is supposed to represent heart and passion and an amazing amount of sacrifice, commitment and focus," he said. "That's the way Garth won it four times, that's the way I won it, that's the way Strait won it, Reba, Alabama all those years. That's what it's supposed to represent."

''Lucky Old Sun (2008-2009)''

On July 24, 2008, Chesney announced that he would be releasing a new single off an upcoming album entitled ''Lucky Old Sun''. The song was titled "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven", and for the chart week of August 16, 2008, it debuted at #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. The album was released on October 14, 2008. "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" became a #1 hit. It was followed by a cover of Mac McAnally's 1990 single "Down the Road".

Chesney's 2009 tour was titled the ''Sun City Carnival Tour'' and featured both small and large venues in order to keep his ticket prices down. The tour included a performance at Gillette Stadium again, marking the fifth year in a row that he played at the Foxboro, Massachusetts football field.

''Greatest Hits II (2010)''

On May 19, 2010, ''Greatest Hits II'' was released with two new tracks. In February, "Ain't Back Yet" was sent to country music radio stations. The #1 hit "Out Last Night" was the lead single.

''Hemingway's Whiskey (2010-present)''

In July 2010, Chesney released "The Boys of Fall" as the lead-off single from his album ''Hemingway's Whiskey'', which was released in September 2010. The song hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 9, 2010, marking Chesney's eighteenth number one hit.

He then appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010.

The second single from ''Hemingway's Whiskey'', "Somewhere with You", was released in November 2010. The song debuted at #35 on the country chart for the week of November 6, 2010. It then hit #1 in January 2011.

Chesney produced and narrated a biographical film, ''The Color Orange'', on his favorite football player growing up, University of Tennessee quarterback and Canadian Football League hall-of-famer Condredge Holloway. The film was produced for ESPN's "Year of the Quarterback" series, and premiered on February 20, 2011.

Personal life

Chesney owns a 60' Sea Ray yacht and also has a home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He spends time in the Caribbean and includes island-themed songs in some of his work, such as those on his 2005 album ''Be As You Are''.

On May 9, 2005, Kenny Chesney married actress Renee Zellweger in a ceremony on the island of St. John. They had met in January at a tsunami relief benefit concert. On September 15 of that same year, after only four months of marriage, they announced their plans for an annulment. Zellweger cited fraud as the reason in the related papers, but after media scrutiny of her use of the word "fraud", she qualified the use of the term, stating it was "simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character". Chesney later suggested the failure of his marriage was due to "panic" from the intense media scrutiny surrounding it. In an interview by 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper, Chesney commented on the failed marriage. "The only fraud that was committed was me thinking that I knew what it was like…that I really understood what it was like to be married, and I really didn't." The annulment was finalized in late December 2005. Kenny Chesney's family still resides in east Tennessee.

Philanthropy

Chesney's most recent charity work includes working with the V Foundation. Founded by the late Jim Valvano, the V Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer. Valvano, former coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack Basketball team, died on April 28, 1993 following a year-long battle with cancer.

In 1998, Chesney recorded a limited-edition single titled "Touchdown Tennessee". The single was a tribute to John Ward, a former broadcaster for the University of Tennessee Volunteers' football team; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the John Ward Scholarship Fund received a portion of the single's sales.

Tours

Chesney has won the Billboard Touring Award for Top Package Tour four consecutive years between 2005 and 2008.

Greatest Hits Tour 2001

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems Tour 2002

Margaritas N' Senorita's Tour 2003

Guitars, Tiki Bars & A Whole Lotta Love Tour 2004(w/Rascal Flatts)

Somewhere In The Sun Tour 2005 (w/Gretchen Wilson, Uncle Kracker, Pat Green)

The Road & The Radio Tour 2006 (w/ Dierks Bentley & others)

Flip-Flop Summer Tour 2007 (w/ Brooks & Dunn, Sugarland, Sara Evans & Pat Green)

The Poets & Pirates Tour 2008 (w/ Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan & Sammy Hagar)

Sun City Carnival Tour 2009 (w/ Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum & Montgomery Gentry)

2010 With A Two Tour 2010 (Festivels)

Goin' Coastal Tour 2011 (w/ Zac Brown Band, Uncle Kracker & Billy Currington)

Discography

;Studio Albums

1994: ''In My Wildest Dreams''

1995: ''All I Need to Know''

1996: ''Me and You''

1997: ''I Will Stand''

1999: ''Everywhere We Go''

2002: ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems''

2003: ''All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan''

2004: ''When the Sun Goes Down''

2005: ''Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair)''

2005: ''The Road and the Radio''

2007: ''Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates''

2008: ''Lucky Old Sun''

2010: ''Hemingway's Whiskey''

;Compilation albums

2000: ''Greatest Hits

2006: ''Live: Live Those Songs Again

2008: ''Super Hits''

2009: ''Greatest Hits II

Awards

1997 ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year

2002 CMT Male Video of the Year: Young

2002 CMT Video of the Year: Young

2003 ACM Single Record of the Year: The Good Stuff

2003 ACM Top Male Vocalist of the Year

2004 AMA Artist of the Year

2004 CMA Entertainer of the Year

2004 CMA Album of the Year: When The Sun Goes Down

2004 CMT Hottest Video of the Year: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems

2004 CMT Male Video of the Year: There Goes My Life

2005 ACM Entertainer of the Year

2005 ACM Triple Crown Winner

2005 CMT Male Video of the Year: I Go Back

2006 CMA Entertainer of the Year

2006 ACM Entertainer of the Year

2006 CMT Male Video of the Year: Who You Be Today

2006 BMA Best Male Country Artist

2006 BMA Best Country Artist

2007 CMT Male Video of the Year: You Save Me

2007 PCA Favorite Male Singer

2007 ACM Entertainer of the Year

2007 CMA Musical Event of the Year: Find Out Who Your Friends Are

2007 CMA Entertainer of the Year

2008 ACM Entertainer of the Year

2008 ACM Vocal Event of the Year: Find Out Who Your Friends Are

2008 FACM Best Duo of the Year: Every Other Weekend

2008 CMA Entertainer of the Year

See also

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Official Website

Official Film Website for Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D

Kenny Chesney : News : 2010 With A Two Tour 2010 Tickets

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:BNA Records artists Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:East Tennessee State University alumni Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:LGBT Musicians from the United States

pdc:Kenny Chesney de:Kenny Chesney es:Kenny Chesney fr:Kenny Chesney it:Kenny Chesney nl:Kenny Chesney no:Kenny Chesney pt:Kenny Chesney ru:Чесни, Кенни simple:Kenny Chesney fi:Kenny Chesney sv:Kenny Chesney

name	Alex Chilton
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	William Alexander Chilton
born	December 28, 1950 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
died	March 17, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
instrument	Guitar, vocals
genre	Rock 'n' roll, power pop, proto-punk, hard rock, blue-eyed soul, indie rock
occupation	Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer
years active	1966–2010
associated acts	Box Tops, Big Star, Tav Falco's Panther Burns
spouse	Laura Chilton }}

William Alexander "Alex" Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was not repeated in later years with Big Star and in his indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew a loyal following in the indie and alternative music fields, and is often cited as an influence by many mainstream rock artists and bands.

Early life and career

Chilton grew up in a musical family; his father, Sidney Chilton, was a jazz musician. A local band recruited the teenager in 1966 as their lead singer after learning of the popularity of his vocal performance at a talent show at Memphis' Central High School; this band was The Devilles, later renamed Box Tops. The new group recorded with Chips Moman and producer/songwriter Dan Penn at American Sound Studio and Muscle Shoals' FAME Studios.

As lead singer for the Box Tops, Chilton enjoyed at the age of 16 a number-one international hit, "The Letter." The Box Tops went on to have several other major chart hits, including "Neon Rainbow" (1967), "Cry Like a Baby" (1968), and "Soul Deep" (1969). Aside from the hits "The Letter", "Neon Rainbow" and "Soul Deep", all written by Wayne Carson Thompson, many of the group's songs were written by Penn, Moman, Spooner Oldham and other top area songwriters, with Chilton occasionally contributing a song. By late 1969, only Chilton and guitarist Gary Talley remained from the original group, and newer additions replaced the members who had departed. The group decided to disband and pursue independent careers in February 1970.

Chilton then began performing as a solo artist, maintaining a working relationship with Penn for demos. During this period he began learning guitar by studying the styles of guitarists like Stax Records great Steve Cropper, recording his own material in 1970 at Ardent Studios with local musicians like producer Terry Manning and drummer Richard Rosebrough, and producing a few local blues-rock acts. His 1970 recordings and productions from that time frame were released years later in the 1980s and 1990s on albums like ''Lost Decade'' (New Rose Records) and ''1970'' (Ardent Records).

1970s career

After a period in New York City, during which Chilton worked on his guitar technique and singing style (some of which was believed to have been influenced by a chance meeting with Roger McGuinn at a friend's apartment in New York, when Chilton was impressed with McGuinn's singing and playing), Chilton returned to Memphis in 1971 and co-founded the power-pop group Big Star, with Chris Bell, recording at engineer John Fry's Ardent Studios. Chilton and Bell co-wrote "In The Street" for Big Star's first album ''#1 Record'', a track later known as the theme song of ''That '70s Show''.

The group's recordings met little commercial success but established Chilton's reputation as a rock singer and songwriter; later alternative music bands like R.E.M. would praise the group as a major influence. During this period he also occasionally recorded with Rosebrough as a group they called The Dolby Fuckers; some of their studio experimentation was included on Big Star's album ''Radio City'', including the recording of "Mod Lang." Rosebrough would occasionally work with Chilton on later recordings, including Big Star's ''Third'' album and Chilton's 1975 solo record ''Bach's Bottom''.

Moving back to New York in 1977, Chilton performed as "Alex Chilton and the Cossacks" with a lineup that included Chris Stamey (later of The dB's) and Richard Lloyd of Television at venues like CBGB, releasing an influential solo single, "Bangkok" (b/w a cover of the Seeds' "Can't Seem to Make You Mine"), in 1978. This period learning from the New York CBGB scene marked the beginning of a key change for Chilton's personal musical interests away from multi-layered pop studio recording standards toward a looser, animated punk performance style often recorded in one take and featuring fewer overdubs. There he made the acquaintance of punk rockabilly band the Cramps. He brought them to Memphis, where he produced the songs that would appear on their ''Gravest Hits'' EP and their ''Songs the Lord Taught Us'' LP.

In 1979, Chilton released, in a limited edition of 500 copies, an album called ''Like Flies on Sherbert'', produced by Chilton with Jim Dickinson at Phillips Recording and Ardent Studios, which featured his own interpretations of songs by artists as disparate as the Carter Family, Jimmy C. Newman, Ernest Tubb, and KC and the Sunshine Band, along with several originals. While criticized by some as a druggy mess, this album is considered by many to be a lo-fi masterpiece. ''Sherbert'', which included backing work by Memphis musicians including Rosebrough, Memphis drummer Ross Johnson, and Lesa Aldridge, has since been reissued several times. Beginning in 1979 Chilton also co-founded, played guitar with, and produced some albums for Tav Falco's Panther Burns, which began as an offbeat rock-and-roll group deconstructing blues, country, and rockabilly music.

1980s onwards

Chilton moved to New Orleans in the early 1980s, while also touring regularly with Panther Burns and occasionally as a solo artist, as documented in his poorly received 1982 solo release ''Live in London''. After a six month span of working outside music at tree-trimming and dishwashing jobs in New Orleans, he resumed playing with Panther Burns in 1983. His new association with New Orleans jazz musicians (including bassist René Coman) marked a period in which he began playing guitar in a less raucous style and moved toward a cooler, more restrained approach, as heard in Panther Burns' 1984 ''Sugar Ditch Revisited'' album, produced by Jim Dickinson.

Immediately upon completing the recording in mid-1984, Chilton returned his focus to his own solo career. He stopped playing regular gigs with Panther Burns and took with him the group's bassist, Coman. Chilton then formed a trio with Coman and Memphis jazz drummer Doug Garrison. The trio immediately began touring intensely and recording at Ardent Studios, releasing in 1985 an EP, ''Feudalist Tarts'', that featured his versions of songs by Carla Thomas, Slim Harpo, and Willie Tee, and releasing in 1986 ''No Sex''. The latter EP contained three originals, including the extended mood piece, "Wild Kingdom," a song highlighting Coman's jazz-oriented, improvisational bass interplay with Chilton.

During this period, in his recordings Chilton began frequently to use a horn section consisting of Memphis veteran jazz performers Fred Ford, Jim Spake, and Nokie Taylor to imbue the soul-oriented pieces among his repertoire with a postmodern, minimalist jazz feel that distinguished his interpretative approach from that of a simple soul revivalist style. Chilton forged a new direction for his solo work, eschewing effects and blending soul, jazz, country, rockabilly and pop. Coman left Chilton's solo trio at the end of 1986 to pursue other projects, forming (with Garrison) The Iguanas, three years later, with other New Orleans musicians; both would record occasionally with Chilton after departing.

Chilton was the subject of the song "Alex Chilton" by American rock band The Replacements on their 1987 album ''Pleased to Meet Me'', on which Chilton was a guest musician playing guitar on the song "Can't Hardly Wait".

Chilton included on 1987's ''High Priest'' a cover of "Raunchy," his instrumental salute to Sun Records guitarist Sid Manker, a friend of his father from whom he'd once taken a guitar lesson; this song was also a standard in his early Panther Burns repertoire. Along with four upbeat originals, ''High Priest'' also included other covers like "Nobody's Fool," a song originally written and recorded in 1973 by his old mentor Dan Penn. His EP ''Black List'' contained a cover of Ronny & the Daytonas' "Little GTO," along with an original song, "Guantanamerika." He also produced albums by several artists beginning in the 1980s, including the Detroit group The Gories, occasionally producing Panther Burns albums well into the 1990s.

Touring and recording as a solo artist from the late-1980s through the 1990s with bassist Ron Easley and eventually drummer Richard Dworkin, Chilton gained a reputation for his eclectic taste in cover versions, guitar work, and laconic stage presence. Chilton recorded an acoustic solo record of jazz standards in New Orleans' Chez Flames studio with producer Keith Keller, entitled ''Cliches'', and continued with a live CD released in 2004, ''Live in Anvers''.

From the mid-1990s on, he added to his schedule concerts and recordings with the reunited Box Tops and a version of Big Star. In 1997, Chilton and original Box Tops Danny Smythe, John Evans, Bill Cunningham and Gary Talley regrouped in Memphis at Easley Studios to record ''Tear Off'', the last Box Tops album, which was only released in Europe. Chilton subsequently toured with the original group annually. Chilton also reformed Big Star, with a line-up that included two members of The Posies, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. A new Big Star album, entitled ''In Space'', with songs penned by this lineup, was released September 27, 2005, on Rykodisc. Chilton was present at his home in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and evacuated on September 4, 2005.

Death

Chilton was taken to the hospital in New Orleans on March 17, 2010, complaining of health problems, and died the same day of a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Laura, a son, Timothee, and a sister, Cecelia. He had been scheduled to play a concert with Big Star at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas on March 20; the show instead took place as a tribute to Chilton, with guests Curt Kirkwood, Chris Stamey, M. Ward, Mike Mills, John Doe, Sondre Lerche, Chuck Prophet, Evan Dando and original member Andy Hummel (who died 3 months later) joining the other members of Big Star.

Discography

Albums

''One Day in New York'' - (Trio, 1978, reissued 1991 on Art Union Records)

''Like Flies on Sherbert'' - (Peabody, 1979; Aura, 1980 UK)

''Bach's Bottom'' - (Line, 1981, remixed & reissued 1993 on Razor & Tie)

''Live in London'' - (Aura, 1982 UK)

''High Priest'' - (New Rose/Big Time, 1987; reissued 1994 on Razor & Tie)

''Clichés'' - (Ardent, 1994)

''A Man Called Destruction'' - (Ardent, 1995)

''1970'' - (Ardent, 1996) (recorded between his tenures with the Box Tops and Big Star, but unreleased until 1996)

''Cubist Blues'', with Ben Vaughn and Alan Vega - (Discovery, 1997, reissued by Last Call in 2006 with an extra disc recorded live)

''Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy'' - (Last Call, 1999)

''Set'' (Bar/None, 2000) (U.S. release of ''Loose Shoes'' LP)

''Live in Anvers'' - (Last Call, 2004)

Singles and EPs

''Singer Not the Song'' (EP) - (Ork, 1977)

"Bangkok" / "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" - (Fun, 1978)

"Hey Little Child" / "No More the Moon Shines on Lorena" - (Aura 1980 UK)

''Feudalist Tarts'' (EP) - (New Rose/Big Time, 1985; reissued 1994 on Razor & Tie)

''No Sex'' (EP) - (New Rose/Big Time, 1986; reissued 1994 on Razor & Tie)

''Black List'' (EP) - (New Rose, 1989; reissued 1994 on Razor & Tie)

Compilations

''Lost Decade'' - (Fan Club, 1985)

''Document'' - (Aura, 1985)

''Stuff'' - (New Rose, 1987)

''Best of Alex Chilton'' - (New Rose, 1991)

''19 Years: A Collection of Alex Chilton'' - (Rhino, 1991)

''Top 30'' - (Last Call, 1997)

Appears On

''Medium Cool'' - (New Routes, 1991), Chet Baker tribute

''Downtown Does The Beatles Live At The Knitting Factory 1992'' — (Knitting Factory Works, 1992)

''The Weedkiller's Daughter'' — (John & Mary, 1993)

''See My Friends'' — (Ray Davies, 2010)

References

External links

Last Call Records artist page

Box Tops official band website

Alex Chilton Biography at Bar/None Records

Big Star site from Rykodisc

Jeff the Joker's Alex Chilton, Big Star & the Box Tops: Interviews & Reviews (Archived 2009-3-13)

Rolling Stone Interview 2/2000

Alex Chilton: The Gibson Interview

Alex Chilton - Daily Telegraph obituary

Category:1950 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American record producers Category:Songwriters from Tennessee Category:Musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Protopunk musicians Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Big Star members

br:Alex Chilton cs:Alex Chilton da:Alex Chilton de:Alex Chilton es:Alex Chilton fr:Alex Chilton nl:Alex Chilton pt:Alex Chilton ru:Чилтон, Алекс sv:Alex Chilton

name	Salman Khan
birth name	Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan
birth place	Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
birth date	December 27, 1965
occupation	Film actor, television presenter and philanthropist
yearsactive	1988–present
residence	Bandra, Mumbai
othername	Sallu }}

Salman Khan (, pronounced ; born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965) is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.

Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama ''Biwi Ho To Aisi'' (1988) with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989), for which he won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He went on to star in some of Hindi cinema's most successful films of those times, such as ''Saajan'' (1991), ''Hum Aapke Hain Kaun'' (1994), ''Karan Arjun'' (1995), ''Judwaa'' (1997), ''Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya'' (1998) and ''Biwi No.1'' (1999), having appeared in the highest earning films of six separate years during his career.

In 1999, Khan won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended appearance in ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998), and since then has starred in several critical and commercial successes, including ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' (1999), ''Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'' (2004), ''No Entry'' (2005), ''Partner'' (2007), ''Wanted'' (2009), ''Dabangg'' (2010), ''Ready'' (2011) and ''Bodyguard'' (2011), which has become the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time. Khan has thus established himself as one of the most successful actors of Hindi cinema.

Early life

Khan is the eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan and his first wife Salma (''née'' Sushila Charak), his paternal grandfather came to India from Afghanistan and settled in Madhya Pradesh whereas his mother is a Marathi Hindu. Khan himself had once said that he is half Hindu and half Muslim. His stepmother is Helen, a former actress, who has co-starred with him in a few films. He has two brothers, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, and two sisters, Alvira and Arpita. Alvira is married to actor/director Atul Agnihotri. Khan finished his schooling through St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai, as did his younger brothers Arbaaz and Sohail. Earlier, he studied at The Scindia School, Gwalior for a few years along with younger brother Arbaaz.

Career

1980s

Salman Khan made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 1988 film ''Biwi Ho To Aisi''. His first leading role in a Bollywood movie was in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic family drama ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989), one of India's highest grossing films. It earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut, as well as his first nomination for a Best Actor at Filmfare.

1990s

1990 saw one film release starring Khan, ''Baaghi: A Rebel for Love''. The film was a box office success, followed by four hit films in 1991, ''Patthar Ke Phool'', ''Sanam Bewafa'', ''Kurbaan'' and ''Saajan''. Despite these early successes, nearly all of his 1992–1993 releases resulted in box office failures. In 1995 he starred in Rakesh Roshan's ''Karan Arjun'' alongside Shahrukh Khan.

In 1996, Khan performed in two movies, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directional debut ''Khamoshi: The Musical'', a box office failure, but critically acclaimed; and Raj Kanwar's action hit ''Jeet''. He had two releases in 1997: ''Judwaa'' and ''Auzaar''. The former was a comedy directed by David Dhawan where he played a dual role of twins separated at birth.

Khan worked in five different films in 1998, his first release being the comedy ''Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' opposite Kajol, one of the biggest commercial successes of that year. This was followed by the moderately successful drama ''Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai''. and ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'', which earned another Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare.

2000s

In 2000, Khan acted in films including ''Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega'' and ''Chori Chori Chupke Chupke''. ''Chori Chori Chupke Chupke'' addressed the issue of surrogate childbirth; Khan played the role of a rich industrialist, who hires a surrogate mother after his wife becomes infertile. Critics noted his turn towards a more serious role, which reportedly had more substance in comparison to his previous roles. In 2002 he starred in the delayed release ''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam''.

For ''Tere Naam'', (2003) Taran Adarsh said of him, "Salman Khan is exceptional in a role that fits him to the T. He breathes fire in sequences that demand uneasiness. But beneath the tough exterior lies a vulnerable person and this facet in particular comes to the fore in the latter reels. His emotional outbursts are splendid..." He subsequently continued his success at the box office, with comedies like ''Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'' (2004) and ''No Entry'' ''(2005)''. He next appeared in the Hollywood movie, ''Marigold: An Adventure in India'' which told the love story of an Indian man and an American woman.

Khan starred in three films throughout 2008, all of which underperformed.

Khan hosted the second season of ''10 Ka Dum'' in year 2009 which turned out to be even more successful than his first season as host of the game show in year 2008. The show got very high TRPs for Sony Entertainment Television and according to reports, the show helped Sony TV regain its third position in the Indian television ratings.

Khan's first film of 2009, ''Wanted'' directed by choreographer turned director Prabhu Deva. In the same year, he appeared in two other films, ''Main Aurr Mrs Khanna'' and ''London Dreams''. While ''London Dreams'' doing average business, only due to the uninspiring music, but ''Main Aurr Mrs Khanna'' made 21 crores through DTH Premiere.

2010s

Khan's first release of 2010 was Anil Sharma's commercially and critically unsuccessful film ''Veer''. His next release, ''Dabangg'', was produced by his brother Arbaaz Khan, and released on 10 September 2010. It made a record opening at the box office and Box Office India declared it an all-time blockbuster. For his performance in ''Dabangg'', Khan received a Star Screen Award for Best Actor and a Stardust Award for Star of the Year – Male and was nominated for his sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Anupama Chopra from NDTV wrote about his performance, "It's the role of a lifetime and Salman Khan bites into it like a starving man devours a feast. He inhabits it fully, strutting and swaggering and even, spoofing himself." Khan's first release of 2011 was ''Ready'' which released on 3 June. The film broke several box office records and is currently the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. He next appeared in ''Bodyguard''. Upon release, the film Became a Blockbuster at the box office, with Khan's performance receiving favourable comments from critics and is currently the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time.

Personal life

In 2004, he was voted seventh-best-looking man in the world and the best looking man in India by ''People'' magazine, US. Khan has been involved in several charities during his career.

On 11 October 2007, Khan accepted an offer from Madame Tussauds wax museum in London to have a wax replica made of himself. His life-size wax figure was installed there on 15 January 2008, making him the fourth Indian actor to have been replicated as a wax statue in the museum.

Khan has been the subject of several controversies, including certain legal troubles. On 28 September 2002, Khan was arrested for rash and negligent driving. His car had run into a bakery in Mumbai; one person who was sleeping on the pavement outside the bakery died and three others were injured in the mishap. Charges of culpable homicide were laid against him, but later dropped, and he was found not guilty. On 17 February 2006, Khan was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting the Chinkara, an endangered species. The sentence was stayed by a higher court during appeal. On 10 April 2006, he was handed a five year jail term and remanded to Jodhpur jail until 13 April when he was granted bail.

On September 2010, Khan was reported to have claimed during an interview to a Pakistani channel that the 26/11 attacks were hyped because the "elite" were targeted. During the interview the actor had said - "''It was the elite that was targeted this time. Five star hotels and all. So they panicked. Then they got up and spoke about it. My question is why not before. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much."'' Khan also said that Pakistan was not to be blamed for it, and that the Indian security forces had failed. Khan's comments had drawn strong reactions from Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Chagan Bhujbal, Shiv Sena, BJP and other political parties. The comments were also condemned by Ujwal Nikam, Special Prosecutor in the 26/11 trial. Khan later apologised for his comments.

His relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai was a well publicised topic in the Indian media. After their break-up in March 2002, Rai accused him of harassing her. She claimed that Khan had not been able to come to terms with their break-up and was hounding her; her parents lodged a complaint against him. In 2005, news outlets released what was said to be an illicit copy of a mobile phone call recorded in 2001 by the Mumbai police. It appeared to be a call in which he threatened Rai, in an effort to force her to appear at social events held by Mumbai crime figures. The call featured boasts of connections to organised crime and derogatory comments about other actors. However, the alleged tape was tested in the government's Forensic lab in Chandigarh, which concluded that it was fake.

After years of speculations, actress Katrina Kaif admitted in an 2011 interview for a magazine that she was in a serious relationship with Salman Khan for several years, which ended in 2010.

In August 2011 he admitted he suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, a facial nerve disorder commonly known as the suicide disease. In an interview he said that he has been quietly suffering it for the past seven years, but now the pain’s become unbearable. It has even affected his voice, making it much harsher.

Non film work

Khan has started an NGO called 'Being Human' which will sell T-shirts and other products online and in stores. A portion of the sales will go to a worthy cause supporting the underprivileged.

In January 2012, Khan has offered to pay for releasing around 400 prisoners from around 63 prisons in the state of Uttar Pradesh via his NGO. The prisoners had completed their term but due to economical reasons, they were unable to pay a legal fine for their charges.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Actor

! Year	! Title	! Role	Other notes
1988	''Biwi Ho To Aisi''	Vicky Bhandari
1989	''Maine Pyar Kiya''	Prem Choudhary	Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1990	''Baaghi: A Rebel for Love''	Saajan Sood
1991	''Sanam Bewafa''	Salman Khan
1991	''Patthar Ke Phool''	Inspector Suraj
1991		Akash Singh
1991		Prithvi
1991	''Saajan''	Akash Varma
1992		Vicky/Suryavanshi Vikram Singh
1992	''Ek Ladka Ek Ladki''	Raja
1992	''Jaagruti''	Jugnu
1992	''Nishchaiy''	Rohan Yadav/Vasudev Gujral
1993	''Chandra Mukhi''	Raja Rai
1993	''Dil Tera Aashiq''	Vijay
1994	''Andaz Apna Apna''	Prem Bhopali
1994	''Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...!''	Prem
1994	''Chaand Kaa Tukdaa''	Shyam Malhotra
1994	''Sangdil Sanam''	Kishan
1995	''Karan Arjun''	Karan Singh/Ajay	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1995	''Veergati''	Ajay
1996	''Majhdhaar''	Gopal
1996	''Khamoshi: The Musical''	Raj
1996		Raju	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1996	''Dushman Duniya Ka''		Special appearance
1997	''Judwaa''	Raja/Prem Malhotra
1997	''Auzaar''	Inspector Suraj Prakash
1997		Captain Jeet Sharma	Incomplete film
1997	''Deewana Mastana''	Prem Kumar	Special appearance
1998		Suraj Khanna	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1998	''Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai''	Suraj Dhanrajgir
1998			Special appearance
1998		Raju
1998	''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai''	Aman Mehra	Extended guest appearanceFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1999	''Jaanam Samjha Karo''	Rahul
1999	''Biwi No.1''	Prem	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
1999	''Sirf Tum''	Prem	Special appearance
1999	''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam''	Sameer Rafillini	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1999		Hero
1999	''Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United''	Prem
2000	''Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge''	Raja Oberoi
2000	''Chal Mere Bhai''	Prem Oberoi
2000	''Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega''	Raj/Romi
2000	''Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke''		Special appearance
2000		Prem Kapoor
2001	''Chori Chori Chupke Chupke''	Raj Malhotra
2002	''Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge''	Veer Singh Thakur/Ali
2002	''Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam''	Suraj
2002	''Yeh Hai Jalwa''	Raj 'Raju' Saxena/Raj Mittal
2003	''Love at Times Square''		Special appearance
2003			Special appearance
2003	''Tere Naam''	Radhe Mohan	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2003		Alok Raj	Special appearanceNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2004	''Garv: Pride and Honour''	Inspector Arjun Ranavat
2004	''Mujhse Shaadi Karogi''	Sameer Malhotra
2004	''Phir Milenge''	Rohit Manchanda	Extended guest appearance
2004	''Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa''	Rishabh
2005	''Lucky: No Time for Love''	Aditya
2005	''Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?''	Dr. Samir Malhotra
2005	''No Entry''	Prem	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role
2005	''Kyon Ki''	Anand
2006	''Saawan... The Love Season''	Sameer Sam	Extended guest appearance
2006	''Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar''	Ayaan
2006	''Jaan-E-Mann''	Suhaan Kapoor
2006		Avinash Kapoor
2007	''Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love''	Rahul
2007		Prem Love Guru
2007	''Marigold: An Adventure in India''	Prem	English language film
2007	''Om Shanti Om''	Himself	Special appearance in song "Deewangi Deewangi"
2007	''Saawariya''	Imaan	Extended guest appearance
2008	''God Tussi Great Ho''	Arun Prajapati
2008		Chetan Bhagat	Special appearance
2008		Balkar Singh/Jassvinder Singh
2008	''Yuvvraaj''	Deven Yuvvraaj
2009		Radhe/Rajveer Shikhawat
2009	''Main Aurr Mrs Khanna''	Samir Khanna
2009	''London Dreams''	Mannu (Manjit Khosla)
2009	''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani''	Himself	Special appearance
2010		Veer
2010	''Prem Kaa Game''	The Sutradhaar (Narrator)	Special appearance
2010	''Dabangg''	Inspector Chulbul Pandey(Robinhood Pandey)	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2010	''Tees Maar Khan''	Himself	Special appearance in song "Wallah Re Wallah"
2010	''Isi Life Mein''	Himself	Special appearance
2011		Prem Kapoor
2011		Lovely Singh	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2011	''Tell Me O Kkhuda''		Cameo
2011	''Do Aur Do Paanch''		Extended guest appearance
2012	''Ek Tha Tiger''		Filming
2012			Pre-production
2012	''Dabangg 2''	Inspector Chulbul Pandey(Robinhood Pandey)	Pre-production
2012	''Kick (2012 film)''		Announced

Television presenter

''10 Ka Dum'' (Seasons 1 & 2)

''Bigg Boss'' (Seasons 4 & 5)

Writer

''Baaghi: A Rebel for Love'' (1990)

''Veer'' (2010)

Producer

''Chillar Party'' (2011)

See also

List of Indian Actors

List of people from Madhya Pradesh

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1965 births Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian television presenters Category:People from Indore Category:Hindi film actors Category:Living people Category:Scindia School alumni Category:Bigg Boss Category:Indian people of Afghan descent Category:Marathi people

ar:سلمان خان az:Salman Xan bn:সলমান খান bg:Салман Хан ca:Salman Khan da:Salman Khan de:Salman Khan es:Salman Khan (actor) fr:Salman Khan gu:સલમાન ખાન hi:सलमान ख़ान id:Salman Khan it:Salman Khan he:סלמן ח'אן jv:Salman Khan kn:ಸಲ್ಮಾನ್‌ ಖಾನ್‌ kk:Салман Хан hu:Szalmán Khán ml:സൽമാൻ ഖാൻ mr:सलमान खान ms:Salman Khan no:Salman Khan ps:سلمان خان pl:Salman Khan ru:Хан, Салман si:සල්මන් ඛාන් fi:Salman Khan sv:Salman Khan ta:சல்மான் கான் te:సల్మాన్ ఖాన్ th:ซัลมาน ข่าน tg:Салмонхон ur:سلمان خان zh:沙萊曼·罕

Name	Taylor Swift
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Taylor Alison Swift
Birth date	December 13, 1989
Birth place	Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, ganjo, piano, ukulele
Genre	Country pop, pop, country, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress
Years active	2006–present
Label	Big Machine
Associated acts	Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose
Website	150pxTaylor Swift's signature }}

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.

In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In November 2008, Swift released her second album, ''Fearless'', and the recording earned Swift four Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, at the 52nd Grammy Awards. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' finished 2008 at number-three and number-six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million. ''Fearless'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks. Swift was named ''Artist of the Year'' by ''Billboard'' Magazine in 2009. Swift released her third album ''Speak Now'' on October 25, 2010, which sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week.

In 2008, her albums sold a combined four million copies, making her the best-selling musician of the year in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. ''Forbes'' ranked Swift 2009's 69th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $18 million, 2010's 12th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million and 2011's 7th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million, too. Swift was ranked the 38th Best Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''. In January 2010 Nielsen SoundScan listed Swift as the most successful digital artist in music history with over 34.3 million digital tracks sold. On June 2011, renowned site The Boot named Swift and Carrie Underwood ''The Country Royalty'', as they were the only female country artists to be ranked on ''Rolling Stone'' Queens of Pop list. , she has sold over 20 million albums and 34.3 million singles worldwide. She has been listed in the 2012 ''Guinness Book Of World Records'' as the Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female Artist for her album ''Speak Now'', and Most Simultaneous U.S. Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist. In 2011, ''Billboard'' named her woman of the year.

Early life

Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Andrea Gardner (née Finlay), a homemaker who previously worked in finance, and Scott Kingsley Swift, a stockbroker. Her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay (née Moehlenkamp), was an opera singer. Swift has a younger brother, Austin. She grew up on a Christmas-tree farm.

When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem, "Monster in My Closet". At the age of ten, a computer repairman showed her how to play three chords on a guitar, sparking her interest in learning the instrument. Afterwards, Swift wrote her first song, "Lucky You". When Swift was 12, she devoted an entire summer to writing a 350-page novel, which remains unpublished. She began writing songs regularly and used it as an outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Swift was a victim of bullying, and spent her time writing songs to express her emotions. She also started performing at local karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs.

Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, Tennessee, and work with local songwriters. When she was 14, her family relocated to Nashville. Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg Fair. In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School, but was subsequently homeschooled for her junior and senior years. In 2008, she earned her high school diploma.

Swift's greatest musical influence is Shania Twain. Her other influences include LeAnn Rimes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, and Swift's grandmother. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer, Swift's tastes always leaned more toward country music. In her younger years, she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. She also credits the Dixie Chicks for demonstrating the impact that one can have by "stretching boundaries".

Music career

2000–2005: musical beginnings

At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town, but was rejected. After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the US Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention.

When Swift was 15, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on an artist development deal. After performing at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, she caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed record label, Big Machine Records. At age 14, she became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house.

2006–2008: ''Taylor Swift''

Swift released her debut single, "Tim McGraw", in mid-2006, reaching No.6 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Country Songs chart. Her self-titled debut album was later released on October 24, 2006. Debuting high on the ''Billboard'' 200, the album sold 39,000 copies during its first week. It peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No.5 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Her debut album spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the number-one sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. The music video for "Tim McGraw" won Swift an award for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Her pursuit of country music stardom was the subject of "GAC Short Cuts", a part-documentary, part-music-video series airing since the summer of 2006. On May 15, 2007, Swift performed "Tim McGraw" at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Swift has been an opening act for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their Soul2Soul 2007 tour. She has opened in the past for George Strait, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts as well. The second single from the ''Taylor Swift'' album, "Teardrops on My Guitar", was released February 24, 2007. In mid-2007, the song peaked at No.2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and No.33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was re-released with a pop remix that brought "Teardrops on My Guitar" to No.13 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Pop 100. In October 2007, Swift was awarded Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Assn. Intl., making her the youngest artist ever to win the award. Her third song off her debut album, "Our Song" spent six weeks at No.1 on the Country charts, peaked at No.16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and rose to No.24 on the ''Billboard'' Pop 100. Swift recorded a holiday album, ''Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection,'' which was released exclusively at Target in late 2007. Swift was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse. Swift's successful single, "Picture to Burn", was the fourth single from her debut album. The song debuted and soon peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Country chart in spring 2008. left|upright|thumb|Swift performing at Yahoo HQ in 2007 "Should've Said No" became Swift's second No.1 single. In Summer 2008, Swift released ''Beautiful Eyes'', an EP sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. In its first week of release, the album sold 45,000 copies, debuting at No.1 on ''Billboard'''s Top Country Albums chart and No.9 on the ''Billboard'' 200. With her self-titled debut album sitting at No.2 during the same week, Swift became the first artist since 1997 to hold the Top 2 positions of the Top Country Albums chart. In October 2008, Swift performed a duet with best selling rock band Def Leppard in a taped show in Nashville, Tennessee, and their collaboration was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards in 2009.

2008–2010: ''Fearless'' and MTV VMA incident

Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'', was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at No.1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,304 were the highest debut of any country artist in 2008. This is also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the fourth biggest overall behind Lil Wayne, AC/DC and Coldplay. Its lead single "Love Story" became a hit on both the country and pop charts. During the first week of release, more than 129,000 of Swift's sales were sold digitally. This gives Swift the best online start for any country album in history. It also makes Swift the fourth biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004. Through its eighth week of release, ''Fearless'' has sold more than 338,467 downloads, making it the bestselling country album in digital history. In second place is Swift's debut ''Taylor Swift'' with sales of 236,046 downloads as of April 18, 2009. In its debut week, seven songs in total on ''Fearless'' were charted on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, tying Swift with Miley Cyrus for the most by a female artist in a single week. With "White Horse" charted at #13, this gave Swift her sixth top 20 debut of 2008, a calendar year record for any artist in the history of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Of the 13 tracks on ''Fearless'', 11 have already spent time on the Hot 100. "Change", a song from the album, was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA's efforts in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The song was also featured as part of the soundtrack of NBC's broadcast package of the Olympics. The lead single from the album, "Love Story", was released on September 12, 2008. The Fearless album includes the "Love Story" music video which is based on ''Romeo and Juliet''. The song has reached No.2 on iTunes Store Top Downloaded Songs and No.4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Fifteen weeks after being added to pop radio, "Love Story" also became the first country crossover recording to hit number one on the Nielsen BDS CHR/Top 40 chart in the 16-year-history of the list, as well as number one on the Mediabase Top 40 Chart. The second single from ''Fearless'', "White Horse", was released on December 8, 2008. The music video for the song premiered on CMT on February 7, 2009. Though it missed the No.1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Songs as of the week April 11, 2009, "White Horse" claimed the No.1 spot atop the USA Today/Country Aircheck chart (powered by Mediabase) in that week. "Forever & Always", another song from the album, was based on Swift's relationship with singer Joe Jonas. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at No.1 on The ''Billboard'' 200. In mid-January 2009, Swift became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs. Swift is ''Billboard'''s Top Country Artist and Hot Country Songwriter of 2008; she is also country music's best-selling artist of 2008. Swift ranked seventh on Nielsen SoundScan Canada's top-10 selling artists across all genres in 2008. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' took the No.1 and No.2 slots on 2008 Year-End Canadian Country Albums Chart. Swift sang the Star-Spangled Banner at game three of the World Series in Philadelphia on October 25, 2008. In January 2009, Swift announced her North American Fearless Tour planned for 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the US and Canada over the span of 6 months. The tour kicked off April 23 in Evansville, Indiana. In the same month, Swift made her first musical guest appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''. On February 8, 2009, Swift performed her song "Fifteen" with Miley Cyrus at the 51st Grammy Awards. As of the week ending February 8, 2009, Swift's single "Love Story" became the country song with the most paid downloads in history. Since the release of Swift's second album, ''Fearless'', she has released one new song "Crazier" for the soundtrack of the feature film ''Hannah Montana: The Movie''. At the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Swift picked up Album of the Year honors as a performer and producer for ''Fearless''. Swift is the youngest artist in history to win the ACM ''Album of the Year'' award. The Academy lauded her for career achievements including selling more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre of music, the breakthrough success of her debut album, and the worldwide crossover success of her No.1 single "Love Story". The Academy also cited Swift's contribution to helping country music attract a younger audience. As of late April 2009, Swift has sold more than 14 million downloads, as well as three Gold Mobile Ringtones. On April 28, 2009, Swift gave a free, private concert to students at Bishop Ireton High School, a small Catholic school in Alexandria, Virginia after the school won a national "TXT 2 WIN" contest from Verizon Wireless. The students sent over 19,000 text messages to Verizon during a roughly one month long contest. Swift played for about an hour during the school's field day, an annual day-long recess with games and activities. On October 8, 2009 Swift's official website announced that her sold-out Fearless Tour would return to North America for 37 additional dates in 2010.

Scheduled to perform on September 13, 2009, Swift attended the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This was her first VMA performance, where she became the first country music artist to win an MTV Video Music Award. During the show, as Swift was on stage accepting the award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me," singer/rapper Kanye West came on stage and took the microphone from Swift, saying that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time," an action that caused the many audience members to boo West. He handed the microphone back to a stunned and reportedly upset Swift, who did not finish her acceptance speech. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. Following the awards show, West apologized for his verbal outburst in a blog entry (which was subsequently removed). He was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and even by President Barack Obama who called West a "jackass" in an "off the record" comment. He later posted a second apology on his blog and made his first public apology one day after the incident on the debut episode of ''The Jay Leno Show''. On September 15, 2009, Swift talked about the matter on ''The View'', where she said she was at first excited to see West on stage and then disappointed once he acted out. She said West had not spoken to her following the incident. Following her appearance on ''The View'', West contacted her to apologize personally; Swift said she accepted his apology. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created. Swift would later perform a song at the 2010 VMA called "Innocent" which is about the incident and in the song she absolves West of his actions. On November 11, 2009, Swift became the youngest artist ever to win the Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the year, and is one of only six women to win the Country Music Association's highest honor. On the chart week of November 14, 2009, Swift set a record for the most songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 by a female artist at the same time with eight singles from the re-release of her 2008 album ''Fearless'' namely five debut new songs in the top 30: "Jump Then Fall" at #10, "Untouchable" at #19, "The Other Side of the Door" at #22, "Superstar" at No.27 and "Come in With the Rain" at No.30 and three already-charted songs that were released as singles—"You Belong with Me" (#14), "Forever & Always" which re-entered the chart at #34, and "Fifteen" (#46). In addition, the song "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls which features Swift, debuted at No.80 in the same issue. This gives Swift six debuts in one week, the biggest number of debuts by any female artist of all time. It also lifts the number of her simultaneously-charting songs to nine, setting another record for the biggest number of charting songs by the same female artist in the same week. When "Fifteen" reached No.38 on the chart week of November 21, 2009, Swift became the female artist with the most Top 40 singles this decade, surpassing Beyoncé. "Fifteen" became Swift's twentieth Top 40 single overall. "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls and John Mayer's "Half of My Heart" both featured Swift, peaking at No.40 and No.25 respectively. The two songs are her 21st and 22nd Top 40 singles. ''Fearless'' was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US with more than 3.2 millions copies sold in that year. Swift claimed both the No.1 and No.2 positions atop Nielsen's BDS Top 10 Most Played Songs chart (all genres), with "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story," respectively. She also topped the all format 2009 Top 10 Artist Airplay chart with over 1.29 million song detections, and the Top 10 Artist Internet Streams chart with more than 46 million song plays.

2010–present: ''Speak Now''

Swift released the track "Today Was a Fairytale" as a digital download on iTunes on January 19, 2010. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''Valentine's Day'', in which she made her feature-film acting debut. The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 2, becoming her sixth Top 10 and 23rd Top 40 single on that chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, with sales of "Today Was a Fairytale" more than 325,000 in its first week, Swift has broken the record for first-week download sales by a female artist. The song also debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making it Swift's first number one hit in Canada. In February 2010, Swift brought her Fearless Tour to 5 cities in Australia. Opening acts included Gloriana. In mid-July 2010, ''Billboard'' revealed that Swift's new album is called ''Speak Now''. It was released on October 25, 2010. She has written the album completely by herself in Arkansas, New York, Boston and Nashville with Nathan Chapman serving as co-producer. On Wednesday, August 4, 2010, the lead single from the album, "Mine," was leaked onto the internet. Big Machine Records decided to rush the release of the song to counteract the leak. Swift appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010. In 2011, Swift visited Singapore as the first stop of the Asian leg of her first world tour. Hong Kong is the last stop of the Speak Now World Tour and Swift will begin the European and American leg afterwards. Swift's first live album, ''Speak Now World Tour: Live'', featuring all seventeen performances from the North American leg of her concert tour, is scheduled for a November 21, 2011 release. Many dates on the Speak Now World Tour were cancelled due to Swift suffering from bronchitis and was told she is unable to perform. Swift sold approximately 4,470,000 albums in the US in 2010 (more than any other artist) and sold 9.9 million digital tracks. She was ranked second on ''Rolling Stone'''s lists of Top 16 "Queen Of Pops" of the decade. Swift appeared on the ''Hamish & Andy'' show where she performed a new song called "Chaperone Dads", which is dedicated to a select group of her fans. The week following the release of her "Sparks Fly" video Swift jumped from nineteen to ten on the ''Billboard'''s Social 50. Swift has revealed that she has already written 25 songs for an untitled follow-up album to ''Speak Now'', set to release in the later part of 2012. She commented on them, "They’re sad. If I'm being honest."

On December 23, 2011, Taylor announced via Twitter, "Something I've been VERY excited about for a VERY long time is going to be happening VERY soon." Several hours later, Taylor announced that she is featured on ''The Hunger Games'' Official Movie Soundtrack. Her song, entitled "Safe & Sound", was the first track released from the album. The song was co-written by The Civil Wars, who also co-recorded the song with Taylor. On January 8, 2012, Taylor was elected the fifth top artist (fourth female top artist) of all-time with the best-selling digital music tracks. Taylor has sold 41,821,000 million digital tracks as of the end of 2011 according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Songwriting style

Swift's lyrics are highly autobiographical; she has said that "If you listen to my albums, it’s like reading my diary." For example, the song "Forever & Always" was inspired by her relationship with Joe Jonas, while the song "Hey Stephen" was written about a boy whom she toured with in the past. "Fifteen" was written about her freshman year of high school. It has been said that her lyrics "can be tinged with acid: the quiet loner girl getting one over on the cheerleaders, or a caustic payback for the boy who dumped her." She has also indicated that she tries to write so her fans can relate to the lyrics, saying "My goal is to never write songs that my fans can't relate to." She parodied her confrontational style of songwriting during her appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''; during her opening monologue, she performed an original song that featured lines such as "You might think I'd bring up Joe, that guy who broke up with me on the phone/ Hey, Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting 'SNL'" referring to her highly publicized relationship with Joe Jonas.

The intensely personal nature of the songs has drawn her attention in the music industry. Swift once said, "I thought people might find them hard to relate to, but it turned out that the more personal my songs were, the more closely people could relate to them." Due to the autobiographical nature of her songs, some fans have researched the songs' origins. Swift once said, "Every single one of the guys that I’ve written songs about has been tracked down on MySpace by my fans." ''The New York Times'' described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country’s foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults".

Other work

Acting

In 2008, Swift made her acting debut in Brad Paisley's music video "Online". In that same year Swift filmed a documentary for MTV entitled ''MTV's Once Upon a Prom'' and a documentary with Def Leppard for CMT entitled ''CMT Crossroads'', which premiered on November 7, 2008. Swift collaborated with the Jonas Brothers in their 3D Concert Film, ''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''. The film was released on February 27, 2009 in North America and brought in $12.7 million on its opening weekend. Swift made her primetime television acting debut on CBS's ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' "Turn, Turn, Turn" as Haley Jones on March 5, 2009 in the U.S. and Canada. The episode was watched by 20.8 million viewers. Swift made a cameo appearance in Kellie Pickler's music video "Best Days of Your Life". Swift also appeared in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' credited as herself. The film was released on April 10, 2009 in North America. The television show Dateline NBC showcased an hour on Swift on May 31, 2009. The episode titled ''Dateline NBC: On Tour With Taylor Swift'' included scenes from her tour bus, concert footage, and rehearsals. Swift both hosted and performed as the musical guest for the November 7, 2009 episode of ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2010, Swift made her feature film acting debut as Felicia in the film ''Valentine's Day''. For this role she won the Teen Choice Award for Movie Female Breakout. She has been cast to voice the role of Audrey in the animated film ''The Lorax'', set to be released in 2012. In January 2012, Swift was offered the role of Eponine in the film adaptation of the musical, ''Les Misérables''.

Cover model and recognition

Swift has been featured on the cover of a number of magazines. She has been a cover girl for ''Blender'', for which she was one of two country artists during the magazine’s fifteen year run to be a cover subject. She was included in ''People'''s annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008, 2009, and 2010 lists. Additionally, she was named number fifty-seven on ''Maxim's'' sexiest women of 2008, number fifty on the 2009 list and number thirty-one on the 2010 list. ''CosmoGirl'' voted Swift as the "2008 Girl of the Year". Swift was named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as one of "The RS 100: Agents of Change". She was nominated as a candidate for ''TIME''s "2009 The Time 100 Finalists" list, which is determined by online voting. ''People'' magazine named Swift one of 25 Most Intriguing People of 2009.

Merchandise

Jakks Pacific released a celebrity doll of Swift in late 2008. Swift has been the face of L.E.I. Jeans (Life Energy Intelligence) since 2008. Swift and the L.e.i. Clothing Line made a deal to create a line based on Swift's style of dressing, which will appear in Wal-Mart in the coming months. However, Swift said she does not want to be called a designer. Instead, she says she will inspire the clothing company's dress line based on her own style. "I don't look at it like I'm branching out as a designer... It's not the Taylor Swift designer line." In 2009, Swift became the National Hockey League's newest celebrity spokesperson. She appears in commercials for the Nashville Predators.

In May 2009, Swift filed a lawsuit (kept sealed until August 2010) against numerous sellers of unauthorized counterfeit merchandise bearing her name, likeness, and trademarks, where she demanded a trial by jury, sought a judgement for compensatory damages, punitive damages, three times the actual damages sustained, and statutory damages, and sought for recovery of her attorney's fees and prejudgement interest. Nashville's U.S. District Court granted an injunction and judgment against the sellers, who had been identified at Swift's concerts in several states. The court ordered merchandise seized from the defendants to be destroyed. On July 15, 2011, Swift's official website announced that she had partnered with Elizabeth Arden to launch a fragrance, which is to be released in October 2011. The fragrance's name, "Wonderstruck", is a reference to the song "Enchanted" featured on her ''Speak Now'' album. Swift is also working with American Greetings, Inc.

Philanthropy

On September 21, 2007, Swift helped launch a campaign to protect children from online predators. She has teamed up with Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to combat internet sex crimes. The year-long campaign, in partnership with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, will distribute Internet safety information and materials to parents and students across the state. In early 2008, Swift donated the pink Chevy pick-up truck given to her by her record label to the children’s charity, the ''Victory Junction Gang''; in June 2008, Swift donated all the proceeds from her merchandise sales at the 2008 Country Music Festival to Red Cross, the ''Nashville Area Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund'' and the ''National American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund''.

Swift donated $100,000 to the Red Cross in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to help the victims of the Iowa flood of 2008. Swift has teamed up with Sound Matters to make listeners aware of listening "responsibly". Swift supports @15, a teen-led social change platform underwritten by Best Buy to give teens opportunities to direct the company's philanthropy through the newly-created @15 Fund. Swift's song, "Fifteen", is featured in this campaign. Swift lent her support to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal by joining the lineup at Sydney's Sound Relief concert, reportedly making the biggest contribution of any artist playing at Sound Relief to the Australian Red Cross. Swift donated her prom dress, which raised $1,200 for charity, to DonateMyDress.org. On November 20, 2009 after a live performance on BBC's Children in Need night Swift announced to Sir Terry Wogan she would donate £13,000 of her own money to the cause.

On December 13, Swift's own birthday, she donated $250,000 to various schools around the country which she had either attended or been involved with. Swift has donated a pair of her shoes – a gently-worn pair of black Betsey Johnson heels with her autograph on the sole – to the Wish Upon a Hero Foundation's Hero in Heels fundraiser for auction to raise money to benefit women with cancer.

In response to the May 2010 Tennessee floods, Swift donated $500,000 during a flood relief telethon hosted by WSMV, a Nashville television station.

On May 23, 2011, Taylor Swift transformed what was to have been the final dress rehearsal for the North American leg of her Speak Now tour into a benefit concert for victims of recent tornadoes in the United States southeast region. The concert in Nashville drew more than 13,000 people and raised more than $750,000 from proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise and other facets of the show. The benefit concert for tornado relief was subsequently honored at the 2011 Do Something Awards. In July 2011, Swift further aided to the cause by donating $250,000 to Alabama football coach Nick Saban's charity Nick's Kids to aid in the tornado relief efforts of West Alabama.

Personal life

In addition to her relationship with Joe Jonas, which ended in October 2008, Swift's dating history has included other celebrities: Taylor Lautner, for three months in 2009; and Jake Gyllenhaal, from late 2010 to early 2011. Swift has also been romantically linked to John Mayer. There has been speculation that the songs "Dear John" and "The Story of Us" from her album ''Speak Now'' are about Mayer. In October 2011, she revealed to Ellen Degeneres on her show ''Ellen'' that, "I don't even have, like, kind of a boyfriend. I don't have someone that I'm texting that is a guy that someday might be my boyfriend. There's like nothing going on right now."

In November 2011, Taylor adopted a Scottish fold kitten. She named her Meredith after the character Meredith Grey from the popular ABC drama ''Grey's Anatomy''. The kitten appeared in the official music video for Taylor's song ''Ours'' alongside Taylor and ''Friday Night Lights'' star Zach Gilford.

Filmography

>

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2007		Herself	Guest; Episode: Season 2 Finale
2008	''CMT Crossroads''	Herself	Episode: "Taylor Swift and Def Leppard"
2009	''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''	Herself
2009	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Haley Jones
2009	''Hannah Montana: The Movie''	Herself	Cameo
2009	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself	Host/Musical Guest
2009		Herself	Guest; Episode: Week 6 results
2010		Felicia	Movie acting debut
2010	''Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless''	Herself	Main Role
2010		Herself	Guest; Episode: 200th episode
2012	''''	Audrey
2012	''Bruno the Robot''	Various

Discography

Albums

''Taylor Swift'' (2006)

''Fearless'' (2008)

''Speak Now'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

Tours

Fearless Tour (2009–10)

Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012)

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:American child singers Category:American country banjoists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female guitarists Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:Big Machine Records artists Category:Child pop musicians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:People from Reading, Pennsylvania Category:People from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania Category:Ukulele players

af:Taylor Swift ang:Taylor Swift ar:تايلور سويفت bn:টেইলর সুইফট zh-min-nan:Taylor Swift bar:Taylor Swift ca:Taylor Swift cs:Taylor Swift da:Taylor Swift de:Taylor Swift et:Taylor Swift el:Τέιλορ Σουίφτ es:Taylor Swift eu:Taylor Swift fa:تیلور سوئیفت fr:Taylor Swift gl:Taylor Swift ko:테일러 스위프트 hy:Թեյլոր Սվիֆթ hi:टेलर स्विफ्ट hr:Taylor Swift id:Taylor Swift is:Taylor Swift it:Taylor Swift he:טיילור סוויפט jv:Taylor Swift kn:ಟೈಲರ್ ಸ್ವಿಫ್ಟ್ ka:ტეილორ სვიფტი sw:Taylor Swift la:Taylor Swift lv:Teilore Svifta lt:Taylor Swift hu:Taylor Swift mk:Тејлор Свифт ml:ടെയിലർ സ്വിഫ്റ്റ് nl:Taylor Swift ja:テイラー・スウィフト no:Taylor Swift nn:Taylor Swift uz:Taylor Swift pl:Taylor Swift pt:Taylor Swift ro:Taylor Swift ru:Свифт, Тейлор sq:Taylor Swift simple:Taylor Swift sl:Taylor Swift sr:Тејлор Свифт su:Taylor Swift fi:Taylor Swift sv:Taylor Swift tl:Taylor Swift th:เทย์เลอร์ สวิฟต์ tr:Taylor Swift uk:Тейлор Свіфт vi:Taylor Swift yi:טעילאר סוויפט zh-yue:泰勒斯威夫特 zh:泰勒·斯威夫特