  Natalie (Anne) Merchant was born
on October 26, 1963 in New York. Natalie
gained her fame as the lead singer of the 10,000
Maniacs from 1981 until she left the
group in 1994. When Natalie broke off on her
own, she already had a reputation for her
strong vocals and free-wheeling attitude.
Natalie came across as a forgotten
flower-child of the 60s displaying assertion
and conviction in the 80s and 90s. Natalie
left the 10,000 Maniacs to
pursue a solo career. She describer her
reasoning for leaving the group as the need
to grow and desire for change, and no
disruptions led to her leaving. Her 30th
birthday also played prominently in her
decision to leave. She became a
"Maniac" at age 17, and 12 years
later approaching the age of 30, Natalie knew
it was her time to move on with her music. By
the time Natalie's solo LP was released, she
had acquired many fans. Her characteristic
vocals and sensitive lyrics were the
strengths of the band she was now leaving.
 # 34
Singles Artist of the Year
 Natalie released Tigerlily, which gave Natalie
her first 3 Top 10 solo singles: "Carnival," "Wonder," and "Jealousy." The LP was a
commercial success for Natalie, and she
promoted the LP with numerous tour
appearances, videos, and television
appearances.
Natalie hit the Top 10 with "Jealousy."
Natalie hit the Top 40
with "Carnival."
Tigerlily was certified gold.
 Tigerlily was certified
platinum.
Natalie hit the Top 10 with "Carnival."
Natalie hit the Top 40 with
"Wonder."
 # 13
Singles Artist of the Year
Natalie hit the Top 10 with "Wonder."
Tigerlily was certified 2x
platinum.
Natalie hit the Top 40 with
"Jealousy."
Tigerlily was certified 3x
platinum.
 Natalie recorded a the title
track for the movie One
Fine Day.
 # 50
Singles Artist of the Year
Natalie came to the aid of
several programs helping teenagers that were
in danger of being cut. Natalie donated funds
to the Jamestown (New York) YMCA and YWCA
programs aimed at teenage issues such as
pregnancy and anger management. Natalie said
of her generosity: "I'm just giving
back... it feels like it's come full
circle."
Tigerlily was certified 4x
platinum.
 Natalie's next LP, Ophelia, was released and she
then began touring with the Lilith Fair
package tour.
Natalie hit the Top 40 with
"Kind & Generous."
While on tour with Lilith Fair,
Merchant got a handful of sunflowers in the
mouth from a fan - accidentally. Merchant
said, "that hurt like hell, but they are
beautiful." Merchant performed with the
Lilith Fair on all the dates and said of the
experience: "It's like travelling in a
hermetically sealed bubble... it's kind of
utopian... this utopian little bubble...
whenever I'm alone, like if we're at a hotel
and I have to walk down some suburban strip
mall street to find something at the
supermarket and I'm getting catcalls from
battered pickup trucks, I'm kind of like
'that doesn't happen backstage at the Lilith
Fair'... they do make like very comfortable
for the musicians... what's been really great
is there's a lot of friendship, a lot of
openness backstage... the women tend to be
much more friendly than guys, nobody's
focusing on how cool they are..."
Natalie hit the Top 10 with "Kind & Generous."
Ophelia was certified gold.
Ophelia was certified
platinum.
 # 76
Singles Artist of the Year
Natalie hit the
Top 40 with "Break
Your Heart."
 Natalie hit the
Top 40 with "Life
Is Sweet."
Natalie's next
LP, Live
In Concert - Natalie Merchant, was a live set with
material from her recent tour.
 # 116
Singles Artist of the Year
 Natalie
released her next LP, Motherland.
Natalie hit the
Top 40 with "Just Can't Last."
Tigerlily was certified 5x
platinum.
Motherland was certified gold.
 Natalie self-released her next
LP, The
House Carpenter's Daughter independently via her website. The LP was a
collection of folk tunes.
# 168 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
 Natalie released Greatest
Hits: Retrospective 1995-2005.
Natalie released Leave
Your Sleep.
|
Tigerlily
Released: June, 1995
US: 5x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 13
Rolling Stone
review: 
Tracks: "San Andreas
Fault" - "Wonder" -
"Beloved Wife" -
"River" - "Carnival" - "I
May Know The Word" - "The
Letter" - "Cowboy Romance"
- "Jealousy" -
"Where I Go" - "Seven
Years" |
|
Ophelia
Released: May, 1998
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 8
Rolling Stone
review: 
Tracks:
"Ophelia" - "Life Is Sweet" - "Kind & Generous" -
"Frozen Charlotte" - "My
Skin" - "Break Your Heart" - "King
Of May" - "Thick As
Thieves" - "Effigy" -
"The Living" - "When They
Ring The Golden Bells" |
|
Live In Concert -
Natalie Merchant
Released: November, 1999
Billboard
peak:
# 82
Rolling Stone
review: 
Live Tracks: "Wonder" - "San
Andreas Fault" - "Beloved
Wife" - "Space Oddity" -
"Carnival" - "Dust
Bowl" - "After The Gold
Rush" - "Gun Shy" -
"Gulf Of Araby" -
"Ophelia" - "Seven
Years" |
|
Motherland
Released: November, 2001
US: Gold
Billboard
peak:
# 30
Rolling Stone
review:
Tracks: "The House
In On Fire" - "Motherland"
- "Saint Judas" - "Put The
Law On You" - "Build A
Levee" - "Golden Boy" -
"The Ballad Of Henry Darger" -
"The Worst Thing" - "Tell
Yourself" - "Just Can't Last" - "Not
In This Life" - "I'm Not Gonna
Beg" |
 |
The House Carpenter's
Daughter
Released: 2003
Rolling Stone
review:
Tracks: "Sally
Ann" - "Which Side Are You
On?" - "Crazy Man Michael"
- "Diver Boy" - "Weeping
Pilgrim" - "Soldier,
Soldier" - "Bury Me Under The
Weeping Willow" - "House
Carpenter" - "Owenboro" -
"Down On Penny's Farm" -
"Poor Wayfaring Stranger" |
|
Greatest Hits:
Retrospective 1995-2005
Released: September, 2005
Tracks: "Wonder" - "Carnival" - "Jealousy" (Single
Version) - "San Andreas Fault"
- "Kind & Generous" - "Break Your Heart" - "Life Is Sweet" -
"Living" - "Build A
Levee" - "Not In This
Life" - "Motherland" -
"Owensboro" - "Sally
Ann" - "She Devil" -
"Cowboy Romance" -
"Children Go Where I Send Thee"
- "Birds And Ships" -
"Lowlands Of Holland" -
"One Fine Day" -
"Photograph" - "Party Of
God" - "Thick As Thieves"
- "Bread And Circuses" -
"Because I Could Not Stop For
Death" - "Tell Yourself" -
"But Not Fore" - "I Know
Hot To Do It" - "Come Take A
Trip In My AIrship" |
 |
Leave Your Sleep
Released: April, 2010
Tracks: "Nursery
Rhyme Of Innocence And Experience" -
"Equestrienne" - "Calico
Pie" - "Bleezer's
Ice-Cream" - "It Makes A
Change" - "The King Of China's
Daughter" - "The Dancing
bear" - "The Man in The
Wilderness" - "Maggie And Milly
And Molly And May" - "If No One
Ever Marries Me" - "The Sleepy
Giant" - "The Peppery Man"
- "The Blind Men And The
Elephant" - "Adventures Of
Isabel" - "The Walloping Window
Blind" -
"Topsyturvey-World" - "The
Janitor's Boy" -
"Griselda" - "The Land Of
Nod" - "Vain And Careless"
- "Crying, My Little One" -
"Sweet And A Lullaby" - "I
Saw A Ship A-Sailing" - "Autumn
Lullaby" - "Spring And Fall: To
A Young Child" - "Indian
Names" |
 |
Natalie Merchant
Released: May 6, 2014
Tracks:
"Ladybird" - "Maggie
Said" - "Texas" - "Go
Down Moses" - "Seven Deadly
Sins" - "Giving Up
Everything" - "Black
Sheep" - "It's A-Coming" -
"Lulu" (Introduction) -
"Lulu" - "The End" |
 |
The Natalie Merchant
Collection (10CD)
Released: July 14, 2017 |
 |
Keep Your Courage
Released: April 14, 2023
Tracks: "Bg
Girls" - "Come On,
Aphrodite" - "Sister
Tilly" - "Narcissus" -
"Hunting The Wren" -
"Guardian Angel" - "Eye Of
The Storm" - "Tower Of
Babel" - "Song Of Himself"
- "The Feast Of Saint
Valentine" |
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
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