Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier to fellow musicians Diane and Bill Chambers. Her older brother is musician and producer Nash Chambers. All four were members of family country-music group Dead Ringer Band in Bowral, New South Wales from 1992 to 1998; Chambers launched her solo career thereafter. Five of her twelve studio albums have reached No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, Barricades & Brickwalls (September 2001), Wayward Angel (May 2004), Carnival (August 2006) Rattlin' Bones (April 2008), and Dragonfly (January 2017). In November 2018 she was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and has won an additional 14 ARIA Music Awards with nine for Best Country Album. Her autobiography, A Little Bird Told Me..., co-authored with music journalist Jeff Apter, was released in 2011.
Kasey Chambers
4 June 1976
Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Musician
- Vocals
- guitars
1987–present
- EMI
- Asylum
- Essence
- Warner Bros.
- Liberation/Sugar Hill
Solo career[edit]
1998–2002: The Captain to Barricades & Brickwalls[edit]
Chambers recorded her debut solo album, The Captain, on Norfolk Island during July and August 1998 with her brother Nash producing and father Bill on guitar.[1][4] United States country musicians, Buddy and Julie Miller added guitars and vocals to four tracks. The Captain was released in May 1999 via EMI Music Australia and in June 2000 in the US by Asylum Records. It peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 1 on the related ARIA Country Albums chart.[14] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 she won Best Country Album and in the following year she won Best Female Artist for its title track, which was issued in 2000.[15]
The Captain was certified double platinum for shipment of 140,000 copies by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2001.[16] It reached the top 50 of the Billboard Top Country Albums in 2001.[17] She toured the US as a support act to Lucinda Williams and later supported Emmylou Harris on the Australian leg of that artist's tour. "The Captain" was played in episode 8 ("He Is Risen") of the third season of The Sopranos, in April 2001.
Chambers' second studio album, Barricades & Brickwalls, was released in September 2001 via EMI Music, which was also produced by Nash.[18] It debuted at No. 4 in the ARIA Albums Chart and peaked at No. 1 in February of the following year.[1][14] Its third single, "Not Pretty Enough" (January 2002), also peaked at No. 1 on the related ARIA Singles Chart in the same month.[1][14] The track was written by Chambers and according to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "[it's] about being ignored by commercial radio."[1] He cited her autobiography, A Little Bird Told Me (2011), "'I wrote [it] as a song about feeling invisible... it was obvious that out in the music industry there was only one path for most young women – over-sexualised and over made up. To succeed you needed to look like Britney or Shakira."[1]
She is the first Australian country music artist to have simultaneous No. 1 single and album. Subsequent singles "Million Tears" (June 2002) and "If I Were You" (October) also made the top 40.[14] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2002 she won three categories, Album of the Year, Best Female Artist and Best Country Album, for Barricades & Brickwalls.[15] It was certified seven times platinum in 2003 for shipment of at least 490,000 copies.[19] In February 2002 it was released in the US, which peaked at No. 104 on the Billboard 200, topping the related Heatseeker Chart and reaching the top 20 of their country music chart. It received "generally favorable reviews" according to aggregate site, Metacritic, with a rating of 74% from 12 critics.[20]
Australian music journalist Ed Nimmervoll compared it to her first album, "The musical cast remains essentially the same as The Captain with the addition of a 'rock' component via drummer Peter Luscombe and rhythm guitarist Dave Steel, and a guest appearance from 'punkabilly' band the Living End. The album also features appearances from Paul Kelly and American country's Lucinda Williams."[4] Nimmervoll cited Chambers' observation, "The last album showed my life story. That was Introducing Kasey Chambers. This one's The Many Moods of Kasey Chambers."[4]
2003–2007: Wayward Angel to Carnival[edit]
Chambers recorded a cover version of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colours" (April 2003), which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart [1][14] and was used as the theme song for the Rugby World Cup in that year.[1] Her rendition reached No. 76 on the End of Year Top 100 Singles for 2003,[21] and was certified as a gold record for shipment of 35,000.[22] At the APRA Music Awards of 2003 Chambers won three categories with "Not Pretty Enough" named as Song of the Year, Most Performed Australian Work and Most Performed Country Work.[23]