Sophie B. Hawkins
Encyclopedia
Sophie Ballantine Hawkins (born November 1, 1967, in Manhattan
, New York City
, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, musician
and painter
. Her biggest hits are "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
", "Right Beside You
", and "As I Lay Me Down
".
, Tongues and Tails
, was released in 1992. It achieved both worldwide commercial success and critical acclaim, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1993. The single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
" went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
singles' chart in the USA, and was also a top 20 hit in the UK. As a result of this success Sophie was asked to perform "I Want You" during "Bobfest" a concert held on October 16, 1992 in Madison Square Garden
honoring Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary as a musician.
Whaler
, her second album, was released in 1994. Produced by Stephen Lipson
, it also contained a US Top 10 hit, "As I Lay Me Down," and made gold status. Three singles from the album made the UK top 40, including "Right Beside You" which peaked at #13. It reached number 2 in the Dutch
Top 40
A 1998 documentary
by Gigi Gaston
, titled The Cream Will Rise, followed Hawkins during one of her tours and captured her struggle to deal with past troubles with her family, including her mother and brother. Music and riffs by Hawkins were included throughout the film.
Also in 1998, Hawkins's record company at the time, Sony Music, delayed the release of her third album. Its executives were unhappy with the finished product, and wanted Hawkins to rework some of the material. In particular, they were insisting that Hawkins remove a banjo track from one of the songs. Hawkins refused to accommodate them, citing artistic integrity as her main reason. After a lengthy battle between Hawkins and the company, the album, Timbre
, was eventually released in 1999, though Sony declined to promote it. Hawkins subsequently left the label and founded her own label, Trumpet Swan Productions. In 2001, Timbre was re-released on Hawkins' label, now as a 2-disc set that contained new songs, demos, remix
es, and videos.
Her first independently recorded and released album, Wilderness, was released in 2004.
On November 18, 2008, she gave birth to a son, Dashiell Gaston Hawkins. He was named in part for Hawkins's longtime partner and manager, Gigi Gaston
, who directed a documentary about Hawkins titled The Cream Will Rise.
In May 2010, Sophie affiliated herself with Waterkeeper Alliance
, an organization of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Sophie is donating 100% of the proceeds of her single "The Land, the Sea, and the Sky
" to the organization.
in support of the festival's dual agenda of supporting animal rescue groups and promoting and supporting female musicians. Hawkins is a vegan and a long-time supporter of animal rights.
In February 2008, Hawkins re-recorded her hit "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" as "Damn, We Wish You Were President" in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Hawkins also wrote in her blog, "Hillary Clinton's achievements come from her heart. She has initiated so much positive change for families, children, victims of crime and the environment in her struggle for the forward movement of America and the working people of this nation."
In February 2011, Hawkins performed at the Big Gay Party event staged by GOProud
, an organization of gay conservatives, as part of this year's Conservative Political Action Conference
festivities. After the show, Hawkins was interviewed and expressed her views on issues such as gun ownership, the free market, limited government and "identity politics
".
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Her biggest hits are "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
"Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" is a hit song in the U.S. by Sophie B. Hawkins. Released in 1992, it is from her album Tongues and Tails...
", "Right Beside You
Right Beside You
"Right Beside You" is a single released by American singer Sophie B. Hawkins. The single was released in autumn of 1994 and reached number 13 in the UK...
", and "As I Lay Me Down
As I Lay Me Down
"As I Lay Me Down" is a song composed and performed by singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins. It is from her album Whaler and also appears on The Best of Sophie B. Hawkins...
".
Career
Hawkins's debut albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Tongues and Tails
Tongues and Tails
Tongues and Tails is the first album by American singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1992 . The title is presumably derived from Act II, Scene i, Line 214 of The Taming of the Shrew, in which Petruchio asks Kate, "What, with my tongue in your tail?"-Track listing:all songs written by...
, was released in 1992. It achieved both worldwide commercial success and critical acclaim, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1993. The single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
"Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" is a hit song in the U.S. by Sophie B. Hawkins. Released in 1992, it is from her album Tongues and Tails...
" went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles' chart in the USA, and was also a top 20 hit in the UK. As a result of this success Sophie was asked to perform "I Want You" during "Bobfest" a concert held on October 16, 1992 in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
honoring Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary as a musician.
Whaler
Whaler (album)
Whaler is the second album by American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1994 .-Track listing:All songs written by Sophie B...
, her second album, was released in 1994. Produced by Stephen Lipson
Stephen Lipson
Stephen J. Lipson is a musician and producer who has worked with numerous artists, including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Cher, Grace Jones, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Take That, Simple Minds, Lindisfarne, and Annie Lennox....
, it also contained a US Top 10 hit, "As I Lay Me Down," and made gold status. Three singles from the album made the UK top 40, including "Right Beside You" which peaked at #13. It reached number 2 in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Top 40
A 1998 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Gigi Gaston
Gigi Gaston
Gigi Gaston is an American writer-director who directed her first documentary, The Cream Will Rise, in 1998 about singer-songwriter Sophie B...
, titled The Cream Will Rise, followed Hawkins during one of her tours and captured her struggle to deal with past troubles with her family, including her mother and brother. Music and riffs by Hawkins were included throughout the film.
Also in 1998, Hawkins's record company at the time, Sony Music, delayed the release of her third album. Its executives were unhappy with the finished product, and wanted Hawkins to rework some of the material. In particular, they were insisting that Hawkins remove a banjo track from one of the songs. Hawkins refused to accommodate them, citing artistic integrity as her main reason. After a lengthy battle between Hawkins and the company, the album, Timbre
Timbre (album)
Timbre is the third album by American singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1999 . This album was re-released in 2001 with a bonus disc. One release has censored lyrics in "The Darkest Childe" and "Help Me Breathe"....
, was eventually released in 1999, though Sony declined to promote it. Hawkins subsequently left the label and founded her own label, Trumpet Swan Productions. In 2001, Timbre was re-released on Hawkins' label, now as a 2-disc set that contained new songs, demos, remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es, and videos.
Her first independently recorded and released album, Wilderness, was released in 2004.
Personal life
Hawkins's website states that she is bisexual.On November 18, 2008, she gave birth to a son, Dashiell Gaston Hawkins. He was named in part for Hawkins's longtime partner and manager, Gigi Gaston
Gigi Gaston
Gigi Gaston is an American writer-director who directed her first documentary, The Cream Will Rise, in 1998 about singer-songwriter Sophie B...
, who directed a documentary about Hawkins titled The Cream Will Rise.
In May 2010, Sophie affiliated herself with Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance is an environmental organization founded in 1999, responding to a growing movement of organizations with the name Riverkeeper, Baykeeper, Soundkeeper, and other related "keeper" names, of which there are over 150 around the globe...
, an organization of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Sophie is donating 100% of the proceeds of her single "The Land, the Sea, and the Sky
The Land, The Sea, and The Sky
The single "The Land, The Sea, and The Sky" was released in May 2010 by Sophie B. Hawkins and will be on her forthcoming album Dream Street and Chance....
" to the organization.
Politics
In August 2007, Hawkins headlined the first Los Angeles Women's Music FestivalLos Angeles Women's Music Festival
The Los Angeles Women's Music Festival was a 2007 Los Angeles based summer music festival that featured exclusively female solo artists and female-led bands.-Overview:...
in support of the festival's dual agenda of supporting animal rescue groups and promoting and supporting female musicians. Hawkins is a vegan and a long-time supporter of animal rights.
In February 2008, Hawkins re-recorded her hit "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" as "Damn, We Wish You Were President" in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Hawkins also wrote in her blog, "Hillary Clinton's achievements come from her heart. She has initiated so much positive change for families, children, victims of crime and the environment in her struggle for the forward movement of America and the working people of this nation."
In February 2011, Hawkins performed at the Big Gay Party event staged by GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
, an organization of gay conservatives, as part of this year's Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
festivities. After the show, Hawkins was interviewed and expressed her views on issues such as gun ownership, the free market, limited government and "identity politics
Identity politics
Identity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
".
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
NZ |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|||||||
| 1992 | Tongues and Tails Tongues and Tails Tongues and Tails is the first album by American singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1992 . The title is presumably derived from Act II, Scene i, Line 214 of The Taming of the Shrew, in which Petruchio asks Kate, "What, with my tongue in your tail?"-Track listing:all songs written by...
|
51 | 38 | — | 13 | — | 38 | 15 | 46 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Gold |
||||
| 1994 | Whaler Whaler (album) Whaler is the second album by American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1994 .-Track listing:All songs written by Sophie B... |
65 | 31 | 56 | — | 13 | — | 43 | 46 |
|
||||
| 1999 | Timbre Timbre (album) Timbre is the third album by American singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1999 . This album was re-released in 2001 with a bonus disc. One release has censored lyrics in "The Darkest Childe" and "Help Me Breathe".... |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 142 | |||||
| 2004 | Wilderness
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2011 | The Crossing
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2002 | The Best of Sophie B. Hawkins
|
| 2003 | Essential Sophie B. Hawkins
|
| 'Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover (album) Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover is a compilation album consisting of tracks from Tongues and Tails and Whaler .-Track listing:All songs written by Sophie B... |
|
Live albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Live: Bad Kitty Board Mix Live: Bad Kitty Board Mix Live: Bad Kitty Board Mix is a 2006 live album by Sophie B. Hawkins recorded at The Triple Door and The Basement .-Track listing:All songs written by Sophie B...
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC |
US Adult |
US Pop Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||||||||
| 1992 | "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" is a hit song in the U.S. by Sophie B. Hawkins. Released in 1992, it is from her album Tongues and Tails... " |
5 | — | — | — | 7 | 14 | Tongues and Tails | ||||||
| "California Here I Come" | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | ||||||||
| 1993 | "I Want You I Want You (Bob Dylan song) "I Want You" is a 1966 song recorded by Bob Dylan. It was issued as a single in June 1966, shortly before the release of its accompanying album, Blonde on Blonde. A live version of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" was included as a B-side... " |
— | — | — | — | — | 49 | |||||||
| 1994 | "Right Beside You Right Beside You "Right Beside You" is a single released by American singer Sophie B. Hawkins. The single was released in autumn of 1994 and reached number 13 in the UK... " |
56 | — | — | 24 | 41 | 13 | Whaler | ||||||
| "Don't Tell Me No" | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | ||||||||
| 1995 | "As I Lay Me Down As I Lay Me Down "As I Lay Me Down" is a song composed and performed by singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins. It is from her album Whaler and also appears on The Best of Sophie B. Hawkins... " |
6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 24 | |||||||
| "Did We Not Choose Each Other" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1996 | "Only Love (The Ballad Sleeping Beauty)" | 49 | 22 | 19 | 22 | — | — | |||||||
| 1999 | "Lose Your Way" | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | Timbre | ||||||
| 2001 | "Walking in My Blue Jeans" | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 2004 | "Beautiful Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Wilderness | ||||||
| "Walking on Thin Ice" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 2010 | "The Land, The Sea, and The Sky The Land, The Sea, and The Sky The single "The Land, The Sea, and The Sky" was released in May 2010 by Sophie B. Hawkins and will be on her forthcoming album Dream Street and Chance.... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-Album Single | ||||||
| 2011 | "Flying At Half Mast" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Digital Only Single | ||||||
| "Betcha Got A Cure" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Music Videos
- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" Banned Version
- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
- "California Here I Come"
- "I Want You"
- "Right Beside You"
- "As I Lay Me Down"
- "Only Love"
- "Lose Your Way"
- "Walking In My Blue Jeans"
- "The One You Have Not Seen"
- "No Connection"
- "Beautiful Girl"
- "Beautiful Girl (Junior Vasquez Mix)"
- "Walking On Thin Ice"
- "The Land, The Sea, and The Sky"
- "Flying At Half Mast"
External links
- Sophie B. Hawkins at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- The Cream Will Rise (1997) - reviews, clips, & commentary
- Billboard Artist Chart History
- Huffington Post BP Blog (2010) - BP Is Still Pointing Fingers -- Time for Us to Act