Michelle Shocked

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Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston, 24 February 1962, in Dallas, Texas) is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose music and performances are influenced by her Texas roots, her political activism, and a self-assured style that her first major label producer likened to troubadours such as Joni Mitchell, Spider John Koerner, and Dave Van Ronk.

She is a signatory to the 9/11 Truth Statement. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

Shocked is the daughter of a carpenter and a woman who would end up committing her to a psychiatric hospital when she was 22 years old. She graduated from high school in Gilmer, Texas and received her bachelor's degree in the Oral Interpretation of Literature from the University of Texas in Austin. She was raised in a strict Mormon household and worked her way through college to pay for tuition.

Michelle's name dates back to the name she gave when arrested in 1984 at a protest called "The War Chest Tour" during the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. The demonstration challenged the practice of U.S. corporations giving campaign contributions to both Democratic and Republican parties, benefitting from political favors regardless of which party is elected. Michelle Shocked was a play on words intended to resemble the phrase "shell shocked". The front cover of one of her best-known albums, Short Sharp Shocked, shows her restrained by the chokehold of a San Francisco policeman in a front page photograph published by the San Francisco Examiner the following day.

Michelle Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes. The album was originally recorded as a field recording directly onto a Sony walkman at the Kerrville Folk Festival by Pete Lawrence, representing himself as a journalist for the UK publication "Folk Roots" and was released as a bootleg on his label, Cooking Vinyl in 1986.

Her break into U.S. national renown came with the release of her 1988 album Short Sharp Shocked on college radio rotations around the U.S., which was met with strong acclaim from listeners. On the crest of this independent momentum, her 1989 album Captain Swing in 1989 on Mercury Records was accompanied with a strong promotional push, including an MTV-aired video of the single "On the Greener Side". However, the label did not invest in further promotion, stating that she had "cut too good a deal" for herself; and after litigation following her release of 1992's Arkansas Traveler, she extricated herself from the deal, citing a violation of her 13th Amendment Constitutional right prohibiting slavery.

Starting in 2002 with the release of Deep Natural, Michelle established her own label, Mighty Sound. She re-issued expanded versions of her entire catalog, a plan made possible by having been sharp enough to retain ultimate ownership of her work when she signed with Mercury Records in 1987. The label got her work for a ten-year period. After litigation which dates back to Mercury's refusal to release a gospel record she wanted to work on, ownership has now reverted back to her. Shocked sued on the basis of the violation of the 13th Amendment (anti-slavery).

An acoustic version of her song "How You Play the Game" was featured as the opening and credits soundtrack in the DVD of the 2004 documentary film "Bush's Brain".

Shocked continues to make music as an independent artist.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Selected recordings:

  • The Texas Campfire Tapes (1986)
  • Short Sharp Shocked (1988) #73 US
  • Captain Swing (1989) #95 US
  • Arkansas Travler (1992)
  • Kind Hearted Woman (1994, with label release (on Private Music) in 1996)
  • Artists Make Lousy Slaves (with Fiachna O'Braonain, 1996) sold only at performances, now issued as CDR's and MP3's at michelleshocked.com
  • Good News (1998) sold only at performances, now issued as CDR's and MP3's at michelleshocked.com
  • Deep Natural (2001)
  • Dub Natural (2001) sold only at performances, later issued as a bonus disc with "Deep Natural"
  • Don't Ask Don't Tell (2005)*
  • Got No Strings (2005)*
  • Mexican Standoff (2005)*
  • The last three were included on a triple album packaged as "Threesome".

Mighty Sound re-released two-CD versions of her Mercury releases - Texas Campfire Takes (April 22, 2003), Short Sharp Shocked (September 23, 2003), Captain Swing (March 16, 2004) and Arkansas Traveler (September 14, 2004). Kind Hearted Woman is currently out of print and will be re-issued on Mighty Sound in 2007.

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1988 "Anchorage" #66 #16 - - Short Sharp Shocked
1988 "If Love Was a Train" - #20 #33 - Short Sharp Shocked
1989 "On the Greener Side" - #19 - - Captain Swing

Come A Long Way The Hard Way How You Play the Game

[edit] External links

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