 |
Cashavelly Morrison | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Melissa Diane Meredith Bickey |
| Born | March 26, 1981 Beckley, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | Americana, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, autoharp |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Website | cashavellymorrison |
Melissa MacLeod, known professionally as Cashavelly Morrison, is an American singer and songwriter.
Cashavelly Morrison was born Melissa Diane Meredith Bickey in the coal mining town of Beckley, West Virginia. She began dancing from the age of 3, leaving home when she turned 15 to study ballet at the UNC School of the Arts. She turned dancing into a professional career, which she had to quit after a severe spinal injury at the age of 20. [1] She went on to get her undergraduate and master's degrees in English and Creative Writing at Salem College and later at Hollins University and turned her creative energy towards writing prose and later her own songs. [2]
While in college, she met and married Ryan Michael White MacLeod, who was completing his degree in classical guitar. They played together guitar and autoharp, perfecting their musical style.
They recorded sparse versions of their songs at Echo Mountain studio in Asheville, NC, moving on to develop the songs with further instrumentation at the suggestion of their sound engineer. [1] [2] Melissa began to perform with Ryan under the stage name chosen by herself, "Cashavelly" being her paternal grandmother's maiden name and "Morrison" her mother's maiden name.
Cashavelly Morrison conceived her songs as an exploration of shared grief, to emphasize universal compassion for those who go unheard and unseen. She quoted Jean Ritchie as her most important influence. [3] Her songs blend together the traditions of American roots, the ballads of Appalachia, and represent a confessional gateway into loss and her deeply held values, notably the racial prejudices in the U.S. and the dire need for equal rights and empowerment for women.
Cashavelly Morrison released Long-Haired Mare EP in mid-2015. [4] Their single and its accompanying video "Pink Dress" premiered in September 2015 [5] and it earned very favorable reviews for its expressive vocals over country instrumentation [6] and also for touching the issue of female empowerment by challenging societal standards amidst a hauntingly surreal feel. [7] The next video, "Made of Sand", followed in October 2015 and also got praised for its artful lyricism and the authentic approach to expressing her truth. [8]
Her debut album, The Kingdom Belongs to a Child, released on October 30, 2015. Inspired by the tradition of Appalachian ballads, mostly steeped in Americana with hints of folk and world music, [9] it earned praise for its raw emotion, the powerful imagery it revealed and evocative melodies, [1] [10] [11] Cashavelly being favorably compared to Harriet Wheeler, Tori Amos and Natalie Merchant. [7]
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female in 1989. Her second album, Brave and Crazy, appeared that same year and earned Etheridge two more Grammy nominations. In 1992, Etheridge released her third album, Never Enough, and its lead single, "Ain't It Heavy", won Etheridge her first Grammy Award.
Lucinda Gayl Williams is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, Ramblin' on My Mind (1979) and Happy Woman Blues (1980), in a traditional country and blues style that received critical praise but little public or radio attention. In 1988, she released her third album, Lucinda Williams, to widespread critical acclaim. Regarded as "an Americana classic", the album also features "Passionate Kisses", a song later recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter for her 1992 album Come On Come On, which garnered Williams her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. Known for working slowly, Williams released her fourth album, Sweet Old World, four years later in 1992. Sweet Old World was met with further critical acclaim and was voted the 11th best album of 1992 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent music critics. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 6th on his own year-end list, later writing that the album as well as Lucinda Williams were "gorgeous, flawless, brilliant".
Jean Ruth Ritchie was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way, many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries old British and Irish songs, including dozens of Child Ballads. In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences, as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations.
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