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Maria McKee

 
Maria McKee

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Maria McKee



 
 
Maria Louise McKee (born Maria Louise McKee, August 17, 1964, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 singer
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
.

class="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m3018022",this)' onMouseout='hide("m3018022")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Solo_%28music%29">solo
Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context....
 artist
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
, McKee was a founding member of the cowpunk
Cowpunk

Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in Southern California in the 1980s, especially Los Angeles. It combines punk rock with country music, traditional music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style....
/country rock
Country rock

Country rock is a musical genre formed from the fusion of Rock music with country music, with its country origins being initially referenced to the rockabilly music of the 1950s....
 band
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
, Lone Justice
Lone Justice

Lone Justice was an United States country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee....
, in 1982, with whom she released two album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
s. Her band opened for such acts as U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
.

When she was only 19, she wrote Feargal Sharkey
Feargal Sharkey

Feargal Sharkey is a singer, who first found fame as the lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones, famous for the hit record single "Teenage Kicks", discovered by John Peel....
's 1985 UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 number one hit "A Good Heart
A Good Heart

"A Good Heart" was a popular single by Feargal Sharkey.Written by Maria McKee about her relationship with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboard player Benmont Tench and produced by Eurythmics David A....
", a song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 she has since recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 herself, and released on her album, Late December.






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Maria Louise McKee (born Maria Louise McKee, August 17, 1964, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 singer
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
.

Music

A solo
Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context....
 artist
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
, McKee was a founding member of the cowpunk
Cowpunk

Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in Southern California in the 1980s, especially Los Angeles. It combines punk rock with country music, traditional music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style....
/country rock
Country rock

Country rock is a musical genre formed from the fusion of Rock music with country music, with its country origins being initially referenced to the rockabilly music of the 1950s....
 band
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
, Lone Justice
Lone Justice

Lone Justice was an United States country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee....
, in 1982, with whom she released two album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
s. Her band opened for such acts as U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
.

When she was only 19, she wrote Feargal Sharkey
Feargal Sharkey

Feargal Sharkey is a singer, who first found fame as the lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones, famous for the hit record single "Teenage Kicks", discovered by John Peel....
's 1985 UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 number one hit "A Good Heart
A Good Heart

"A Good Heart" was a popular single by Feargal Sharkey.Written by Maria McKee about her relationship with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboard player Benmont Tench and produced by Eurythmics David A....
", a song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 she has since recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 herself, and released on her album, Late December. The song was originally written about her failed relationship with musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
, Benmont Tench
Benmont Tench

Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, along with Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ron Blair of the current lineup....
.

In 1987 she was featured in the Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson is a singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership in The Band. He was ranked 78th in Rolling Stone magazine?s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
 video
Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
, "Somewhere Down The Crazy River".

She released her first solo, self-titled album in 1989. Her song "Show Me Heaven
Show Me Heaven

"Show Me Heaven" is a song written by Maria McKee, Eric Rackin and Jay Rifkin recorded by McKee for the soundtrack to the movie Days of Thunder ....
", which appeared on the soundtrack
Soundtrack

The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
 to the film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
, Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder

Days of Thunder is an auto racing drama film released in 1990 by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes and Michael Rooker....
, was a number one single
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 for four weeks in 1990. She refused to perform this song in public up until recently, when for the first time in 18 years she sang it at Dublin Gay Pride. She said "She felt it was the right time and place to sing it, I am proud of you".

Following her debut, McKee has released five critically acclaimed studio
Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for Sound recording and reproduction. Ideally, the space is specially designed by an acoustics to achieve the desired acoustic properties ....
 (and two live
Live album

A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances. Live albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts....
) albums. The latter three High Dive
High Dive

High Dive is the fourth album by United States singer/songwriter Maria McKee, released in 2003 ....
, Peddlin' Dreams
Peddlin' Dreams

Peddlin' Dreams is the sixth album by United States singer/songwriter Maria McKee, released in 2005 ....
 and Late December were released independently via her own Viewfinder Records label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
 (distributed in the UK via Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl

Cooking Vinyl is a United Kingdom-based independent record company, founded in 1986 in music. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music -- notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases....
).

In 1998, The Dixie Chicks recorded McKee's track, "Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)", and included it on their Grammy
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 nominated album, Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces

Wide Open Spaces is the Grammy-nominated fourth album by United States country music band the Dixie Chicks, released in 1998 . It was their first record with new lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and became their breakthrough commercial success....
.

Personal

McKee is the half-sister of Love
Love (band)

Love was an United States rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Arthur Lee and the group's second songwriter, guitarist Bryan MacLean....
 guitarist Bryan MacLean
Bryan MacLean

Bryan MacLean was an United States singer, guitarist and songwriter, most known for his work with the influential rock band Love . Some of his famous compositions for Love include "Alone Again Or " and "Old Man"....
, with whom she played in a duo
Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition or musical piece for two performers. In classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word Wiktionary:duo is also often used....
 as a teenager
Adolescence

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental Human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological , social, and psychological changes, though the biological or physiological ones are the easiest to measure objectively....
. She attended Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School

Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the border of the Century City, Los Angeles, California area of Los Angeles, California....
 in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood, California are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, California....
, and is married to her bass player Jim Akin, who co-writes
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 and co-produces
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 her solo albums. In the 1990s, she spent time living in Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
 and the East Village
East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It lies east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy, Manhattan and Peter Cooper Village?Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side, Manhattan....
, before settling in her native Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
.

Session and guest work

In addition to writing Sharkey's "A Good Heart", McKee has also contributed to the Victoria Williams
Victoria Williams

Victoria Williams is an United States singer/songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career....
' tribute album
Tribute album

A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist....
, Sweet Relief, on the song "Opelousas (Sweet Relief)". She has also provided backing vocals
Backing vocalist

A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. In some cases, a backing singer may sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry....
 to U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
's cover
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 of Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival was an United States rock and roll band who gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various Studio album....
's "Fortunate Son" (B-side
A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which single s were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or flipside, is a secondary song that ofte...
 of 1992 "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" single from their Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby

Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2. It was released on 19 November 1991, nearly two years after lead vocalist Bono announced the band would have to "go away and dream it all up again", following the mixed response to 1988's Rattle and Hum and their own sense of musical stagnation....
 album) , as well as to the Counting Crows
Counting Crows

Counting Crows is a rock band originating from Berkeley, California. The group gained popularity in 1994 following the release of its debut album August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr._Jones_"....
' 1993 debut August and Everything After on "Sullivan Street".

She is also renowned for contributing "If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)" to the Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 in film United States crime film by director Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclecticism dialogue, irony Black comedy, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic and popular culture references....
 soundtrack
Soundtrack

The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
 in 1994. Plus, the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 band Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue

Deacon Blue are a Glasgow pop music band . The name of the band was rumoured to be taken from the title of a Steely Dan song, whose lyrics seem to reflect the group's early outlook:...
 wrote their UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Top Ten hit, "Real Gone Kid
Real Gone Kid

Real Gone Kid is the first song released as a single from the album When The World Knows Your Name by the Scottish Rock music band Deacon Blue....
", about her.

McKee also contributed a song "Never Be You" for the soundtrack to the Walter Hill
Walter Hill

Walter Hill may refer to:*Walter Hill , American film director*Walter Barnard Hill , chancellor of the University of Georgia *Walterhill, Tennessee...
 movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
, Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire

Streets of Fire is a 1984 in film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It was described in previews, trailers, and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable." It is an unusual mix of musical film, action film, drama film, and comedy film with elements both of retro-1950s and 1980s....
. She also sang a duet with Dwight Yoakam, "Big Sandy," on the latter's well acclaimed debut album, "Guitars, Cadillacs and Hillbilly Music" in 1986.

Discography


External links