Cindy Lee Berryhill
Encyclopedia
Cindy Lee Berryhill is a singer-songwriter. Berryhill was born in LA's Silverlake
, and grew up in various parts of California. Her debut album, Who's Gonna Save The World (Rhino/Capitol) came out in October 1987 and was followed by the Lenny Kaye
produced, Naked Movie Star (Rhino
/WEA
) in 1989. In Allmusic's online
Cindy Lee Berryhill Biography entry (2008), Richie Unterberger
wrote, "The San Diegan's 1987 debut, Who's Gonna Save the World?, may be her best simply because it is her most straightforward. Then as now, she was most effective, ironically, at her most basic and serious". By contrast, Stewart Mason in his four and a half star review of her third album calls it her "first completely solid and intriguing effort".
Berryhill like Brenda Kahn
, Paleface, Beck
, Michelle Shocked
and John S. Hall
were early proponents of the New York City Anti-folk
movement.
It would be another 6 years before her third album Garage Orchestra (Cargo/Earth) would be released. Garage Orchestra was a tin-can-pop inflected departure from her earlier folkier albums and garnered a 4 star review in Rolling Stone
. In 1995 her boyfriend and husband to be, rock-writer Paul Williams
suffered a brain injury and Berryhill put off the making of her next album until 1996's, Straight Outta Marysville.
In 1999, Berryhill's novel, Memoirs of A Female Messiah was released along with a live album entitled Living Room 16. After the birth of Berryhill and Williams' son in 2001 she began a song-cycle that included a song Beloved Stranger that was inspired by her experiences with her husband's brain injury and the awareness that many soldiers were coming home from war with similar injuries. In 2008 the album Beloved Stranger (Populuxe) was released.
Berryhill currently lives in Encinitas, CA with her husband Paul Williams (who is now suffering from early onset of dementia due to the brain injury and lives in a nearby nursing home), and their young son Alexander Berryhill-Williams. She is at work on her seventh album.
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
, and grew up in various parts of California. Her debut album, Who's Gonna Save The World (Rhino/Capitol) came out in October 1987 and was followed by the Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
produced, Naked Movie Star (Rhino
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
/WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
) in 1989. In Allmusic's online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
Cindy Lee Berryhill Biography entry (2008), Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
wrote, "The San Diegan's 1987 debut, Who's Gonna Save the World?, may be her best simply because it is her most straightforward. Then as now, she was most effective, ironically, at her most basic and serious". By contrast, Stewart Mason in his four and a half star review of her third album calls it her "first completely solid and intriguing effort".
Berryhill like Brenda Kahn
Brenda Kahn
Brenda Kahn is a NYC-based singer-songwriter known for her poetic lyrics. Her career began in 1990, when her first album, Goldfish Don't Talk Back, was released to critical acclaim. Her punk-tinged folk music led to a major label deal with the Chaos label at Columbia Records, and in 1992, Kahn...
, Paleface, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
and John S. Hall
John S. Hall
John S. Hall is an American poet, author, singer and lawyer perhaps best known for his work with King Missile, an avant-garde band that he co-founded in 1986 and has since led in various disparate incarnations....
were early proponents of the New York City Anti-folk
Anti-folk
Anti-folk is a music genre that takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s folk music and subverts it. The defining characteristics of this anti-folk are difficult to identify, as they vary from one artist to the next...
movement.
It would be another 6 years before her third album Garage Orchestra (Cargo/Earth) would be released. Garage Orchestra was a tin-can-pop inflected departure from her earlier folkier albums and garnered a 4 star review in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. In 1995 her boyfriend and husband to be, rock-writer Paul Williams
Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)
Paul Williams is an American music journalist and writer. Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism :Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans...
suffered a brain injury and Berryhill put off the making of her next album until 1996's, Straight Outta Marysville.
In 1999, Berryhill's novel, Memoirs of A Female Messiah was released along with a live album entitled Living Room 16. After the birth of Berryhill and Williams' son in 2001 she began a song-cycle that included a song Beloved Stranger that was inspired by her experiences with her husband's brain injury and the awareness that many soldiers were coming home from war with similar injuries. In 2008 the album Beloved Stranger (Populuxe) was released.
Berryhill currently lives in Encinitas, CA with her husband Paul Williams (who is now suffering from early onset of dementia due to the brain injury and lives in a nearby nursing home), and their young son Alexander Berryhill-Williams. She is at work on her seventh album.