Mary Chapin Carpenter Biography
21 February 1958, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Carpenter’s father was an executive for Life magazine, and she spent part of her early life living in Japan. She grew up with a love of contemporary pop hits, although her mother’s Woody Guthrie and Judy Collins records gave her some interest in country/folk music. She spent her time at home with her guitar, and her father encouraged her to perform at a talent night. At university, she achieved a degree in American Civilization. By 1986, Carpenter was a local star, winning five Washington Area Music Awards without having made a record, after which she signed to a major label in Nashville with guitarist/producer John Jennings. She had felt she should have a conventional job, but continued performing in bars, often having to sing current favourites; unsatisfied with this situation, she resolved to perform only in bars that would let her play original material. Carpenter had recorded John Stewart’s song ‘Runaway Train’ for her first album, but Columbia Records decided that it would be better suited to Rosanne Cash, who took it to the top of the US country charts.
Since then, Carpenter has made steady progress up the commercial ladder, attracting cover versions of her songs by artists such as Tony Rice and Joan Baez. A notable songwriter, she has also recorded cover versions, including ‘Downtown Train’ by Tom Waits on Hometown Girl, and the stunning ‘Quittin’ Time’, co-written by Robb Royer of Bread, from State Of The Heart. In 1991, she made the US country charts with a revival of Gene Vincent’s light-hearted ‘Right Now’. Her 1992 hit, the raunchy and self-mocking ‘I Feel Lucky’, preceded the release of another excellent album, Come On Come On. Carpenter’s complete acceptance by a country audience was sealed when she was voted the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist Of The Year that September. In addition to country rockers with chiming 12-string guitars (‘The Hard Way’ and ‘Passionate Kisses’), the album featured beautiful folk ballads including the magnificent title track. Two years later she was able to deliver more of the same with another million-seller, Stones In The Road. This time she answered ‘Passionate Kisses’ with ‘Shut Up And Kiss Me’ and complemented ‘The Hard Way’ with the equally thought-provoking ‘House Of Cards’. She has participated on tribute albums, notably with ‘Wishing’ on the Buddy Holly set notfadeaway, and a stunning performance of ‘Grow Old With Me’ on A Tribute To John Lennon. A Place In The World maintained her reputation in the country field, but also attracted a new audience as she crossed over into mainstream rock, a path she continued down with 2001’s Time*Sex*Love. Carpenter’s lyrics continue to flow without any writer’s block, but what is particularly interesting is how, together with the likes of Trisha Yearwood, Suzy Bogguss and Kathy Mattea, she has brought fresh impetus to an old and sometimes predictable genre. Her productivity is impressive, particularly as she suffers from depression. ‘Early on, I thought I was just moody, ’ she told the Daily Telegraph, ‘but I’ve learnt to accept it is a part of me.’ This partially accounts for her subject matter: drinking, divorce and bad love affairs - but she can rock with the best of them, as demonstrated by the Grammy-winning ‘Down At The Twist And Shout’.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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