Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord performing in 2006
Mary Lou Lord performing in 2006
Background information
Born (1965-03-01) March 1, 1965
Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresFolk, folk rock, pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, busker
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1990–present
LabelsKill Rock Stars, Work Records, Rubric Records, Loose Music
Websitemaryloulord.net

Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician who started out performing as a busker in Boston.

Life and career

Mary Lou Lord first gained attention playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations, particularly on the Red Line, as noted by the name she chose for her music and lyric publishing company, On the Red Line Music, administered by BMI.

Lord became friends with Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain in the fall of 1991, before the group's rise to mainstream fame; there has been much speculation about their relationship. In 2010, Lord published an explanation from her point of view.[1]

She met Elliott Smith through Slim Moon, the owner of Kill Rock Stars and her boyfriend at the time.[2] Lord toured three times with Smith during the 1990s. Smith also wrote and helped Lord record a song called "I Figured You Out" in 1997.

Lord signed with the Sony subsidiary Work in 1997 and released the album Got No Shadow in 1998.[3] On December 31, 1998, Lord and Kevin Patey, from the band Raging Teens, had a daughter, whom they named Annabelle Lord-Patey.[4]

Her recording of Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" (which originally featured on her self-titled 8-song Kill Rock Stars release) was featured in commercials for Target stores, after which her label reissued the song as the lead track of a CD single which also included two demo recordings from the sessions for Got No Shadow.

In 2001, Lord released Live City Sounds. This was a self-released disc of Lord playing live in the Boston subway. The disc was re-released after she signed to Rubric Records.

Baby Blue, a CD recorded at London and produced by The Bevis Frond leader Nick Saloman, was published by Rubric Records in 2004. Saloman played guitar, bass and harp and wrote most of the songs.

Lord announced in 2005 that she suffered from a rare vocal cord affliction known as spasmodic dysphonia. She thereafter became more involved in A&R work and started a new management company with Kevin Patey, Jittery Jack Management.

In 2011, Lord used Kickstarter to record a new album titled Backstreet Angels, which was self-released in 2015. In 2012 she began performing regularly once again.

In 2019, Lord and fellow musician Maryanne Window began a podcast titled "How The Hell Did That Happen?" The podcast attracted attention from mainstream media, as Lord provided details of her romance and friendships with Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith during the 1990s.[5][6]

Discography

Cassettes

  • Real – Deep Music (1992)
  • TSWL (To Sir With Love) – EW Productions/Demo tape (1993)

Albums

  • Got No Shadow – The WORK Group (1998)
  • Live City Sounds – Self-released (2001), reissue: Rubric Records (2002)
  • Baby Blue – Rubric Records / Loose Music (2004)
  • Backstreet Angels – Self-released (2015)
  • She'd Be a Diamond – Double LP compilation – Fire Records (2022)

EPs and singles

Compilation and soundtrack contributions

Notes

  1. ↑ "About me and Kurt (what you don't know)". Oedipus. February 17, 2010. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  2. ↑ Nugent, Benjamin (2004). Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. 65. ISBN 9780306813931. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Kemper, Nick. "Mary Lou Lord". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Mary Lou Lord Becomes a Mother". Viacom. January 1, 1999. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Donaghue, Erin (April 5, 2019). ""Born lonely": Kurt Cobain's ex gives intimate account of icon on brink of stardom". CBS News. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ "How The Hell Did That Happen? with Mary Lou Lord and Maryanne Window".
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