Laurie Anderson - Biography

Last Editor: jaefawn_marce_glenn				Laurie Anderson Biography -   Name : Laurie Anderson Profession : Musician Birth Details : born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois

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Laurie Anderson Detailed Biography -

Laurie Anderson (born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois) is an American experimental performance artist and musician. Anderson was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She attended Mills College in California, and eventually graduated from Barnard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, studying art history. In 1972, she obtained an MFA in sculpture from Columbia University. She performed in New York through the 1970s, becoming more popularly known in 1981 with the single "O Superman"; originally released in a limited quantity by One Ten Records, a sudden outpouring of orders from England (prompted by British DJ John Peel playing the record) led to Anderson signing with the Warner Bros. label, who re-released the single. "O Superman" reached number two on the national pop charts in Britain. "O Superman" was part of a larger stage work entitled United States and included on the following album, Big Science. Her more recent stage work includes a multimedia presentation inspired by Moby-Dick. She starred in and directed the 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave, and also composed the soundtracks for the Spalding Gray films Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box. Her varied career even included voice-acting in the animated film The Rugrats Movie. In 1994 she created a CD-ROM entitled Puppet Motel. She wrote a supplemental article on the cultural character of New York City for the Encyclopædia Britannica and in the late 1980s hosted the PBS series, Alive from Off Center, for which she produced the short film, What You Mean We?. One of the central themes in Anderson's work is exploring the effects of technology on human interrelationships and communication. Anderson has collaborated with William Burroughs, Mitchell Froom, Peter Gabriel, Perry Hoberman, David Sylvian, Jean Michel Jarre, Nona Hendryx, and long-term romantic partner Lou Reed. She also worked with comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s (with a romantic involvement hinted at in some of her spoken word performances about him). Anderson, who rarely revisits older work (though themes and lyrics occasionally reappear) went on tour performing a selection of her best-known musical pieces in 2001. One of these performances was recorded in New York City only a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and included a stirring performance of "O Superman", the lyrics of which poignantly relate to the attacks of 9/11. A number of other songs were similarly resonant (noting that the setlist was the same as before the attacks): "Statue of Liberty", "One Beautiful Evening," and "Love Among the Sailors". This concert was released in early 2002 as the double CD, Live in New York, which remains her most recent album release. In 2003, Anderson became NASA's first and so far only artist-in-residence, which inspired her most recent performance piece, The End of the Moon. Rumors emerged of a possible new album release in the fall of 2004, but this turned out to be false as Anderson seems too busy mounting a succession of themed shows, as well as composing a piece for Expo 2005 in Japan. (with U.S. chart positions) Albums Big Science (1982) #124 Mister Heartbreak (1984) #60 United States Live (box set) (1984) #192 Home of the Brave (soundtrack album) (1986) #145 Strange Angels (1989) #171 Bright Red (1994) #195 The Ugly One with the Jewels (spoken word) (1995) Talk Normal (greatest hits) (2000) Life on a String (2001) Live in New York (2002) Singles "O Superman (For Massenet)" (1981) "Big Science" (1981) "Sharkey's Day" (1984) "Language is a Virus" (1986) "Strange Angels" (1989) "In Our Sleep" (1994) Year Title Chart positions Album US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK 1981 "O Superman (For Massenet)" - - - #2 Single 1989 "Babydoll" - #7 - - Strange Angels Anderson also recorded a number of limited-release singles in the late 1970s (many issued from the Holly Soloman Gallery), songs from which were included on a number of compilations, including Giorno Poetry Systems' The Nova Convention and You're the Guy I Want to Spend My Money With. Over the years she has also performed on recordings by other musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed and Jean-Michel Jarre. She also contributed lyrics to the Philip Glass album Songs for Liquid Days, portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln (wife of Abraham Lincoln) for a recording of an opera by Robert Wilson, and also contributed a spoken word piece to a tribute album in honor of John Cage.