Liz Phair | |
|---|---|
 Phair performing live in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Elizabeth Clark Phair |
| Also known as | Girly-Sound |
| Born | April 17, 1967 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | |
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.[1] Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career in San Francisco, but returned to her home in Chicago, where she began self-releasing audio cassettes under the name Girly-Sound.[2] The tapes led to a recording contract with the independent record label Matador Records.
Phair's 1993 debut studio album, Exile in Guyville, was released to acclaim; it has been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Phair followed this with her second album, Whip-Smart (1994), which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998). Ten years after the release of her debut, Phair's fourth album, Liz Phair (2003), released on Capitol Records, moved towards pop rock, earning her a mainstream audience but alienating critics; the single "Why Can't I?" peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]
After the release of her fifth album, Somebody's Miracle (2005), Phair left Capitol and released her sixth album Funstyle independently in 2010. In 2018, it was announced that Matador Records would be releasing a retrospective set for Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville, which includes remastered recordings from her original Girly Sound demo tapes. Phair released her seventh studio album, Soberish, in 2021. As of 2011, Phair had sold over three million records worldwide.[4]
- ^ Levitt, Aimee (May 7, 2018). "How the Reader reviewed Exile in Guyville when it first came out". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
- ^ Woods, Cat (December 10, 2023). ""If you let that fear stop you it will stop you in every way": How Liz Phair made one of the 90s' coolest indie albums that has stood the test of time". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ "Liz Phair Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ^ Lucia, Mary (January 21, 2011). "Liz Phair performs live in The Current Studios". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved April 23, 2018.