Will Oldham

Will Oldham (born December 24, 1970), better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music. After releasing material under his own name, he adopted the "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" moniker for the majority of his output since 1998.

Biography

Oldham was born on December 24, 1970, in Louisville, Kentucky. Oldham lived in Louisville until he graduated high school in 1988. After graduating from high school, Oldham briefly attended Brown University. He attended Brown University periodically amidst his career in music and film.

Music

Oldham is known for his "do-it-yourself punk aesthetic and blunt honesty," and his music has been likened to Americana, folk, roots, country, punk, and indie rock. He has been called an "Appalachian post-punk solipsist", with a voice that has been described as "a fragile sort-of warble frittering around haunted melodies in the American folk or country tradition."

I See a Darkness

I See a Darkness is an album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, a moniker of American musician Will Oldham. Released in 1999 on Palace Records, I See a Darkness is Oldham's sixth album, and the first released under the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker. The album features appearances from Bob Arellano, Colin Gagon, Paul Oldham, and Peter Townsend.

Johnny Cash recorded the title track on his 2000 album American III: Solitary Man, with Oldham providing background vocals for Cash's version.Steve Adey also covered the title track on his 2006 LP All Things Real.

Critical reception

I See a Darkness received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Samir Khan of Pitchfork Media awarded the album a rare perfect score and described it as Oldham's "consummate offering" and the "type of record that demands solitary reverence".AllMusic characterized it as an "emotional and pleasurable listening experience".The A.V. Club remarked that I See a Darkness was "wonderful" and the "most appropriate synthesis yet of Oldham's vocals and backing band". Matt Lemay of Stylus Magazine wrote that "by addressing concepts so grand with such sincerity and skill, the album is incredibly powerful under even the most mundane of circumstances".

Billy

Billy may refer to:

People

Places

Bonnie

Bonnie, Bonny or Bonne is a given name commonly used for females. It is rarely used as a male given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference. It comes from the Scottish word "bonnie" meaning "pretty, attractive" also similar adjectives like charming, beautiful and excellent. That is in turn derived from the Latin word "bonus" meaning good. This link also explains the French meaning of "bon" meaning also meaning good and also "sweet". The name can also be used as a pet form of Bonita. Bonnie is often used as a nickname or a form of endearment towards a loved one.

Cultural

It is phonetically related to many eastern traditions such as Bon in Tibet the ancient religion preceding Buddhism and the Bon Festival in Japan.

Bonnie is the main character in the Scottish folk song My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It was covered by The Beatles a year after their formation in 1961, peaking at #5 in a German chart. Legend suggests the title My Bonnie played a role in their early recognition and later success.

Prince

A prince is a male ruler, monarch, or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess. The English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun princeps, from primus (first) + capio (to seize), meaning "the chief, most distinguished, ruler, prince".

Historical background

The Latin word prīnceps (older Latin *prīsmo-kaps, literally "the one who takes the first [place/position]"), became the usual title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus.

Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps.

The title has generic and substantive meanings: