Cat Power

Charlyn Chan Marshall, singing under the name Cat Power, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Her father Charlie Marshall is a touring pianist and blues musician. Chan's parents divorced, so during all her childhood she moved from one parent to the other or to her grandmother. Later Cat Power noticed that such traveling life was a good training for her as a professional touring musician. Failing to graduate from the high school, Cat Power started performing in Atlanta. For that period her interest in music was an amateur one as many of Cat Power's friends played in local bands. In 1992, the singer moved to New York along with musician Glen Thrasher. Thrasher made Cat Power acquainted with the local artistic circle, and she became seriously involved in music. She played with many local groups. In 1994, Cat Power was a supporting act for Liz Phair. Soon after that the artist met Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn from Two Dollar Guitar, who convinced her to record and collaborated with Cat Power for a long time.

In 1995, the debut disc by Cat Power, entitled Dear Sir, saw light. In 1996, it was followed by the Myra Lee album, which was called so in the honor of Chan's mother. Actually, both records were made on one and the same day in 1994, and the structure of the songs was strongly influenced by the experimental music. In 1996, the singer signed to the Matador Records and released the album What Would The Community Think, having Nude As The News as the lead single. In late 1996, Cat Power suddenly moved to Portland, Oregon, and later to Prosperity, South Carolina, with her that-time boyfriend. She wanted to have recreation from the scene. However, one night Cat Power had insomnia and wrote several songs before sunrise. For eleven days she recorded the full-length Moon Pix, which made her glorious in the indie-rock circles. Nevertheless, soon Cat Power announced she was tired of her material and started playing covers at concerts. Original, minimalistic and courageous interpretations of different songs by various artists – from Bob Dylan to the White Stripes – showed Cat Power as a talented cover-maker.

Discs The Covers Record, released in 1998 and 1999, featured many covers that Cat Power sang during her live sets. In 2003, the artist recorded the full-length You Are Free with her own material. The work featured her duet with Dave Grohl. In 2005, Cat Power was touring intensely. In January 2006, her album The Greatest was issued. Many of the disc support gigs were cancelled due to the singer's nervous breakdown, caused by the alcohol abuse. However, in April 2006, Cat Power came back to the scene in her best form ever. She stated that she solved her problem with alcohol. In October 2006, Cat Power became the official celebrity for the Chanel's jewelry line. Besides, her unforgettable voice could be heard in several ads, including GAP and Garnier. She also made her debut in the cinema. In 2007, Cat Power became the first female singer to get the Shortlist Music Prize, while her disc The Greatest was voted the best album of the year. In January 2008, Cat Power and her new backing group The Dirty Delta Blues Band released a collection of covers Jukebox, which again amazed the listeners with the artist's unpredictable interpretation of others' songs. A little bit later the same year, the singer prepared the Dark End Of The Street EP. It featured the songs that were not selected for Jukebox.