Meredith Brooks

Last updated

Meredith Brooks
Birth nameMeredith Ann Brooks
Born (1958-06-12) June 12, 1958 (age 66) [1]
Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.
Origin Oregon City, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
  • producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1976–2007 (as artist)
Labels Capitol
Gold Circle
Kissing Booth Ariola
Website https://meredithbrooks.com/
Meredith Brooks's Bitch single logo. Meredith Brooks B-tch logo.png
Meredith Brooks's Bitch single logo.

Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A member of the Oregon music scene since the mid-1970s, she received international acclaim in the 1990s with her solo album Blurring the Edges (1997) and its single, "Bitch", which reached the top 10 in many countries and earned her a Grammy Award nomination.

Contents

Career

Brooks started her music career in 1976 as a member of an all-female band called Sapphire, based in Eugene, Oregon, touring and recording with CMS Records in the Pacific Northwest. Her bandmates were Janis Gaines, Cynthia Larsen, Patricia French and Pam Johnson. Seeking greater success, Brooks pushed the band to move to Seattle without Gaines on keyboards, reducing Sapphire to a foursome. In Seattle, Sapphire recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios at the same time as Heart. [2] When this version of the band split in 1982, Brooks moved to Los Angeles to develop a solo career, releasing an album titled Meredith Brooks in 1986, which saw limited success in Mexico. In 1987, she joined Charlotte Caffey and Gia Ciambotti to form the trio the Graces, releasing the single "Lay Down Your Arms" which rose to number 56 on Billboard's charts. The Graces subsequently released an album, Perfect View, and three more singles, but these did not chart, and the Graces were dropped from the A&M label in 1991. [3]

In 1995, Brooks landed a solo contract with Capitol Records. After two years, her first single, "Bitch", was released, and she was nominated twice for the 1998 Grammy Awards, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. The single went Platinum in Australia. [4]

Her album Blurring the Edges achieved Platinum sales, peaking at 22 on the Billboard 200 and 5 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was produced by David Ricketts, formerly of David and David, and he also played keyboards (among other instruments) on the album. Brooks toured in the US and Europe in 1997 and 1998 to support the album, and also participated in the Lilith Fair music festival tour in both of those years.

On March 29, 1998, in Argentina, she opened for the Rolling Stones. During her set the crowd demanded the Stones and became violent, throwing objects including rocks and tampons at the stage and bruising her eye. She appeared again the next day wearing an Argentine football shirt, but the crowd again threw things at her, so after singing "Bitch" she yelled to the crowd, threw the shirt on the ground and walked off. [5] [6]

Brooks (center) performing at Lilith Fair in 1999 Elisabeth Carlisle on stage with Meredith Brooks Lilith Faire.jpg
Brooks (center) performing at Lilith Fair in 1999

In 1999, Brooks recorded her third album, Deconstruction. The track "Sin City" was recorded for the movie Snake Eyes.

In 2002, Brooks signed with independent label Gold Circle Records. [7] She worked on her fourth album, Bad Bad One . The label folded immediately after releasing the album.

In 2002, she produced Jennifer Love Hewitt's album BareNaked and appeared on VH1 Divas Las Vegas as a guest guitar soloist with Celine Dion and Anastacia.

Brooks signed a record deal with SLG Records and re-issued Bad Bad One as Shine in 2004. The track "Shine" was used as the theme music for Dr. Phil from 2004 to 2008. The instrumental remix appears as the last track on the album. [8]

In 2007, Brooks completed a children's album titled If I Could Be... She also began developing Portland-area Sony Music Entertainment artist Becca.

Brooks is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. [9]

In 2018, the song "I'm a Mess" was a worldwide chart hit for Bebe Rexha. While an original song, it does borrow some of its melody from Brooks' earlier hit "Bitch". As a result, Meredith Brooks is listed as a co-writer of the song.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsWorkCategoryResult
1997 Billboard Music Video Awards "Bitch"Best New Artist Clip (Pop/Rock)Nominated
MTV VMA Best New ArtistNominated
Best Female VideoNominated
MTV EMA HerselfBest New ActNominated
Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Artist - FemaleNominated
Žebřík Music AwardsBest International Female [10] Nominated
1998 Pollstar Concert Industry AwardsBest New Artist TourNominated
Brit Awards Best International FemaleNominated
ECHO Awards Best International NewcomerNominated
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Female - New ArtistWon
Grammy Awards "Bitch"Best Rock SongNominated
Best Female Rock Vocal PerformanceNominated
APRA Awards Most Performed Foreign Work [11] Won

Discography

Albums

TitleYearChart positions
US
[12]
AUS
[13]
AUT
[14]
GER
[15]
NLD
[16]
NZ
[17]
SWI
[18]
UK
[19]
Meredith Brooks1986
Blurring the Edges 19972230575765
See It Through My Eyes (re-issue of her 1986 debut)
Deconstruction 1999429530
Bad Bad One 2002
Shine (re-issue of her 2002 album “Bad Bad One”)2004
If I Could Be... 2007

Extended plays

Tracklist: • [1] Bitch • [2] Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) [ft. Queen Latifah] • [3] Wash My Hands • [4] I Have Everything • [5] Shout • [6] Stop

Singles

TitleYearChart positionsAlbum
US
[20]
AUS
[13]
GER
[15]
IRE
[21]
NLD
[16]
NZ
[17]
UK
[19]
"Bitch"1997
2
2
19
12
15
4
6
Blurring the Edges
"I Need"
77
28
"What Would Happen"1998
46
89
49
"Stop"
"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"1999
96
81
Deconstruction
"Shout"
"Shine"2004
Bad Bad One
"You Don't Know Me"
"Where Lovers Meet"

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Blurring the Edges is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks. It was released on May 6, 1997, by Capitol Records. Following the release of her self-titled debut studio album (1986) and her departure from the short-lived band the Graces, Brooks temporarily retired from the music industry. Uninterested in the cynicism of grunge music that reigned in the early nineties, Brooks became re-inspired to write music with a more positive message. Brooks co-wrote the album with her friend Shelly Peiken, with further songwriting contributions from Larry Dvoskin, Christopher Ward, Stan Lynch, John Corey, Kevin Dukes, and Tom DeLuca. Brooks enlisted David Ricketts to produce the effort, with Geza X helming production on a single song.

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