If success can still be measured by hard work, then Jewel has earned every bit of hers. Jewel, whose fresh-sounding album Pieces Of You has sold millions of copies and spun off hit singles in "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant For Me" (written with ex-boyfriend, lead singer of
The Rugburns, Steve Poltz). She was nominated for two Grammy awards including best new artist (a category she won at the American Music Awards).
"I quit the high school shows, but I still do several performances a day when I'm on tour," says Jewel. "What can I say? It's better than waitressing and living in your car." (Which she did in San Diego before being discovered.)
Jewel's work ethic has won her a wildly diverse audience. "It gave me a fan base that's every age, every race, and every sexual preference. But really I'm a big dork of rock 'n' roll. I'm not hip, and I'm not a coolster. I'm just a kid with an acoustic guitar who keeps slinging it out."
Born May 23, 1974, Jewel has been slinging it since she was 8 doing barroom gigs with her father, in Homer, Alaska, where she grew up on a 800-acre homestead. She later wrote "Who Will Save Your Soul" at age 17 (the song is "about how nobody can know you, we rarely understand ourselves") and most of the rest of her debut disc at 19.
"I'm still learning," she says. "I have no pretense of having arrived. I've never had a big attitude or delusions or grandeur. I just wanted to get in front of people and sing." Her success is partly due to her label, Atlantic Records, sticking by her - a rarity in today's fickle pop market. But it's mostly due to an old-fashioned relentlessness. Jewel seemed to take every gig that came up. She did residency tours and was an opening act for such varied folks as Bob Dylan ("He asked me later to recite some of my lyrics of my songs,but I was too embarrassed"), the Ramones, Neil Young, Peter Murphy, Belly, Dave Matthews, Liz Phair, Edwin McCain, and Catherine Wheel.
How could she adjust to all those audiences? "Everybody has a heart. Everybody has hope. As long as it's sincere music, people are going to be sincere about hearing it," she says."I think it's going to show a lot of growth," she says. "I know that all I have to do is be sincere.
That takes a lot of the pressure off."
Jewel's latest single "Break Me" is available now for requesting on MTV. became available November 13, 2001.
For collectors, some of the non U.S versions, including the Japan
release, will feature a different live version of "Sometimes It Be That
Way" and the additional live track "A Long Slow Slide." Jewel's new album
will also be released in a limited edition double album vinyl set for all
you turntable audiophiles and for those who miss the days of 12" record
albums. The vinyl edition contains the same tracks as the domestic CD
spread over four LP sides.
"I wanted to focus on the craft of performing and songwriting," says Jewel. "I've always been a live musician, and I wanted my voice to shine through. At the same time, I hope to stay relevant as a writer, which means staying honest about where you are. The most important thing to me is maintaining my authenticity. I'll always be curious musically and want to try new things, but above all, I want the music to sound honest and good in 20 years."
became available November 13, 2001.
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is a registered ™.
