Jewel Biography
Jewel Kilcher (born May 23, 1974) is a singer and songwriter. Her birth name is spelled 'Jule,' but was changed for her entertainment career. She is better known as simply Jewel.
Biography
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Jewel was
born in
Payson,
Utah, but
spent most
of her young
life growing
up in Homer,
Alaska,
living with
her father.
The home she
grew up in
there did
not have
indoor
plumbing,
but a simple
outhouse
instead. She
and her
father
sometimes
earned a
living by
singing in
barss and
taverns. It
was from
these
experiences
she learned
to yodel, a
quality
demonstrated
in many of
her songs.
Her father
was a
Mormon, but
they stopped
attending
the church
shortly
before she
turned
eight.
Jewel
learned to
play the
guitar while
on
scholarship
at the
prestigious
Interlochen
Music
Academy in
Michigan,
where she
majored in
operatic
voice. She
started
writing
songs at the
age of
seventeen.
For a time,
Jewel was
poverty-stricken
and lived in
her van
while
traveling
about the
country. She
gained a
reputation
by singing
at the
Interchange
Coffeehouse
in San
Diego,
California.
It was at
these
appearances
she met the
band The Rug
Burns, who
she often
appeared
with. For a
time she
dated Steve
Poltz, one
of the
band's
members.
Poltz has
collaborated
with her on
several of
her songs.
It was at
these
coffeehouse
appearances
she was
discovered
by Atlantic
Records.
Jewel cut
her debut
album,
Pieces of
You, when
she was
nineteen and
it was
released in
1995. Some
of the songs
on the album
are were
recorded at
the
coffeehouse.
The album
stayed on
the
Billboard
Top 200 for
an
impressive
two years,
reaching
number four
at its peak
popularity.
Jewel is
noted for
her song's
qualities of
stark
honesty and
soulful
introspection.
Her songs
resist
categorization,
but, because
of their
mostly
guitar
accompaniment,
have
sometimes
been
categorized
as folk
music or the
hybrid class
folk-pop.
However, her
music is
mostly
recognized
as popular
music and
enjoys wide
exposure on
a variety of
music radio
stations.
Besides
singing,
Jewel has
also tried
her hand at
acting
and
writing.
The first
movie she
appeared in
was in
1999 in
Ride with
the Devil,
for which
she received
critical
acclaim.
Writing is nothing new for Jewel since she has been writing poetry most of her life. She has at least two published works. A Night Without Armor is a collection of some of her poems. Chasing Down the Dawn is a collection of diary entries and musings detailing her life growing up in Alaska, her struggle to learn her craft and life on the road.
In 2003 Jewel underwent a drastic image change with the release of her album 0304. Her video for the debut single Intuition had her cavorting in full dance numbers, often scantily clad in bras and bikinis. The song and video seemed to be intended as social commentary on the state of pop music but it left fans wondering if Jewel had in fact become what she was satirizing.
Partial Discography
- Pieces of You
- Spirit
- Joy - A Holiday Collection
- This Way
- 0304
This Jewel Biography Page is Copyright The Planets © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub