Christine Lavin
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Christine Lavin | |
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Lavin with New Jersey coffee entrepreneur and music promoter Ahrre Maros in 2006.
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Background information | |
Born | January 2, 1952 |
Website | christinelavin.com |
Christine Lavin (born January 2, 1952) is a New York City-based singer-songwriter and promoter of contemporary folk music. She has recorded numerous solo albums, and has also recorded with other female folk artists under the name Four Bitchin' Babes. She has also put together several compilation albums of contemporary folk artists, including her latest Just One Angel, 22 singer/songwriters singing Christmas/Hanukah/Solstice/New Year's songs including actor Jeff Daniels, Grammy-winners Janis Ian and Julie Gold, and the Guitar Man Of Central Park David Ippolito.
She is known for her sense of humor, which is expressed in both her music and her onstage performances. Many of her songs alternate between emotional reflections on romance and outright comedy. Two of her more famous songs are "Sensitive New Age Guys" and "Bald Headed Men".
One of Lavin's songs, "Regretting What I Said to You When You Called Me 11:00 On a Friday Morning to Tell Me that at 1:00 Friday Afternoon You're Gonna Leave Your Office, Go Downstairs, Hail a Cab to Go Out to the Airport to Catch a Plane to Go Skiing in the Alps for Two Weeks, Not that I Wanted to Go With You, I Wasn't Able to Leave Town, I'm Not a Very Good Skier, I Couldn't Expect You to Pay My Way, But After Going Out With You for Three Years I DON'T Like Surprises!! Subtitled: A Musical Apology" is notable for having the longest known song title.[1] It is the eighth song on her 1984 album Future Fossils, and is 3:04 (3 minutes and 4 seconds) long.
In her youth, Lavin was a cheerleader in Peekskill, New York, and she still has impressive baton-twirling skills; she often ends a concert by twirling a glow-in-the-dark baton with the house lights turned off as she leaves the stage.
Lavin worked at Caffe Lena in Saratoga, New York, until Dave Van Ronk convinced her to move to New York City and make a career as a singer-songwriter. She followed his advice and accepted his offer of guitar lessons. She has lived in the City ever since.
Lavin was the original host of Sunday Breakfast on WFUV in New York City.
Lavin was a founding member of the Four Bitchin' Babes when they were formed in 1990.
In recent years Lavin has been known to host knitting circles before her shows, inviting any knitters, hookers (people who crochet), or other crafters to join her.
Awards[2][edit]
- The ASCAP 43rd Annual Deems Taylor Award for her book Cold Pizza For Breakfast: A Mem-Wha??, 2011
- The ASCAP Foundation Jamie deRoy and Friends Award, 2010
- Top 100 of the Most Influential Artists in the Last 15 Years, Singer Songwriter Magazine
- Top 30 iPod Singer/Songwriters of Choice, WUMB, Boston 2006
- ASCAP Composer Award 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006
- Singer/Songwriter of the Year, Back Stage Magazine, NYC 2001
- Honorable Mention, NAIRD Singer / Songwriter Album of the Year, 1996: Please Don’t Make Me Too Happy
- New York Music Award Folk Artist of the Year 1990, 1992
- World Folk Music Association Kate Wolf Memorial Award 1990
- NAIRD Folk Album of the Year, 1988: Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind
Discography[edit]
- Absolutely Live (1981; re-issued by Winthrop, 2000)
- Future Fossils (Philo, 1984)
- Beau Woes and Other Problems of Modern Life (Philo, 1986)
- Another Woman's Man (Philo, 1987)
- Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind (Philo, 1988)
- Attainable Love (Philo, 1990)
- Compass (Philo, 1991)
- Live at the Cactus Cafe: What Was I Thinking? (Philo, 1993)
- Please Don't Make Me Too Happy (Shanachie, 1995)
- Shining My Flashlight on the Moon (Shanachie, 1997)
- One Wild Night in Concert (1998)
- Getting in Touch With My Inner Bitch (Christine Lavin, 1999)
- The Bellevue Years (Philo, 2000)
- The Subway Series (Christine Lavin, 2001)
- Final Exam (2001)
- I Was in Love With a Difficult Man (Redwing, 2002)
- The Runaway Christmas Tree (2003)
- Sometimes Mother Really Does Know Best [Live] (Appleseed, 2004)
- Folkzinger (Appleseed, 2005)
- Happydance of the Xenophobe (2007)
- I Don't Make This Stuff Up, I Just Make It Rhyme (2008)
- Cold Pizza for Breakfast (Yellow Tail Records, 2009)