Elle King

Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), better known by her stage name Elle King, is an American singer, actress, and the daughter of comedian Rob Schneider. Her musical style encompasses country, soul, rock, and blues.^[1]

In 2012, King released her debut EP, The Elle King EP, on RCA/Fat Possum Records. The EP track “Playing for Keeps” is the theme song for VH1’s Mob Wives Chicago series.^[1] She released her debut album, Love Stuff on February 17, 2015.^[1] King has also toured with acts such as Of Monsters and Men, Train, and Michael Kiwanuka.

Early life

King was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, to mother London King and father, former SNL cast member, Rob Schneider.^[2] Her parents divorced and her mother remarried. She grew up living in southern Ohio, between Wellston, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. At age 9, her stepfather, Justin Tesa,^[3] gave her a record by all-girl pop-punk band The Donnas. King views this as a pivotal moment when she decided she wanted to be a musician. Around this time, she also started listening to the Runaways, Blondie, and she made her acting debut alongside her birthfather in the movie Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.^[1] Three years later, at 13, King started playing guitar, immersing herself in the music of Otis Redding, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, AC/DC (she has the band’s logo tattooed on her bicep), and Earl Scruggs.^[1] Her interest in the country and bluegrass music of Hank Williams and Earl Scruggs inspired her to learn the banjo. During her teenage years, she attended Buck's Rock camp in Connecticut, where she starred in a number of musicals. King plays guitar and banjo.^[2]

King spent her teenage years in New York City, but she has also lived in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Copenhagen. Upon graduating from Elisabeth Irwin High School, she moved to Philadelphia to matriculate at University of the Arts, studying painting and film. During these college years, she had an artistic epiphany seeing a live show where the band onstage used a banjo purely for accompaniment purposes, eschewing the bluegrass and country musical vocabulary traditionally associated with the instrument. King then began to use the banjo as a compositional tool. After college, she briefly lived in Copenhagen and LA, before moving back to New York where she currently resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn.^[1]

Career

2005-2012: Career beginnings and The Elle King EP

At age 16, she started gigging around New York City, using a fake ID to gain entry to the local nightclubs.^[1] King immersed herself in the local songwriting scene and honed her performance skills by busking around town. King was then signed by newly appointed RCA Chairman Peter Edge. Her debut single “Good To Be A Man,” was released on March 13, 2012 as a digital download and also as a 7” vinyl single. On June 12, 2012, the four-song The Elle King EP was released on RCA/Fat Possum Records. The EP was recorded in New York and was produced by Andy Baldwin and Chris DeStefano, with King herself producing a track. The EP’s lead track, “Playing For Keeps,” was chosen as the theme song for VH1’s Mob Wives Chicago series that premiered June 10, 2012 on VH1.^[1] King has been spotlighted as an “Artist to Watch in 2012” by Esquire Magazine and Refinery 29 and has made television appearances on VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live and the Late Show with David Letterman

2013-present: Love Stuff

King has played Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest Festival, as well as the Hammersmith Apollo.^[1] She has also taped her own PBS Arts In Context special for KLRU Austin at the Austin City Limits recording studio. She has toured with Of Monsters and Men, Train, and Michael Kiwanuka and has opened for Dashboard Confessional, Dropkick Murphys, Dry the River, and Ed Sheeran.

In September 2014, King released "Ex's & Oh's," which serves as the lead single off her debut album. She released the album, Love Stuff on February 17, 2015.^[1] She performed "Ex's & Oh's" the next day on The Today Show to promote it.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References