Shirley Simms

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Shirley Simms
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Background information
Genres Indie pop
Occupation(s)Singer
Songwriter
Years active1980s–present

Shirley Simms is an American singer and songwriter known for her work as a member of indie pop band the Magnetic Fields.

In the late 1980s, before Stephin Merritt started the Magnetic Fields, he and Simms formed the short-lived musical project Buffalo Rome, who self-released a cassette during their existence. [1] [2] That same decade, Simms was a member of the Boston-based band Lazy Susan, along with Claudia Gonson and Therese Bellino. [3] As members of Lazy Susan, Simms and Gonson wrote the song "Plant White Roses", which was later included on Merritt's 2011 album Obscurities . [4]

Simms sang on several tracks on the Magnetic Fields' 1999 album 69 Love Songs . [5] She and Merritt alternated between singing lead vocals on the band's 2008 album Distortion . [6] In addition to her vocal work with the Magnetic Fields, she also sometimes plays ukulele for them. [7]

In a 1999 interview, Merritt described Simms as "the best living female vocalist other than Doris Day". [8]

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References

  1. Khanna, Vish (2010-01-22). "Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields It's Only Time". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  2. Ballance, Laura; Cook, John; McCaughan, Mac (2009-09-15). Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small. Algonquin Books. p. 126. ISBN   9781565129689.
  3. "Pop and Jazz Guide". The New York Times. 1999-07-23. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  4. Thompson, Erik (2012-11-14). "The Magnetic Fields at First Avenue, 11/13/12". City Pages. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  5. "The Magnetic Fields". The House of Tomorrow. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  6. Heaton, Dave (2008-01-13). "The Magnetic Fields: Distortion". PopMatters. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  7. Courtney, Kevin (2012-05-02). "Magnetic Fields". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  8. Kellner, Amy (1999-09-02). "Genius of Love". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2019-06-22.