- Holiday Songs And Lullabies · 1998
- A Few Small Repairs · 1997
- Steady On · 1989
- These Four Walls · 2006
- Steady On · 1989
- Steady On · 1989
- A Few Small Repairs · 1996
- A Few Small Repairs · 1996
- Songs From Dawson's Creek, Vol. II · 1900
- Fat City · 1992
- Whole New You · 1989
- Cover Girl · 1994
- Night Sessions · 2001
Essential Albums
- 1989’s Steady On introduced Shawn Colvin to a mass audience — though, in truth, the South Dakota-born singer/songwriter had been building a following in various U.S. and Canadian locales for well over a decade. These years of seasoning may account for the self-assurance Colvin displays on her major-label debut. Her singing conveys an idealism matched with an underlying toughness, heard in both breathlessly-delivered narratives like “Another Long One” and yearning confessions like “Shotgun Down The Avalanche.” The album’s title track is a believable survivor’s anthem, while “The Dead Of Night” is an ode to a fickle muse. Such tracks as “The Story” and “Diamond In The Rough” find Colvin exploring childhood memories with a pang of regret. Her robust acoustic guitar strums are accented nicely by John Leventhal and Steve Addabbo’s blend of folk instrumentation and synthesizer programming. Celtic sonic colors mix with country and techno-rock touches in pleasing ways. In the end, Steady On’s greatest strength is its integrity – Colvin’s performances ring emotionally true and leave an indelible impression.
Albums
Artist Playlists
- Muscular yet tender folk from a sensitive soul.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
About Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin’s unique but deeply rooted vocal style and penetrating lyrics helped make her one of the most distinctive artists to emerge from the ’80s folk scene. Born in South Dakota in 1956, Colvin came up on folk music and began performing professionally while attending college in Illinois. By the ’80s, she was living and working in New York City, and she became a presence on the folk circuit. A gifted harmony singer, she sang on Suzanne Vega’s 1987 breakout hit, “Luka,” which boosted Colvin’s profile. She soon got a deal with Columbia and released her first album, the Grammy-winning Steady On, in 1989. Colvin earned a great critical reputation, but her first three albums didn’t make much commercial impact. It was the foreboding but infectious single “Sunny Came Home” from 1996’s A Few Small Repairs that finally put Colvin on the pop charts: The song became a Top 10 hit and the album eventually went platinum. Since then, she’s followed her muse wherever it’s led her, whether cutting a duo album with Steve Earle, releasing covers records and holiday albums, or turning out sharply observed original tunes.
- HOMETOWN
- Vermillion, SD, United States
- BORN
- January 10, 1956
- GENRE
- Pop