b. 1 June 1981, Ravensdale, Washington, USA. This US artist progressed from early 00s independent recording artist to major label status with a series of well-crafted singer-songwriter albums.
Raised in the rural township of Ravensdale, Carlile was inspired as a young girl by country and classic rock records. She began performing on country radio at the age of eight, but it was not until she progressed to rock guitar in her late teens that her own style began to develop. Working the Seattle bar scene with a number of pick-up bands, she formed a rock group with brothers Tim Hanseroth and Phil Hanseroth. By this time she had begun to write predominantly on the acoustic guitar, and the trio’s sound altered accordingly. A series of self-released recordings under her own name followed at the start of the 00s, with the Hanseroths contributing songwriting and musical support. Carlile took the traditional independent artist route by selling the albums at live shows.
Now with a substantial grass-roots following in tow, Carlile came to the attention of Columbia Records and was added to the label’s roster at the start of 2005. Her self-titled collection was released on the Red Ink subsidiary later in the year. The benefit of a more expensive production was that Carlile’s powerful vocals were showcased to better effect, adding warmth to her brooding folk pop songs. The album was re-released in 2006 with the inclusion of a cover version of Elton John’s ‘60 Years On’ and new versions of ‘Tragedy’ and ‘Throw It All Away’. Carlile’s career had featured a boost when the latter two tracks were featured on the soundtrack of the popular television series Grey’s Anatomy.
Veteran producer T-Bone Burnett was brought in to produce Carlile’s The Story. By highlighting Carlile’s affinity with rock music, Burnett helped give the album an edge absent from the majority of contemporary folk and country recordings. The heartfelt title track earned heavy rotation on US radio and television shows (including the ubiquitous Grey’s Anatomy), helping break Carlile into the mainstream charts.
