Tori Amos

Tori Amos (1996)

Tori Amos [ ˈtɔːɹi ˈeɪməs ] (born Myra Ellen Amos on August 22, 1963 in Newton , North Carolina ) is an American musician. As a singer-songwriter , she was best known in the early 1990s for her lyrical and emotional lyrics.

biography

childhood

Tori Amos (2007)

Tori Amos is the third child of Mary Ellen and Methodist pastor Edison Amos. Her maternal grandfather is a Cherokee Indian. Tori Amos began playing the piano when he was just over two years old. When she was five, she received a scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory of Music. There she was trained in classical singing and piano and aspired to a career as a concert pianist. At the age of eleven she broke off her education and devoted herself to the pop and rock music of the Beatles , Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin . At the age of 13 she got her first job as a pianist in a club in Georgetown . For the next 13 years she played in various nightclubs, with her father accompanying her as a minder for the first few years.

First album

After years of unsuccessful demo tapes, she decided to move to Los Angeles in September 1984 to accelerate her career. In 1985 she founded the group Y Kant Tori Read together with drummer Matt Sorum , which existed until 1987. In 1986 she got a recording deal with Atlantic Records ; In 1988 her first album was released with the title Y Kant Tori Read . The market strategy made her a rock musician à la Joan Jett or Pat Benatar , and presentation and music had little in common with the later Tori Amos. Y Kant Tori Read sold 7,000 copies, and the record label initially lost interest in her despite the contract.

First successes: the 1990s

Her new, very piano-heavy songs were initially not well received by the label managers; they were sent to England to see whether the new songs would have a chance with the audience. In December 1990 she was discovered by Max Hole of the Universal Music Group . In February 1991 she began her typical solo performances in England, accompanied only by the piano. Tori gradually gained an audience, and the East West Records label began marketing the “authentic” Tori Amos. The song Me and a Gun , the musical processing of her own rape, a simple a cappella recording without any instrumental accompaniment, was the first release under the name Tori Amos in 1991 and was also her first chart success.

In the same year the publication of Silent All These Years in Great Britain followed. The second hit parade brought Tori Amos back to the USA in a large-scale advertising campaign to present her album Little Earthquakes in 1992 . This album was a huge success. The following album Under the Pink was released in 1994, was able to surpass the commercial success of Little Earthquakes and brought her a top ten hit in Great Britain with the release Cornflake Girl . She produced this album with Eric Rosse in the desert of New Mexico , but it was mostly written in London. The work reflected the lives of the Russian Princess Anastasia , the writer Alice Walker and the artist Georgia O'Keeffe . Her characteristic Bösendorfer grand piano was used here for the first time, and it has accompanied her career to this day. As with the previous album, there were serious conflicts with the record label on this album; Amos even threatened to destroy all master tapes . The reason for this was that the minimalist songs were not particularly mass-compatible.

With the 1996 album Boys for Pele , she also brought harmonium and harpsichord to the stage. Amos and Rosse separated after a seven-year relationship; they were both life partners and work colleagues, as Rosse acted as their co-producer. The album was recorded in a church in Delgany, Ireland ; it has a dark sound and very cryptic lyrics. Just in time for the MTV Unplugged series, she worked again with long-time friend Steve Caton and appeared for the first time as Tori Amos "Plugged". The commercial success of Boys for Pele was limited except for the house remix by Professional Widow . A second miscarriage made Amos depressed in 1998. Musically, this was clearly noticeable on the album From the Choirgirl Hotel . On February 22, 1998 she married her sound engineer Mark Hawley, who has been responsible for the sound at her concerts since 1994. Now she not only performed with a band (Steve Caton (guitar), Jon Evans (bass), Matt Chamberlain (drums)), but also played synthesizer and piano. Accompanied by elaborate lighting effects, their concerts were now more like conventional rock concerts. The live / studio album To Venus and Back , released in 1999, bears witness to this time.

Since a falling out in 1998, Tori Amos was eager to leave her record company Atlantic Records. Her declared will not to publish any new tracks at Atlantic, ultimately resulted in the concept album Strange Little Girls . With this album, which consists exclusively of cover versions, she fulfilled her contract and switched to Epic Records . In Strange Little Girls , it's about songs that are written by men about women. Tori Amos takes the position of the woman sung about. The only single Strange Little Girl was withdrawn from the market due to a copyright dispute over the CD case. Guitarist Steve Caton was replaced on this studio recording by King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew .

After 2000

Tori Amos (2007)

Under the influence of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , her album Scarlet's Walk was created . The fictional person “Scarlet” and her journey through the United States are discussed. Scarlet's Walk had another radio hit in the United States with A Sorta Fairytale . The change in Amos' life with the birth of her daughter on September 5th, 2000 is also reflected in her music. In February 2005 she released both her album The Beekeeper and her first book Piece by Piece . On April 27, 2007 a new studio album was released with American Doll Posse . On this album, Amos slips into five different female characters: She sings as "Tori", as "Isabel", as "Clyde", as "Pip" and as "Santa". In 2008, a comic book initiated by Tori Amos, Comic Book Tattoo, Vol. 1 was released . In this book, various comic book authors deal with Amos' songs. The book consists of numerous illustrated short stories. Tori Amos contributed a foreword.

In May 2009 the album Abnormally Attracted to Sin was released . It covers the definition of “sin” and how it has often been misused to suppress people, especially women. Accompanying the album, 18 music videos were released for the songs, which should bring the listener closer to what the respective song is about. On November 27, 2009, Tori Amos' Christmas album entitled Midwinter Graces was released. According to Amos, this should not be seen as a classic Christmas album, as it not only deals with Christian mythology, but tries to include all religious mythologies.

On September 16, 2011, Amos' album Night of Hunters was released , this time on Deutsche Grammophon . The album consists of 14 pieces, the melody of which is based on a classical work. In four songs, Amos sings in dialogue with her daughter, who was ten years old at the time of the recording. The daughter took on the role of the goddess Anabelle, who conceptually holds the album together, and can also be seen in the booklet and in the video for the first release Nautical Twilight together with her mother. Amos explained that she acted like an architect while working on this album: "Sometimes I walk down the street and suddenly geometric structures form in my head and I start to hear them - it has something of acoustic architecture." For this album In 2012 she received the Echo Klassik in the Classical Without Borders Prize category .

Others

In 1994, Amos co-founded RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), the only US-wide free emergency hotline to date for victims of rape, especially women and children.

Amos trademark belongs to her Bösendorfer - wing and their penchant for high heels . Unusual and sometimes rough and provocative appearances during interviews gave her the reputation of being an eccentric .

Discography

→ Main article : Tori Amos / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1988	Y Kant Tori Read	-	-	-	-	-	First published: June 1988 Sales: + 7,000; as Y Kant Tori Read
1992	Little Earthquakes	DE65 (10 weeks) DE	-	-	UK14th gold (29 weeks)UK	US54 × 2 Double platinum (38 weeks)US	First published: Jan 13, 1992 Sales: + 2,215,000
1994	Under the pink	DE15 (22 weeks) DE	AT6 (21 weeks) AT	CH11 (20 weeks) CH	UK1 platinum (18 weeks)UK	US12 × 2 Double platinum (35 weeks)US	First published: Jan 31, 1994 Sales: + 2,390,000
1996	Boys for Pele	DE9 (14 weeks) DE	AT9 (13 weeks) AT	CH14 (8 weeks) CH	UK2 gold (7 weeks)UK	US2 platinum (29 weeks)US	First published: Jan 23, 1996 Sales: + 1,185,000
1998	From the Choirgirl Hotel	DE13 (11 weeks) DE	AT11 (8 weeks) AT	CH31 (5 weeks) CH	UK6th gold (6 weeks)UK	US5 platinum (20 weeks)US	First published: May 4, 1998 Sales: +1,150,000
1999	To Venus and Back	DE11 (5 weeks) DE	AT17 (5 weeks) AT	CH27 (3 weeks) CH	UK22 (3 weeks) UK	US12 platinum (11 weeks)US	First published: September 21, 1999 Sales: + 1,000,000
2001	Strange little girls	DE11 (8 weeks) DE	AT18 (8 weeks) AT	CH34 (6 weeks) CH	UK16 (3 weeks) UK	US4 (9 weeks) US	First published: September 17, 2001
2002	Scarlet's Walk	DE9 (11 weeks) DE	AT26 (6 weeks) AT	CH21 (14 weeks) CH	UK26 (2 weeks) UK	US7th gold (22 weeks)US	First published: October 28, 2002 Sales: + 500,000
2005	The Beekeeper	DE8 (7 weeks) DE	AT8 (6 weeks) AT	CH13 (5 weeks) CH	UK24 (2 weeks) UK	US5 (10 weeks) US	First published: February 20, 2005
2007	American Doll Posse	DE10 (7 weeks) DE	AT14 (8 weeks) AT	CH15 (5 weeks) CH	UK50 (2 weeks) UK	US5 (6 weeks) US	First published: May 1, 2007
2009	Abnormally Attracted to Sin	DE16 (5 weeks) DE	AT12 (4 weeks) AT	CH14 (4 weeks) CH	UK20 (2 weeks) UK	US9 (9 weeks) US	First published: May 18, 2009
	Midwinter Graces	-	-	-	UK97 (1 week) UK	US66 (2 weeks) US	First published: November 10, 2009
2011	Night of Hunters	DE12 (6 weeks) DE	AT22 (6 weeks) AT	CH33 (5 weeks) CH	UK27 (1 week) UK	US24 (4 weeks) US	First published: September 16, 2011
2012	Gold dust	DE48 (1 week) DE	AT46 (1 week) AT	CH95 (1 week) CH	UK36 (1 week) UK	US63 (1 week) US	First published: October 1, 2012
2014	Unrepentant Geraldines	DE15 (3 weeks) DE	AT17 (4 weeks) AT	CH20 (2 weeks) CH	UK13 (2 weeks) UK	US7 (1 week) US	First published: May 9, 2014
2017	Native invaders	DE18 (3 weeks) DE	AT21 (3 weeks) AT	CH23 (2 weeks) CH	UK16 (1 week) UK	US39 (1 week) US	First published: September 8, 2017

Soundtracks and Film Music

• 1992 Toys

In the movie Toys , The Happy Worker is played by Tori Amos. The piece can also be found on the soundtrack.

• 1995 Higher Learning - The Rebels

In addition to a cover version of the original Losing My Religion by REM , Tori also contributes the piece Butterfly .

• 1996 Twister

The soundtrack of the disaster movie includes her song Talula . The song was specially remixed for this and was now included as a Tornado Mix on the singles and the re-release of Boys for Pele .

• 1998 Great Expectations

The song Siren by Tori Amos can be found on the soundtrack of the film Great Expectations with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke .

• 2000 Mission: Impossible II

The song Carnival by Tori Amos can be found on the soundtrack of the film Mission Impossible II .

• 2000 Here on Earth

1,000 oceans

• 2003 Mona Lisa's smile

There she made a brief appearance as a singer in a 50s big band at a wedding reception and sang Murder He Says by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser . For the soundtrack, she took that song and You Belong to Me by Jo Stafford scratch.

• 2005 Snow Cake

The song Northern Lad from her album From the Choirgirl Hotel was played during a romantic scene. However, there was never a soundtrack for this film. In the credits she was not called Tori Amos, but by her real name Myra Ellen Amos.

literature

• Tori Amos, Ann Powers: Piece by Piece. Broadway Books, New York 2005, ISBN 0-7679-1676-X .
  • German translation: Soul dance. Iron Pages, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-931624-42-0 .
• Tori Amos, Rantz A. Hoseley: Comic Book Tattoo. Image Comics, Berkeley 2008, ISBN 978-1582409658 .

Web links

Commons : Tori Amos  - Collection of Images

• Literature by and about Tori Amos in the catalog of the German National Library
• Official website (English)
• Tori Amos. In: FemBio. Women's biography research (with references and citations).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sören Kittel: Tori Amos: “The NSA doesn't know any of my cake recipes”. In: welt.de . May 16, 2014, accessed October 7, 2018 . 
2. ↑ http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/escaping-hades/how-tori-amos-survived-rape/menu-id-818/
3. ↑ (she talks about it)
4. ↑ http://www.rtl.de/cms/unterhaltung/musik/tori-amos-im-interview-teil-2-1be4f-a0c2-24-927048.html
5. ↑ Homepage Echo Klassik ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
7. ↑ Sales by Y Kant Tori Read