Elliot Smith In Profile

Elliott Smith (born Steven Paul Smith on August 6, 1969) was a US indie singer-songwriter. Following an early '90s tenure with alternative band Heatmiser, Smith released five highly regarded albums during his lifetime. He died on October 21, 2003 of stab wounds to the chest. Two albums of all-new material have been issued since his death.

Elliott Smith was born Steven Paul Smith in Omaha, Nebraska on August 5, 1969. His parents divorced when he was one year old, and his mother moved him to Dallas, Texas. He began playing acoustic guitar at age 10. At age 14, he moved to Portland, Oregon to live with his father. This same year, he began recording songs on a four-track cassette recorder. Smith changed his first name to Elliott during high school.

Smith began attending Hampshire College in 1987, where he met future bandmate Neil Gust (singer and guitarist). After graduating in '91, the two returned to Portland and formed Heatmiser with bassist Sam Coomes (now in Quasi) and drummer Tony Lash. Their first two albums, Dead Air in '93 Cop and Speeder in '94, were issued by Frontier to mixed reviews. They signed to Caroline for their third and final LP, 1996's Mic City Sons, which garnered far better press. By this time Smith was already a solo artist on the rise.

Cavity Search released Elliott Smith's his first solo album, Roman Candle, on July 1994. He recorded the nine-cut LP on his four-track, playing all the instruments himself. Predominantly acoustic, Smith announced his style, mixing Beatles-esque Pop melodies with Folk stylings, including intricate fingerpicking techniques. This first album wasn't widely heard at the time. Like all Elliott Smith releases, it has received rave reviews.

With good press for his first album, Smith was able to sign with the bigger Indie label Kill Rock Stars, who would release his next two LPs. Elliott Smith came out on July '95. The sound was largely the same as his debut, but the songwriting was even stronger. Smith's third album, February '97's Either/Or, featured fuller arrangements, with all the instruments again performed by Smith. This LP contained the song "Miss Misery," which was nominated for a 1998 Oscar due to its appearance in the film Good Will Hunting. Around this time, Smith moved to New York and then to Los Angeles, where he settled.

Major label Dreamworks signed Elliott Smith in 1998, issuing his fourth album, XO, in August of that year. Though more professionally produced, the record retained Smith's homespun charm. XO was Smith's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, landing at #104. The fifth and final CD Elliott Smith released before his death was April 2000's Figure Eight, which hit #99 on Billboard. The critics gave positive reviews, but their praise was cooler than for his past albums. Over the next few years, Smith became addicted to heroin, and his performances were mixed.

Elliott Smith died in his Los Angeles apartment on October 21, 2003 of stab wounds to the chest. He had nearly finished recording his sixth album, which Anti- released posthumously in October 2004 to very strong reviews. The record veered more toward a stronger Rock sound than the Pop leanings of previous efforts. It won very positive reviews and hit #19 in the US and #41 in the UK. In May 2007, Kill Rock Stars issued a 2-CD set of previously unreleased material Smith had recorded from '94 to '97. Its quality is a testament to Smith's great talents. It charted at #24 in the US and #39 in the UK.