Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall, better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist.
real name: Charlyn Marie Marshall
members: Bob Bannister, Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, Fletcher Liegerot, Damon Moore
labels: Matador Records
genres: indie rock, alternative rock, pop music
awards: Shortlist Music Prize
plays: guitar, piano, voice
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Charlyn Marie Marshall was born January 21, 1972, in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Charlie Marshall, a blues musician and pianist, and Myra Lee Marshall (née Russell). She has one older sister, Miranda ("Mandy"). Her maternal grandfather was of Native American ancestry. Her parents divorced in 1979 and remarried shortly thereafter. Her mother remarried and had a son, Lenny, and the family traveled around often because of her stepfather's profession. She is also Jewish on her paternal side of the family.
Marshall's first instrument was a 1950s Silvertone guitar, which she taught herself to play. While working in a pizzeria, she began playing music in Atlanta in the late-1980s with Glen Thrasher, Marc Moore, Damon Moore and Fletcher Liegerot, who would get together for jam sessions in a basement. The group was booked for a show and had to come up with a name quickly; after seeing a man wearing a Caterpillar trucker cap that read: "Cat Diesel Power", Marshall chose Cat Power as the name of the band.
In 1996, Marshall signed to Matador Records. In September of that year, she released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which she recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in February 1996. The album was produced by Shelley and again featured Shelley and Foljahn as backing musicians, and spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News" about the abortion she had at the age of 20. Critics cited the album as evidence of her maturation as a singer and songwriter from the "dense and cathartic" material of her first two releases.
Marshall's releases as Cat Power have frequently been noted by critics for their somber, blues-influenced instrumentation and melancholy lyrics, leading LA Weekly to dub her the "queen of sadcore". Marshall, however, claims that her music is often misinterpreted, and that many of her songs are "not sad, [but] triumphant". She has claimed blues, soul music, British rock 'n' roll, as well as hymns and gospel music as integral influences on her.
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