Gillian Welch first appeared on the folk scene as a young
singer/songwriter armed with a voice and sensibility far beyond her years, earning widespread acclaim for her deft, evocative resurrection of the musical styles most commonly associated with rural Appalachia of the early 20th century.
Welch was born in 1967 in Manhattan and grew up in West Los Angeles, where her parents wrote material for the
comedy program The Carol Burnett Show. It was as a child that she became fascinated by
bluegrass and early
country music, in particular the work of
the Stanley Brothers,
the Delmore Brothers, and
the Carter Family.
In the early '90s,
Welch attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA, where she began performing her own material, as well as
traditional country and
bluegrass songs, as part of a duo with fellow student David Rawlings.
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Gillian Welch first appeared on the folk scene as a young
singer/songwriter armed with a voice and sensibility far beyond her years, earning widespread acclaim for her deft, evocative resurrection of the musical styles most commonly associated with rural Appalachia of the early 20th century.
Welch was born in 1967 in Manhattan and grew up in West Los Angeles, where her parents wrote material for the
comedy program The Carol Burnett Show. It was as a child that she became fascinated by
bluegrass and early
country music, in particular the work of
the Stanley Brothers,
the Delmore Brothers, and
the Carter Family.
In the early '90s,
Welch attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA, where she began performing her own material, as well as
traditional country and
bluegrass songs, as part of a duo with fellow student David Rawlings.
After honing their skills in local open mike showcases, the duo began performing regularly throughout the country. While opening for
Peter Rowan in Nashville, they were spotted by musician and producer
T-Bone Burnett, who helped
Welch and Rawlings land a record deal. With
Burnett producing, they cut 1996's starkly beautiful
Revival, an album split between bare-bones duo performances -- some even recorded in mono to capture a bygone sound -- and more full-bodied cuts featuring legendary session men like guitarist
James Burton, upright bassist Roy Huskey, Jr., and drummers Buddy Harmon and Jim Keltner.
Her sophomore album,
Hell Among the Yearlings, followed in 1998. The years following her second release found
Welch involved in several
soundtracks (O Brother Where Art Thou, Songcatcher), tribute albums (Songs of Dwight Yoakam: Will Sing for Food, Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons), and guest spots on other artists' albums (
Ryan Adams'
Heartbreaker,
Mark Knopfler's
Sailing to Philadelphia). Following the success of O Brother,
Welch and Rawlings found themselves in the center of a
traditional American
folk revival and released their third album,
Time (The Revelator), in mid-2001. Steady touring, guest appearances, and the release of a DVD (The Revelator Collection) kept the pair busy, but in 2003 they found time to record Soul Journey, their second release on their own Acony Records label. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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