Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Background information
Instruments Piano, harpsichord, clavichord, Hammond organ, harmonium, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Kurzweil, clavinet, vocals
Website [1]
toriamos.com
[2]
everythingtori.com
Notable instruments
[3]
Bösendorfer piano
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. She was at the
forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one
of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument. Some of her charting singles include
"Crucify", "Silent All These Years", "God", "Cornflake Girl", "Caught a Lite Sneeze", "Professional Widow",
"Spark", "1000 Oceans", and "A Sorta Fairytale", her most commercially successful single in the U.S. to date.[4]
As of 2005, Amos had sold 12 million albums worldwide.[5]
Early life
Amos was born in Newton, North Carolina. When she was two, her family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where
she began to play the piano. By age five, she had begun composing instrumental pieces on piano and, while living in
Rockville, Maryland, she won a full scholarship to the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory of
Music.[6] Her scholarship was discontinued at age 11 and she was asked to leave. Amos has asserted that she lost the
scholarship because of her interest in rock and popular music, coupled with her dislike for reading from sheet
music.[6] At the age of 14 she began playing at piano bars, chaperoned by her father.[6]
Tori Amos 2
Amos first came to local notice by winning a county teen talent contest in 1977, singing a song called "More Than
Just a Friend". As a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, she co-wrote "Baltimore" with her brother Mike
Amos for a competition involving the Baltimore Orioles. The song won the contest and became her first single,
released as a 7" single pressed locally for family and friends during 1980 with another Amos-penned composition as
a B-side, "Walking With You". Prior to this period she performed under her middle name, Ellen, but permanently
adopted Tori after a friend's boyfriend told her it suited her.[7] At age 21, Amos moved to Los Angeles to pursue her
music career after several years performing on the piano bar circuit of the D.C. area.[8]
Solo career
Despite the disappointing reaction to Y Kant Tori Read, Amos still had to comply with her six record contract with
Atlantic Records, who in 1989 wanted a new record by March 1990. The initial recordings were declined by the
label, which Amos felt was because the album had not been properly presented.[13] The album was reworked and
expanded under the guidance of Doug Morris and the musical talents of Steve Caton, Eric Rosse, Will MacGregor,
Carlo Nuccio, and Dan Nebenzal, resulting in Little Earthquakes, an album recounting her religious upbringing,
sexual awakening, struggle to establish her identity, and sexual assault.
Amos traveled to New Mexico with personal and professional partner Eric Rosse in 1993 to write and largely record
her second solo record, Under the Pink. The album was received with mostly favorable reviews and sold enough
copies to chart at #12 on the Billboard 200, a significantly higher position than the preceding album's position at #54
on the same chart.[14]
Tori Amos 3
Her third solo album, Boys for Pele, was released in January 1996. The
album was recorded in an Irish church, in Delgany, County Wicklow,
with Amos taking advantage of the church recording setting to create
an album ripe with baroque influences, lending it a darker sound and
style. She added harpsichord, harmonium, and clavichord to her
keyboard repertoire, and also included such anomalies as a gospel
choir, bagpipes, church bells, and drum programming. The album
garnered mixed reviews upon its release, with some critics praising its
intensity and uniqueness while others bemoaned its comparative
impenetrability. Despite the album's erratic lyrical content and
instrumentation, the latter of which kept it away from mainstream
audiences, Boys for Pele is Amos's most successful simultaneous
transatlantic release, reaching #2 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK
Top 40 upon its release at the height of her fame.[15] [16]
From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back, released in May 1998 and September 1999, respectively, differ
greatly from previous albums as Amos's trademark acoustic piano-based sound is largely replaced with arrangements
that include elements of electronica, dance music, vocal washes and sonic landscapes. The underlying themes of both
albums deal with womanhood, and Amos's own miscarriages and marriage. Reviews for From the Choirgirl Hotel
were mostly favorable and praised Amos's continued artistic originality. While not her highest chart debut, debut
sales for From the Choirgirl Hotel are Amos's best to date, selling 153,000 copies in its first week.[18] To Venus and
Back, a two-disc release of original studio material and live material recorded from the previous world tour, received
mostly positive reviews and included the first major-label single available for sale as a digital download.[19]
Motherhood inspired Amos to produce a cover album, recording songs written by men about women and reversing
the gender roles to show a woman's perspective.[20] That idea grew into Strange Little Girls, released in September
2001, one year after giving birth to her daughter. The album is Amos's first concept album, with artwork featuring
Amos photographed in character of the women portrayed in each song. Amos would later reveal that a stimulus for
the album was to end her contract with Atlantic without giving them new original songs; Amos felt that since 1998,
the label had not been properly promoting her and had trapped her in a contract by refusing to sell her to another
label.[21]
Not long after Amos was ensconced with her new label, she received
unsettling news when Polly Anthony resigned as president of Epic
Records in 2003. Anthony had been one of the primary reasons Amos
signed with the label and as a result of her resignation, Amos formed
the Bridge Entertainment Group. Further trouble for Amos occurred
the following year when her label, Epic/Sony Music Entertainment,
merged with BMG Entertainment as a result of the industry's
decline.[25] Amos would later hint in interviews that during the
creation of her next album, those in charge at the label following the
aforementioned merger were interested "only in making money", the
effects of which on the album have not been disclosed.
Amos released two more albums with the label, The Beekeeper (2005)
and American Doll Posse (2007). Both albums received mixed
reviews, some of which stated that the albums suffered from being too
long.[26] [27] The Beekeeper was conceptually influenced by the ancient
Amos in concert in 2007.
art of beekeeping, which she considered a source of female inspiration
and empowerment. Through extensive study, Amos also wove in the
stories of the Gnostic gospels and the removal of women from a position of power within the Christian church to
create an album based largely on religion and politics. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200,[28] placing her
in an elite group of women who have secured five or more US Top 10 album debuts.[29] American Doll Posse,
another concept album, was fashioned around a group of girls (the "posse") who are used as a theme of alter-egos of
Amos's. Musically and stylistically, the album saw Amos return to a more confrontational nature.[30] Like its
predecessor, American Doll Posse debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200.[14]
During her tenure with Epic Records, Amos also released a retrospective collection titled Tales of a Librarian (2003)
through her former label, Atlantic Records; a two-disc DVD set Fade to Red (2006) containing most of Amos's solo
music videos, released through the Warner Bros. reissue imprint Rhino; a five disc box set titled A Piano: The
Collection (2006), celebrating Amos's 15 year solo career through remastered album tracks, remixes, alternate mixes,
demos, and a string of unreleased songs from album recording sessions, also released through Rhino; and numerous
official bootlegs from two world tours, The Original Bootlegs (2005) and Legs & Boots (2007) through Epic
Records.
During her contract with the label, Amos recorded vocals for two songs for David Byrne's collaboration album with
Fatboy Slim, entitled Here Lies Love,[41] which was released in April 2010. In July of the same year, the DVD Tori
Amos- Live from the Artists Den was released exclusively through Barnes & Noble.
After a brief tour from June to September 2010, Amos released the highly exclusive live album "From Russia With
Love" in December the same year, recorded live in Moscow on 03 September 2010. The limited edition set included
a signature edition Lomography Diana F+ camera, along with 2 lenses, a roll of film and 1 of 5 photographs taken of
Tori during her time in Moscow. The set was released exclusively through toriamos.com and only 2000 were
produced. It is currently unknown as to whether the album will receive a mass release.
Currently, Amos is writing the music for Samuel Adamson's musical adaptation of the George MacDonald story The
Light Princess for the Royal National Theatre, which is expected to debut in 2012, as well as on her own new
project.
Discography
To date, Amos has released eleven studio albums throughout her solo career, nine of which were self-produced.
• Little Earthquakes (1992)
• Under The Pink (1994)
• Boys For Pele (1996)
• From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998)
• To Venus and Back (1999)
• Strange Little Girls (2001)
• Scarlet's Walk (2002)
• The Beekeeper (2005)
• American Doll Posse (2007)
• Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009)
• Midwinter Graces (2009)
Additionally, Amos has released over 30 singles, over 60 B-sides, and has contributed to nine film soundtracks,
including Higher Learning (1995), Great Expectations (1998) and Mission: Impossible II (2000) among others.
Tours
Amos, who has been performing in bars and clubs from as early as 1976 and under her professional name as early as
1991, remains one of the most active touring artists in the world, having performed more than 1,000 shows since her
first world tour in 1992. In 2003, Amos was voted fifth best touring act by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine.
Her concerts are notable for their changing set lists from night to night.
Little Earthquakes Tour
Amos's first world tour began on January 29, 1992 in London and ended on November 30, 1992 in Auckland.
She performed solo with a Yamaha CP-70 unless the venue was able to provide a piano.[42] [43] The tour
included 142 concerts around the globe.
Under the Pink Tour
Amos's second world tour began on February 24, 1994 in Newcastle upon Tyne and ended on December 13,
1994 in Perth, Western Australia. Amos performed solo each night on her iconic Bösendorfer piano, and on a
pianino during "Bells for Her". The tour included 181 concerts.
Dew Drop Inn Tour
The third world tour began on February 23, 1996 in Ipswich, England, and ended on November 11, 1996 in
Boulder. Amos performed each night on piano, harpsichord, and harmonium, with Steve Caton on guitar on
Tori Amos 6
one of the four non-Tori personae from the album, then Amos would emerge as herself to perform for the
remaining two-thirds of the show. The entire concert tour featured 93 concerts, and 27 full-length concerts of
the North American tour were released as official bootlegs in the Legs and Boots series.
Sinful Attraction Tour
For her tenth tour, Amos returned to the trio format of her 2002 and 2003 tours with bassist Jon Evans and
drummer Matt Chamberlain while expanding her lineup of keyboards by adding three M-Audio MIDI
controllers to her ensemble of her piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, and a Yamaha S90 ES keyboard. The North
American and European band tour began on 10 July 2009 in Seattle, Washington and ended in Warsaw on 10
October 2009. A solo leg through Australia began in Melbourne on 12 November 2009 and ended in Brisbane
on 24 November 2009. The entire tour featured 63 concerts.
Award nominations
Group Year Award Work Result
MTV VMAs 1992 Best Female Video "Silent All These Years" Nominated
Grammy Awards 1995 Best Alternative Music Album Under The Pink Nominated
1999 Best Alternative Music Album From the Choirgirl Hotel Nominated
2003 Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging Scarlet's Walk (deluxe edition) Nominated
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical "Timo on Tori (Don't Make Me Come to Vegas)" Nominated
In print
Released in conjunction with The Beekeeper, Amos co-authored an autobiography with rock music journalist Ann
Powers entitled Piece by Piece (2005). The book's subject is Amos's interest in mythology and religion, exploring
her songwriting process, rise to fame, and her relationship with Atlantic Records.
Image Comics released Comic Book Tattoo (2008), a collection of comic stories, each based on or inspired by songs
recorded by Amos. Editor Rantz Hoseley worked with Amos to gather 80 different artists for the book, including Pia
Guerra, David Mack, and Leah Moore.
Other publications include Tori Amos: Lyrics (2001) and an earlier biography, Tori Amos: All These Years (1996).
Additionally, Amos and her music have been the subject of numerous official and unofficial books, as well as
academic criticism.[45] [46] [47]
Tori Amos 8
Personal life
Amos is the third child of Rev. Dr. Edison and Mary Ellen Amos. She was born at the Old Catawba Hospital in
Newton, North Carolina, during a trip from their Georgetown home in Washington, D.C.. Her maternal grandparents
were of mixed European and Eastern Cherokee ancestry; of particular importance to her as a child was her
grandfather, Calvin Clinton Copeland, who was a great source of inspiration and guidance to her as a young child,
offering a more pantheistic spiritual alternative to her father and paternal grandmother's traditional Christianity.[48]
Early in her professional career, Amos befriended author Neil Gaiman, who became a fan after she referenced him in
the song "Tear In Your Hand" and also in print interviews.[49] Although created before the two met, the character
Delirium from Gaiman's The Sandman series (or even her sister Death) is inspired by Amos; Gaiman has stated that
"they steal shamelessly from each other".[50] She wrote the foreword to his collection Death: The High Cost of
Living; he in turn wrote the introduction to Comic Book Tattoo. Gaiman is godfather to her daughter and a poem
written for her birth, Blueberry Girl, was published as a children's book of the same name in 2009.[51]
In June 1994, Amos co-founded RAINN, The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a toll-free help line in the
US connecting callers with their local rape crisis center. Amos, herself a survivor of sexual assault,[52] was seen as
unlocking the silence of her assault through her music; thus "Unlock the Silence" went on to become a year-long
campaign for RAINN when Amos became a national spokesperson for the organization. By the summer of 2006,
RAINN had received its one millionth caller[53] and the organization's success has led to it ranking in "America's 100
Best Charities" by Worth, and one of the "Top 10 Best Charities" by Marie Claire.
Amos married English sound engineer Mark Hawley on February 22, 1998. Their only child, a daughter named
Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley, was born on September 5, 2000. They divide their time between Sewall's Point in
Florida and Cornwall in England.
[18] "Garth Boxes In Billboard 200's Top Slot" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ search/ google/ article_display.
jsp?vnu_content_id=951854). Billboard. 1998-05-14. . Retrieved 2008-06-01.
[19] Ehrlich, Dimitri (1999-12-01). "Music's Digital Democracy". Interview.
[20] "Tori Amos Says Eminem's Fictional Dead Wife Spoke To Her" (http:/ / www. mtv. com/ news/ articles/ 1449422/ 20010928/ story. jhtml).
MTV. . Retrieved 2009-12-19.
[21] Amos, Tori; Powers, Ann (2005). Tori Amos: Piece by Piece. New York: Broadway Books. pp. 314–315. ISBN 978-0-7679-1677-6.
[22] "Chart Beat Bonus" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ search/ google/ article_display. jsp?vnu_content_id=1757676). 2002-11-08. .
Retrieved 2010-07-25.
[23] "E! News Em's "8 Mile" Outstrips Christina" (http:/ / www. eonline. com/ news/ article/ index.
jsp?uuid=5e786ebd-a98e-47d7-b61a-0e7e5c8cf9f7). E! Online. . Retrieved 2010-07-25.
[24] "RIAA Gold & Platinum Database" (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?table=SEARCH). Recording Industry Association
of America. . Retrieved 2010-07-25. Note: User must define search parameters, i.e. "Tori Amos".
[25] "The Record Industry's Decline" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ story/ 15137581/ the_record_industrys_decline/ 2). Rolling Stone. .
Retrieved 2007-12-26.
[26] "Tori Amos — The Beekeeper" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ reviews/ album/ 6962456/ the_beekeeper). Rolling Stone. . Retrieved
2009-05-08.
[27] "Tori Amos — American Doll Posse" (http:/ / www. slantmagazine. com/ music/ music_review. asp?ID=1115). Slant. . Retrieved
2009-05-08.
[28] "'O' Puts Omarion On Top" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ search/ google/ article_display. jsp?vnu_content_id=1000825038). .
Retrieved 2008-08-10.
[29] "Tori Amos To Release New Album American Doll Posse; To Launch World Tour in May 2007" (http:/ / www. starpulse. com/ news/
index. php/ 2007/ 03/ 28/ tori_amos_to_release_new_album_american__2007). . Retrieved 2008-08-10.
[30] The interview with Paul Tingen regarding American Doll Posse can be found here (http:/ / www. tingen. org/ toriamos07. htm)
[31] "Ask Billboard — TORI AMOS GETS GRAPHIC" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080701053253/ http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/
ask_bb/ article_display. jsp?vnu_content_id=1003810247). Billboard. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/
ask_bb/ article_display. jsp?vnu_content_id=1003810247) on 2008-07-01. . Retrieved 2008-05-31.
[32] "Tori Amos Splits With Epic, Goes Indie" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ news/ article_display. jsp?vnu_content_id=1003810526).
Billboard. 2008-06-02. . Retrieved 2008-08-03.
[33] "Tori Signs With Universal Republic Records For Upcoming 2009 Album" (http:/ / undented. com/ news/ 1554/
tori-signs-with-universal-republic-records-for-upcoming-2009-album). Undented.com. . Retrieved 2008-12-02.
[34] "Tori Amos Inks New Deal, Eyes Spring/Summer Release" (http:/ / www. spinner. com/ 2008/ 12/ 04/
tori-amos-inks-new-deal-eyeing-spring-summer-release/ ). spinner.com. . Retrieved 2008-12-04.
[35] "Girls on Film: An Interview with Tori Amos" (http:/ / www. americansongwriter. com/ 2009/ 05/
girls-on-film-an-interview-with-tori-amos/ ). American Songwriter. 2009-05-15. . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
[36] "Tori Amos Interview" (http:/ / www. theredalert. com/ features/ amos2. php). The Red Alert. 2007-05-04. . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
[37] "Eminem's 'Relapse' Tops Billboard 200" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ news/ eminem-s-relapse-tops-billboard-200-1003976765.
story). Billboard. billboard.com. . Retrieved 2009-06-09.
[38] "Tori Amos — Artist Chart History" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ retrieve_chart_history. do?model.
chartFormatGroupName=Albums& model. vnuArtistId=19023& model. vnuAlbumId=1173664). Billboard. . Retrieved 2009-06-09.
[39] "Songs In The Key of Sin" (http:/ / www. out. com/ detail. asp?id=25182). Out Magazine. 2009-05-05. . Retrieved 2009-05-05.
[40] "Tori Amos Gets Into Holiday Spirit For 'Midwinter Graces'" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ charts#/ news/
tori-amos-gets-into-holiday-spirit-for-midwinter-1004014179. story). Billboard. billboard.com. . Retrieved 2009-09-20.
[41] "News: Tori Connected With Byrne's "Here Lies Love"? (2008-03-24)" (http:/ / undented. com/ news/ 1433/
tori-connected-with-byrnes-here-lies-love). Undented.com. . Retrieved 2008-08-09.
[42] "Read the article and see scans from a Tori/Ben Folds article in Keyboard Magazine" (http:/ / thedent. com/ more. php?id=P1219_0_1_0_C).
The Dent. . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
[43] "Tori Amos — Little Earthquakes tour 1992" (http:/ / www. yessaid. com/ tour92. html). Yessaid.com. . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
[44] "Undented" (http:/ / undented. com/ news/ 707/ the-tour-has-begun). Undented. 2007-05-28. . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
[45] "Paul Gregory Attinello, Curriculum Vitae" (http:/ / google. com/ search?q=cache:DmpgpLXnMiUJ:newcastle. academia. edu/ documents/
0011/ 5127/ Attinello_CV_4-09. doc+ "paul+ attinello"+ "not+ the+ red+ baron"& cd=1& hl=en& ct=clnk& gl=us). .
[46] Reed, S. Alexander (2008). "Through Every Mirror in the World: Lacan's Mirror Stage as Mutual Reference in the Works of Neil Gaiman
and Tori Amos" (http:/ / www. english. ufl. edu/ imagetext/ archives/ v4_1/ reed/ ). ImageTexT. Department of English, University of Florida.
. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
[47] Burns, Lori and Woods, Alyssa (2004-06-21). "Authenticity, Appropriation, Signification: Tori Amos on Gender, Race, and Violence in
Covers of Billie Holiday and Eminem" (http:/ / societymusictheory. org/ mto/ issues/ mto. 04. 10. 2/ mto. 04. 10. 2. burns_woods. html).
Music Theory Online. The Society for Music Theory. . Retrieved 2009-02-19.
[48] Amos, Tori; Powers, Ann (2005). Tori Amos: Piece by Piece. New York: Broadway Books. p. 20. ISBN 978-0767916776.
[49] Rogers, Kalen. Tori Amos: All These Years: The Authorized Biography. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8256-1448-4.
[50] Rogers, Kalen. Tori Amos: All These Years: The Authorized Biography. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8256-1448-4.
Tori Amos 10
[51] Sacks, Ethan (2009-03-15). "'Blueberry Girl', Neil Gaiman's favor for friend Tori Amos, is now a sensation" (http:/ / www. nydailynews.
com/ entertainment/ arts/ 2009/ 03/ 15/ 2009-03-15_blueberry_girl_neil_gaimans_favor_for_fr. html). Daily News (New York). . Retrieved
December 1, 2009.
[52] Lis (2008-11-18). "How Tori Amos Survived Rape" (http:/ / www. healthyplace. com/ abuse/ escaping-hades/ how-tori-amos-survived-rape/
menu-id-818/ ). HealthyPlace. . Retrieved 2009-02-19.
[53] "RAINN Commemorates One Million Callers to the National Sexual Assault Hotline" (http:/ / www. rainn. org/ news-room/
sexual-assault-news/ million-callers-to-National-Sexual-Assault-Online-Hotline). RAINN. 2006-09-06. . Retrieved 2008-05-27.
External links
• Official website (http://www.toriamos.com/)
• Tori Amos discography (http://musicbrainz.org/artist/c0b2500e-0cef-4130-869d-732b23ed9df5.html) at
MusicBrainz
• Tori Amos (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002169/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Synthesis.net April 2007 podcast interview (http://synthesisradio.net/2007/04/27/tori-amos-april-2007/)
• Tori Amos on Synthesis.net (http://www.synthesis.net/music/bands_and_artists/tag/1024/tori_amos)
• Allmusic entry for Tori Amos (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bnqq8b5t4tsqj)
• Tori Amos on Virb.com (http://www.virb.com/toriamos/)
• Tori Amos on Advocate.com (http://advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Music/
Tori_Amos_Loves_All_of_You_Monogamously/)
Article Sources and Contributors 11
License
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