View source for Shawn Colvin

{{Short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1956)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| image               = Shawn_Colvin_1995.jpg 
| caption             = Colvin in 1995
| birth_name          = Shawna Lee Colvin
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1956|1|10}}
| birth_place         = [[Vermillion, South Dakota]], U.S.
| alt                 = Colvin singing into a microphone
| origin              = [[Carbondale, Illinois]], U.S.
| instrument          = {{flatlist|
*Vocals
*guitar}}
| genre               = {{flatlist|
*[[Contemporary folk music|Contemporary folk]]
*[[Americana (music)|Americana]]
*[[country folk]]}}
| occupation          = {{flatlist|
*Singer
*musician
*songwriter}}
| years_active        = 1973–present
| label               = {{flatlist|
*[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
*[[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]]
*[[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]]}}
| website             = {{URL|https://shawncolvinmusic.com}}
}}

'''Shawn Colvin''' (born '''Shawna Lee Colvin''', January 10, 1956)<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2020/01/10/UPI-Almanac-for-Friday-Jan-10-2020/8011578535365/ |title= UPI Almanac for Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 |work= [[United Press International]] | date= January 10, 2020|access-date=February 1, 2020 |archive-date= January 15, 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200115192229/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2020/01/09/UPI-Almanac-for-Thursday-Jan-9-2020/6871578415895/|url-status=live|quote=… singer Shawn Colvin in 1956 (age 64)}}</ref> is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 [[Grammy Award]]-winning song "[[Sunny Came Home]]".

==Early life==
Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in [[Vermillion, South Dakota]], and spent her youth in [[Carbondale, Illinois]], and [[London, Ontario|London, Ontario, Canada]].<ref name="All Music"/> She is the second of four children.<ref name="Diamond">{{cite book|title=Diamond in the Rough|publisher=William morrow|author=Colvin, Shawn|year=2013|page=[https://archive.org/details/diamondinrough0000colv/page/22 22]|isbn=978-0061759598|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/diamondinrough0000colv/page/22}}</ref> She learned to play guitar at the age of 10<ref name="All Music"/> and grew up listening to her father's collection of music, which included artists such as [[Pete Seeger]] and [[the Kingston Trio]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hogg|first=Karen|title=Guitar Styles: Women In Rock|publisher=Workshop Arts Inc.|pages=12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzxugzcadQsC&pg=PA12 |isbn=9780739020166|date=April 2001}}</ref>

==Career==
Her first paid gig came just after she started college at [[Southern Illinois University]]. Colvin performed at local venues in Carbondale and later formed a band. For six months, they expanded their fanbase throughout Illinois. During this time, Colvin struggled with [[Drug abuse|alcohol and other drugs]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shawn Colvin |url=https://roadtorock.org/artist/shawn-colvin/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 |language=en-US}}</ref> She later formed Dixie Diesels, a country-swing group. Colvin relocated to [[Austin, Texas]], with the group and then entered "the folk circuit in and around [[Berkeley, California]]",<ref name="Texas Music">Koster, Rick (2000)  ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n6URPV7oISsC&dq=Shawn+Colvin&pg=PA219  Texas Music],'' First St. Martin's Griffin, page 219, retrieved May 25, 2012</ref> before straining her [[vocal cords]] and taking a sabbatical at the age of 24.<ref>Shawn Colvin autobiography Diamond in the Rough, pages 49–57</ref>

Colvin relocated to New York City, joining the [[Buddy Miller]] Band in 1980<ref name=Diamond/> and later became involved in the ''[[Fast Folk]]'' cooperative of [[Greenwich Village]].<ref>Hochman, Steve. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121020232043/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66610233.html?dids=66610233:66610233&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+26,+1989&author=STEVE+HOCHMAN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=A+Folk+Stylist+Hangs+on+to+Intimacy+Artist:+Shawn+Colvin.&pqatl=google "A Folk Stylist Hangs on to Intimacy Artist: Shawn Colvin"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', November 26, 1989; accessed June 5, 2009.</ref>

While participating in [[off-Broadway]] shows such as ''[[Pump Boys and Dinettes]]'',<ref name="All Music"/> she was featured in ''Fast Folk'' magazine, and in 1987, producer [[Steve Addabbo]] hired her to sing backup vocals on the song "[[Luka (song)|Luka]]" by [[Suzanne Vega]].<ref name="All Music"/><ref name="Texas Music"/>

After touring with Vega,<ref name="Texas Music"/> Colvin signed a recording contract with [[Columbia Records]]<ref name="All Music"/><ref name="Texas Music"/> and released her debut album ''[[Steady On (Shawn Colvin album)|Steady On]]'' in 1989. The album won a [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album]].<ref name="All Music">Woodstra, Chris [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/shawn-colvin-p3946 Shawn Colvin Biography] All Music, retrieved May 25, 2012</ref> Colvin's second album ''[[Fat City (Shawn Colvin album)|Fat City]]'' was released in 1992 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Her song "I Don't Know Why" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female Pop Vocal category.<ref name="All Music"/> In 1993, she moved back to Austin and, in 1994, released the album ''[[Cover Girl (Shawn Colvin album)|Cover Girl]]''.<ref name="Texas Music"/> In 1995, Colvin released her album ''[[Live '88 (Shawn Colvin album)|Live 88]]'' a collection of live recordings from 1988.<ref>{{cite book|last=Vladmir|first=Bogdanav|title=All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop and Soul|year=2002|publisher=Backbeat Books|pages=240–241}}</ref>

In 1996, Colvin released her album ''[[A Few Small Repairs]]'' and, in 1997, her single "[[Sunny Came Home]]" spent four weeks at the number one spot on the Adult Contemporary chart.<ref name="All Music"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=Jaime|title=Digging for Dirt: The Life and Death of Odb|year=2008|publisher=Faber and Faber Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSWwOvGBn1EC&q=Shawn+Colvin&pg=PT26|isbn=9781429996099}}</ref> The song won the 1998 [[Grammy Awards]] for both Song and Record of the Year.<ref name="All Music"/> Colvin released the album ''Holiday Songs and Lullabies'' in 1998<ref>{{Citation|title=Holiday Songs and Lullabies - Shawn Colvin {{!}} Releases {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/holiday-songs-and-lullabies-mw0000043577/releases|language=en|access-date=2021-01-23}}</ref> and in 2001 released another album called ''Whole New You''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Whole New You - Shawn Colvin {{!}} Releases {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/whole-new-you-mw0000119080/releases|language=en|access-date=2021-01-23}}</ref> In 2004, she released a compilation of past songs called, ''Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection''.<ref name="All Music"/>

In 2006, Colvin left Columbia Records and released a 15-song album called ''These Four Walls'' on her new label, [[Nonesuch Records]], which featured contributions by [[Patty Griffin]] and [[Teddy Thompson]].<ref>"[http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/shawn-colvin-live Live]", ''Nonesuch.com''.</ref> In 2009 she released ''[[Live (Shawn Colvin album)|Live]]'', which was recorded at the jazz club [[Yoshi's]] in Oakland, California.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kelman|first=John|date=October 11, 2009|title=Shawn Colvin: Live album review @ All About Jazz|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-shawn-colvin-nonesuch-records-review-by-john-kelman.php|access-date=2021-01-23|website=All About Jazz|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:ShawnColvinNovember20.jpg|thumb|Colvin in November 2015]]
Colvin's eighth studio album, ''All Fall Down'', was released in 2012 and was produced by Buddy Miller at his home studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The album featured guest appearances by [[Emmylou Harris]], [[Alison Krauss]] and [[Jakob Dylan]].<ref name="All Music"/> Colvin published her memoir ''Diamond in the Rough'' in 2012.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/us/shawn-colvin-releases-diamond-in-the-rough-a-memoir.html?_r=0|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=June 10, 2012|title=Surviving a Struggle with a Sense of Hope|access-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> In 2016, she recorded an album with [[Steve Earle]] called ''Colvin and Earle''.<ref name="Guardian 16 June 2016">{{cite news|last=Guarino|first=Mark|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/16/steve-earle-shawn-colvin-new-album-collaboration|title=Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin: nine divorces, two addictions, one perfect mix|date=June 16, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London, UK|access-date=November 8, 2016}}</ref><ref name="New York Times 23 June 2016">{{cite news|last=Green|first=Michelle|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/fashion/shawn-colvin-steve-earle.html|title=Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle: Two Old Pals on the Road Together|date=June 23, 2016|work=[[New York Times]]| location= New York City|access-date=November 8, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone 31 March 2016">{{cite magazine|last=Leahey|first=Andrew|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-shawn-colvin-and-steve-earles-dark-youre-right-im-wrong-20160331|title=Hear Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle's Dark 'You're Right (I'm Wrong)'|date=March 31, 2016|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| location= New York City| access-date=November 8, 2016}}</ref> ''A Few Small Repairs'' was reissued in 2017, including its first pressing on vinyl, for its 20th anniversary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacyrecordings.com/2017/06/01/shawn-colvin-small-repairs-20th-anniversary-edition-september-15/|title=Shawn Colvin 'A Few Small Repairs' 20th Anniversary Edition September 15|date=June 1, 2017|website=Legacyrecordings.com|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>

Colvin has made vocal contributions to songs by [[James Taylor]], [[Béla Fleck]], [[Edwin McCain]], [[Shawn Mullins]], [[Elliott Murphy]] and [[Bruce Hornsby]], and collaborated with [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] on the song "One Day She'll Love Me".<ref name="All Music"/> She recorded as a duet the title track to [[Curtis Stigers]]' 1995 album "Time Was". Colvin voiced Rachel Jordan, Ned Flanders' love interest after Maude is killed, in the [[The Simpsons|Simpsons]] episodes "[[Alone Again, Natura-Diddily]]" and "[[I'm Goin' to Praiseland]]",<ref>{{cite book|last=Cuddihy|first=Kevin|title=Christmas's Most WantedTM|year=2005|publisher=Potomoc Books Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ye-QwcZn-sC&q=Shawn+Colvin&pg=PT200|isbn=9781612340364}}</ref> and lent her vocals to [[Mary Chapin Carpenter]]'s 1992 recordings "[[The Hard Way (Mary Chapin Carpenter song)|The Hard Way]]" and "[[Come On Come On]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Woodstra|first=Chris|title=Contemporary Country|year=2008|publisher=Backbeat books|pages=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4pXwGNcDUC&q=Shawn+Colvin&pg=PA21|isbn=9780879309183}}</ref>

===Acting===
Colvin has appeared in several films and television shows, including the films ''[[Grace of My Heart]]'', ''[[Heartbreakers (2001 film)|Heartbreakers]]'' and ''[[Crazy (2007 film)|Crazy]]'' as well as television shows ''[[The Larry Sanders Show]]'', ''[[Suddenly Susan]]'', ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[Fame L.A.]]'', and ''[[Baywatch]]''.

==Personal life==
Colvin has been married twice, first to Simon Tassano in 1993 whom she divorced in 1995 and to photographer Mario Erwin, whom she married in 1997 and divorced in 2002. She gave birth to a daughter in July 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/a-real-mother-6392354|title=A Real Mother|author=Robert Wilonsky|newspaper=[[Dallas Observer]]|date=April 5, 2001|access-date=November 6, 2017}}</ref>

Colvin has taken part in several [[triathlons]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20843782/im-a-runner-shawn-colvin/ | title=I'm a Runner: Shawn Colvin | date=May 20, 2004 }}</ref>

Colvin says she has struggled on and off with [[clinical depression|depression]], [[alcoholism]] and [[anxiety]]. She wrote about these struggles in her 2012 memoir ''Diamond in the Rough'', published by [[HarperCollins]].<ref name="bostonglobe">{{cite news |last=McLennan |first=Scott |date=June 4, 2012 |title='Diamond in the Rough,' by Shawn Colvin |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2012/06/04/diamond-rough-charts-roller-coaster-career-folk-singer-shawn-colvin/gAj5RaB08RULwgFNZJsFzH/story.html |access-date=January 31, 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
=== Grammy Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Album/Track
! Category
! Result
|-
| [[1991 Grammy Awards|1991]]
| ''[[Steady On (Shawn Colvin album)|Steady On]]''
| [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album|Best Contemporary Folk Album]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1994 Grammy Awards|1994]]
| "I Don't Know Why"
| [[Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| ''[[Fat City (Shawn Colvin album)|Fat City]]''
| rowspan="2"|Best Contemporary Folk Album
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[1995 Grammy Awards|1995]]
| ''[[Cover Girl (Shawn Colvin album)|Cover Girl]]''
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1997 Grammy Awards|1997]]
| ''[[A Few Small Repairs]]''
| [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album|Best Pop Vocal Album]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| "Get Out of This House"
| rowspan="2"|Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[1998 Grammy Awards|1998]]
| rowspan="3" | "[[Sunny Came Home]]"
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[2009 Grammy Awards|2009]]
| ''Shawn Colvin Live''
| Best Contemporary Folk Album
| {{nom}}
|}

=== Other awards ===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year !! Awards !! Category !! Work !! Result
|-
| rowspan=2|1997
| [[Billboard Music Awards|Billboard Music Video Awards]]
| FAN.tastic Video
| rowspan="5"|"[[Sunny Came Home]]"
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Billboard Music Awards]]
| Top Adult Top 40 Track
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|1998
| [[APRA Music Awards of 1998|APRA Music Awards]]
| Most Performed Foreign Work
| {{nom}}
|-
| MVPA Awards
| Best Adult Contemporary Video
| {{won}}
|-
| 1999
| [[ASCAP|ASCAP Pop Music Awards]]
| Most Performed Song 
| {{won}}
|-
| 2001
| Video Premiere Awards 
| Best Original Song 
| "Great Big World"
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2016
| [[Americana Music Honors & Awards]] 
| Americana Trailblazer Award
| Herself 
| {{won}}
{{end}}

==Discography==
{{Main|Shawn Colvin discography}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}

=== Albums ===
* ''[[Steady On (Shawn Colvin album)|Steady On]]'' (1989)<ref name="npr.org">{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/30/774844834/shawn-colvin-on-mountain-stage?t=1578249285610 |title=Touring in support of Steady On (30th Anniversary Acoustic Edition) |date=October 31, 2019 |website=npr.org |access-date=January 5, 2020}}</ref>
* ''[[Fat City (Shawn Colvin album)|Fat City]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Cover Girl (Shawn Colvin album)|Cover Girl]]'' (1994)
* ''[[A Few Small Repairs]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Holiday Songs and Lullabies]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Whole New You]]'' (2001)
* ''[[These Four Walls (Shawn Colvin album)|These Four Walls]]'' (2006)
* ''[[All Fall Down (Shawn Colvin album)|All Fall Down]]'' (2012)
* ''[[Uncovered (Shawn Colvin album)|Uncovered]]'' (2015)
* ''[[Colvin & Earle]]'' (2016, with [[Steve Earle]])
* ''[[The Starlighter]]'' (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/shawn-colvin-the-starlighter-review-2537170187.html|title=Shawn Colvin: The Starlighter (album review)|date=February 22, 2018|website=PopMatters.com|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>
*''[[Steady On: 30th Anniversary Acoustic Edition]]'' (2019)<ref name="npr.org"/>
{{col-break}}

===Compilation albums===
* ''[[Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection]]'' (2004)
* ''[[The Best of Shawn Colvin]]'' (2010)
* ''Playlist: The Very Best of Shawn Colvin'' (2012)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/playlist-the-very-best-of-shawn-colvin-mw0002355532|title=Playlist: The Very Best of Shawn Colvin – Shawn Colvin &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>

===Live albums===
* ''[[Live '88 (Shawn Colvin album)|Live '88]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Live (Shawn Colvin album)|Live]]'' (2009)
*''Live from These Four Walls: My Favorite Movie Songs'' (2021)
* ''Lockdown: Live from Arlyn Studios'' (2021)

===DVDs===
* ''Music in High Places – Live in Bora Bora'' (2002)
* ''Polaroids: A Video Collection'' (2004)
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q267438|c=category:Shawn Colvin|b=no|v=no|voy=no|s=no|n=no|q=no|wikt=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no}}
*{{Official website}}

{{Shawn Colvin|state=expanded}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Shawn Colvin
| list =
{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year 1990s}}
{{Grammy Award for Song of the Year 1990s}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Shawn}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:American women singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American folk singers]]
[[Category:Fast Folk artists]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from London, Ontario]]
[[Category:Singers from Ontario]]
[[Category:People from Vermillion, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Musicians from Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:People from Carbondale, Illinois]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Illinois]]
[[Category:20th-century American women guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Illinois]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Texas]]
[[Category:Guitarists from South Dakota]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Nonesuch Records artists]]
[[Category:Fantasy Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from South Dakota]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from South Dakota]]