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Meredith Brooks

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Meredith Brooks
Birth nameMeredith Ann Brooks
Born (1958-06-12) June 12, 1958 (age 66)[1]
Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.
OriginOregon City, Oregon, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
  • producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1976–2007 (as artist)
LabelsCapitol
Gold Circle
Kissing Booth Ariola
Websitehttps://meredithbrooks.com/

Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A member of the Oregon music scene, she received international acclaim with her solo album Blurring the Edges (1997) and its single, "Bitch", which reached the top 10 in many countries and earned her a Grammy Award nomination.

Career

[edit]

Brooks started her music career in 1976 as a member of an all-female band called Sapphire, based in Eugene, Oregon, touring and recording with CMS Records in the Pacific Northwest. Her bandmates were Janis Gaines, Cynthia Larsen, Patricia French and Pam Johnson. Seeking greater success, Brooks pushed the band to move to Seattle without Gaines on keyboards, reducing Sapphire to a foursome. In Seattle, Sapphire recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios at the same time as Heart.[2] When this version of the band split in 1982, Brooks moved to Los Angeles to develop a solo career, releasing an album titled Meredith Brooks in 1986, which saw limited success in Mexico. In 1987, she joined Charlotte Caffey and Gia Ciambotti to form the trio the Graces, releasing the single "Lay Down Your Arms" which rose to number 56 on Billboard's charts. The Graces subsequently released an album, Perfect View, and three more singles, but these did not chart, and the Graces were dropped from the A&M label in 1991.[3]

In 1995, Brooks landed a solo contract with Capitol Records. After two years, her first single, "Bitch", was released, and she was nominated twice for the 1998 Grammy Awards, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. The single went Platinum in Australia.[4]

Her album Blurring the Edges achieved Platinum sales, peaking at 22 on the Billboard 200 and 5 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was produced by David Ricketts, formerly of David and David, and he also played keyboards (among other instruments) on the album. Brooks toured in the US and Europe in 1997 and 1998 to support the album, and also participated in the Lilith Fair music festival tour in both of those years.

On March 29, 1998, in Argentina, she opened for the Rolling Stones. During her set the crowd demanded the Stones and became violent, throwing objects including rocks and tampons at the stage and bruising her eye. She appeared again the next day wearing an Argentine football shirt, but the crowd again threw things at her, so after singing "Bitch" she yelled to the crowd, threw the shirt on the ground and walked off.[5][6]

Meredith Brooks performing on stage at the 1999 Lilith Faire
Brooks (center) performing at Lilith Fair in 1999

In 1999, Brooks recorded her third album, Deconstruction. The track "Sin City" was recorded for the movie Snake Eyes.

In 2002, Brooks signed with independent label Gold Circle Records.[7] She worked on her fourth album, Bad Bad One. The label folded immediately after releasing the album.

In 2002, she produced Jennifer Love Hewitt's album BareNaked and appeared on VH1 Divas Las Vegas as a guest guitar soloist with Celine Dion and Anastacia.

Brooks signed a record deal with SLG Records and re-issued Bad Bad One as Shine in 2004. The track "Shine" was used as the theme music for Dr. Phil from 2004 to 2008. The instrumental remix appears as the last track on the album.[8]

In 2007, Brooks completed a children's album titled If I Could Be... She also began developing Portland-area Sony Music Entertainment artist Becca.

Brooks is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[9]

In 2018, the song "I'm a Mess" was a worldwide chart hit for Bebe Rexha. While an original song, it does borrow some of its melody from Brooks' earlier hit "Bitch". As a result, Meredith Brooks is listed as a co-writer of the song.

Awards and nominations

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Year Awards Work Category Result
1997 Billboard Music Video Awards "Bitch" Best New Artist Clip (Pop/Rock) Nominated
MTV VMA Best New Artist Nominated
Best Female Video Nominated
MTV EMA Herself Best New Act Nominated
Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Artist - Female Nominated
Žebřík Music Awards Best International Female[10] Nominated
1998 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards Best New Artist Tour Nominated
Brit Awards Best International Female Nominated
ECHO Awards Best International Newcomer Nominated
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Female - New Artist Won
Grammy Awards "Bitch" Best Rock Song Nominated
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Nominated
APRA Awards Most Performed Foreign Work[11] Won

Discography

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Albums

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Title Year Chart positions
US
[12] 		AUS
[13] 		AUT
[14] 		GER
[15] 		NLD
[16] 		NZ
[17] 		SWI
[18] 		UK
[19]
Meredith Brooks 1986 — — — — — — — —
Blurring the Edges 1997 22 30 5 7 5 7 6 5
See It Through My Eyes (re-issue of her 1986 debut) — — — — — — — —
Deconstruction 1999 — — 42 95 — — 30 —
Bad Bad One 2002 — — — — — — — —
Shine (re-issue of her 2002 album “Bad Bad One”) 2004 — — — — — — — —
If I Could Be... 2007 — — — — — — — —

Extended plays

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  • Celebrating Pride (Greatest Hits EP) (2022)

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Chart positions Album
US
[20] 		AUS
[13] 		GER
[15] 		IRE
[21] 		NLD
[16] 		NZ
[17] 		UK
[19]
"Bitch" 1997
2
2
19
12
15
4
6
 Blurring the Edges
"I Need"
—
—
—
—
77
—
28
"What Would Happen" 1998
46
89
—
—
—
—
49
"Stop"
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" 1999
—
—
96
—
81
—
—
 Deconstruction
"Shout"
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
"Shine" 2004
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
 Bad Bad One
"You Don't Know Me"
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
"Where Lovers Meet"
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

References

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  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006. Record Research Incorporated. p. 35. ISBN 9780898201697.
  2. ^ Patricia Claggett French (2011). You Can Go Home Again: An Autobiography. Xlibris. p. 162. ISBN 9781456875213.
  3. ^ "Meredith Brooks reviews, music, news". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. ^ "View archived webpage". Webarchive.nla.gov.au. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009.
  5. ^ "Argentina—not Brooks' crowd". Sun Journal. Lewiston, Maine. AP. 7 April 1998. p. C16.
  6. ^ "Meredith Brooks Talks About Stones Incident". Mtv.com. 10 April 1998. Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 6 April 2002. p. 8 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Shine - Meredith Brooks | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Artists - Artists Against Racism". Artistsagainstracism.org. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  10. ^ "2003-1997 – Anketa Žebřík".
  11. ^ "1998 Winners - APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Meredith Brooks Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  13. ^ a b Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: "Discography Meredith Brooks". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
    • "What Would Happen": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 42.
  14. ^ "Discographie Meredith Brooks". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Discographie Meredith Brooks". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Discografie Meredith Brooks". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Discography Meredith Brooks". Charts.nz. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Discographie Meredith Brooks". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Meredith Brooks | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Meredith Brooks Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  21. ^ "Irish Singles Chart". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
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