Tori Amos

Name: Myra Ellen Amos

Born: August 22, 1963 in Newton, North Carolina

Herstory

While Myra Ellen was born to Dr. Edison and Mary Ellen Amos, Tori wasn't actually born until much later. Her contradictory ancestry stems on her Mother's side from the Cherokee Indian tribe and on her Father's side from France and Scotland. Tori's recognition of the Native American half shines through on songs like Home On The Range (with Cherokee addition).

As a child, Myra Ellen's grandfather, 'Poppa', would often sing to her; perhaps an omen of times to come? Myra's musical talent was evident from the start. Even at age two and a half, she could be found seated at the piano stool playing pieces by ear. At five, she was accepted to the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. She quickly learned to dislike the school, however. Myra Ellen only knew how to play by ear, and a prime concern of the Peabody School was to teach reading; in fact, they actively discouraged her natural talent to hear a piece once and be able to play it. Her wild streak also began at Peabody: she began to improvise on the classics, giving each movement her own slant. Needless to say, the instructors were not pleased. The school did not renew her scholorship after 1973.

In 1977, Ellen Amos and her father set out to find her a job. They discovered Mr. Henry's and Mr. Smith's, two gay bars in the Georgetown area, where Ellen was invited to play for tips. The experience proved to be an invaluable one for Tori later in her life, as she has said that she learned a great deal about the gay community in those years and has since remained a strong supporter.

For the next several years, Ellen played at various bars, lounges, and music halls as her father sent demo tapes to record producers and industry giants. During this period, Tori was concieved. After a show on night, a friend of Ellen's brought a man to meet her. Ellen and the guy had never met before, but he insisted that he knew her, and that her name was Tori. She agreed and kept the name.

In 1984, Tori's dream to become a rock star started to become a reality. She moved to Los Angeles, found a band, and Y Kant Tori Read was born. Unfortunately, the venture was a horrible failure. The debut album was history in less than three weeks after its release. Terrible reviews and a lack of respect from her peers drove Tori into a deep depression. Complicating matters was a personal tragedy which Tori would supress until many years later. After a show one night to a tiny audience, Tori gave a fan a ride home only to be held hostage and raped. She would hide this event from everyone, including herself, for the next seven years.

Despite her personal hardships, Atlantic, her record company, gave her one last chance, and Tori knew it was time to return to her roots, to do what she could do better than anyone. The piano was back.

Atlantic handed Tori over to their British office, East West Records, and Tori has lived in England ever since. She is convinced that many of her past lives were connected deeply with the Isles, and thus she feels a natural bond there. It was an obvious place for Little Earthquakes, a diary of sorts, to be born. After seeing the movie Thelma and Louise one evening, the memories of her rape resurfaced and she composed 'Me And A Gun' which would find its way onto the new album. The success of Little Earthquakes propelled Tori into a kind of stardom she had never imagined but always hoped for. She began a worldwide tour that lasted from January 29, 1992, until November 30, 1992.

Once again, it was time for Tori to move on, and she and her crew, including Eric Rosse, found themselves in Taos, New Mexico in a hacienda-turned-studio that became their home for the next few months. Beyond the atmosphere of the location that Tori insists found its way onto the album, the fact that she was living inside her studio allowed Tori to compose music finally according to her every whim and mood swing. Enter Under The Pink. Perhaps the most haunting tune on the album, 'Bells For Her' was composed on an old upright piano that Eric Rosse and Phil Shenale demolished with hammers and their bare hands. The lyrics to Bells were improvised by Tori on the spot, and she actually had to listen to the recording afterwards to learn the words. As Tori had characterized Little Earthquakes as a diary, she calls Under The Pink an impressionist painting. Truly, in order for the listener to feel the meaning of each song, he or she must mentally enter the world of Tori's creation. Each listener must become something of her.

After Under the Pink, Tori could have stopped forever and enjoyed a lifetime of admiration. Gladly, she didn't. Boys for Pele was released in 1996 and included a compilation of sounds like Tori had never used before. The album, as Tori describes it, is a novel, with small one and a half to two minute songs as chapter breaks between the larger pieces. At the heart, it is about stealing fire from the men in Tori's life. It is an attempt to deal with issues that Tori has not dealt with before. Ultimately, however, it is an astounding piece of work. From 'Professional Widow' to 'Putting The Damage On', the album is an experiment in sound and style.

What will the future hold for Tori and her loyal fans? It's anybody guess...check out The Dent for the latest and best Tori news, and you'll never be out of the loop.

:) -Roni