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Meredith Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Born | Meredith Ann Brooks (1958-06-12)June 12, 1958 (age 67)[1] Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. |
| Origin | Oregon City, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1976–2007 (as artist) |
| Labels | Capitol Gold Circle Kissing BoothAriola |
| Website | https://meredithbrooks.com/ |
Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A member of theOregon music scene, she received international acclaim with her solo albumBlurring the Edges (1997) and its single, "Bitch", which reached the top 10 in many countries and earned her twoGrammy Award nominations.
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 asHeart.[2] When this version of the band split in 1982, Brooks moved to Los Angeles to develop a solo career, releasing an album titledMeredith Brooks in 1986, which saw limited success in Mexico. In 1987, she joinedCharlotte Caffey andGia Ciambotti to form the triothe Graces, releasing the single "Lay Down Your Arms" which rose to number 56 onBillboard'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 withCapitol Records. After two years, her first single, "Bitch", was released, and she was nominated twice for the 1998Grammy Awards, forBest Female Rock Vocal Performance andBest Rock Song. The single went Platinum in Australia.[4]
Her albumBlurring the Edges achieved Platinum sales, peaking at 22 on theBillboard 200 and 5 on theUK Albums Chart. The album was produced byDavid Ricketts, formerly ofDavid 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 theLilith Fair music festival tour in both of those years.
On March 29, 1998, inArgentina, she opened forthe 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]
In 1999, Brooks recorded her third album,Deconstruction. The track "Sin City" was recorded for the movieSnake 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 producedJennifer Love Hewitt's albumBareNaked and appeared onVH1Divas Las Vegas as a guest guitar soloist withCeline Dion andAnastacia.
Brooks signed a record deal withSLG Records and re-issuedBad Bad One asShine in 2004. The track "Shine" was used as the theme music forDr. 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 titledIf I Could Be... She also began developing Portland-areaSony Music Entertainment artistBecca.
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 forBebe 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.
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Billboard Music Video Awards | "Bitch" | Best New Artist Clip (Pop/Rock) | Nominated |
| MTV VMA | Best New Artist | Nominated | ||
| Best Female Video | Nominated | |||
| MTV EMA | Herself | Best New Act | Nominated | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot 100 Artist - Female | Nominated | ||
| Žebřík Music Awards | Best International Female[10] | Nominated | ||
| 1998 | Pollstar Concert Industry Awards | Best New Artist Tour | Nominated | |
| Brit Awards | Best International Female | Nominated | ||
| ECHO Awards | Best International Newcomer | Nominated | ||
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Female - New Artist | Won | ||
| Grammy Awards | "Bitch" | Best Rock Song | Nominated | |
| Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | Nominated | |||
| APRA Awards | Most Performed Foreign Work[11] | Won |
| Title | Year | Chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] | AUS [13] | AUT [14] | GER [15] | NLD [16] | NZ [17] | SWI [18] | UK [19] | ||
| Meredith Brooks | 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Blurring the Edges | 1997 | 22 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| See It Through My Eyes (re-issue of her 1986 debut) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Deconstruction | 1999 | — | — | 42 | 95 | — | — | 30 | — |
| Bad Bad One | 2002 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shine (reissue ofBad Bad One) | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| If I Could Be... | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title | Year | Chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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" | 46 | 89 | — | — | — | — | 49 | ||
| "Stop" | 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" | 1999 | — | — | 96 | — | 81 | — | — | Deconstruction |
| "Shout" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shine" | 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bad Bad One |
| "You Don't Know Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Where Lovers Meet" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
