She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel ( ; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She made her film debut in ''Mumford (film), Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film ''Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known f ...

(vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production). It was formed in 2006 in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

.Scaggs, Austin
"Smoking Section: Modest Mouse, Zooey Deschanel, Kings of Leon"
''Rolling Stone'', February 5, 2008. Their first album, ''

Volume One Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to: Albums * ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966 * ''Volume One'' (Sleep album) * ''Volume One'' (Fluff album) * ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008 * ''Volum ...

'', was released on the independent label

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...

on March 18, 2008.Solarski, Matthew
"M. Ward/Zooey Deschanel Album Details Surface"
''Pitchfork Media'', January 11, 2008.Hasty, Katie
"Ward Helps Deschanel Find Her Voice"
''Billboard'', January 31, 2008. They are commonly associated with the indie-folk resurgence of the mid-2000s, which music critic and professor Eric Harvey described in ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' as "childlike, whimsical, earnest, acoustic

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

-friendly music like Feist,

the Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

, and Jose Gonzalez."

History

Formation

Deschanel and Ward met on the set of the film '' The Go-Getter,'' in which Deschanel had a starring role.

Martin Hynes Martin Hynes is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and film producer. Life and career Hynes was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, and has a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University. Hynes wrote and directed ''The Go ...

, the director, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet for the film's end credits. They performed the song "When I Get to the Border" by

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

and

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

. The two bonded over a shared interest in albums produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

, as well as certain

Ralph Peer Ralph Sylvester Peer (May 22, 1892 – January 19, 1960) was an American talent scout, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher in the 1920s and 1930s. Peer pioneered field recording of music when in June 1923 he took remote re ...

groups such as the

Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...

. Ward heard Deschanel sing in the film ''

Elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

''. He was surprised to learn that, although she wrote songs, she hadn't pursued a career in music. Deschanel commented in an interview with '' Venus Zine'': "I always thought I would be able to sing and act; but, at a certain point, it became difficult for me to share the music part. So I was writing a ton of music, but not really doing anything with it. I didn't really know exactly who to collaborate with until I met Matt, and everything seemed to fall into place.” Deschanel had done years' worth of home demos, but she was shy about becoming a big-name celebrity. On a whim, she sent them to Ward. Ward called her a short time later telling her that he would like to record her songs properly. Deschanel said in an interview: "I always have loved music, ever since I was really little. I just loved to sing."

2006–2008: Collaboration and ''Volume One''

For ''

'', the pair collaborated via e-mail, with Ward working in his studio in Portland, Oregon, and Deschanel in her home in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles influenced Deschanel's songwriting, evoking long drives along the coast while listening to

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

, golden oldies, and jam music on 1970s AM radio. The California music scene influenced Ward's production of the album and inspired his guitar work with

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

singers like

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...

. Ward and Deschanel recorded in Portland, Oregon, in December 2006 and February to March 2007. ''Volume One'' was completed in three sessions. They also recorded in Mike Coykendall's and

Adam Selzer Adam Selzer (born July 13, 1980, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American author, originally of young adult and middle grade novels, though his work after 2011 has primarily been adult nonfiction. Biography Adam Selzer's first novel was ''How To Get ...

's studios and had a mixing session with

Mike Mogis Mike Mogis is an American producer/mixer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who owns ARC Studios (Another Recording Company) in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Mike, along with his brother A. J. Mogis, A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Stud ...

in his Omaha, Nebraska studio in either April or May 2007. Deschanel wrote all the original songs on the album except "Sweet Darlin'", which she co-wrote with

Jason Schwartzman Jason Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor, musician, and member of the Coppola family. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjee ...

(an actor known for his frequent collaborations with

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

). In addition to the ten original songs, the album features two

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

: "You Really Got a Hold on Me" (composed by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

) and "I Should Have Known Better" (composed by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

). They took a break after that, as Ward was on tour and Deschanel was filming a movie. ''Volume One'' was released on March 18, 2008. Their first public appearance as a band was a year and two months earlier at the

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

screening of '' The Go-Getter''. They performed at other events and began their first tour in summer 2008. '' Paste'' named She & Him's debut the No. 1 album of the year. She & Him performed at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in March 2008Solarski, Matthew
"M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel Reveal She & Him LP Details"
''Pitchfork Media'', January 22, 2008. and went on tour during July and August 2008.

Becky Stark Becky Stark is an American artist, singer, songwriter and entertainer from Los Angeles, California. She is the voice of the band Lavender Diamond. Career Becky Stark has performed extensively as a solo artist and leader of the Lavender Diamond b ...

of the band

Lavender Diamond Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark. History While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created ...

provided backup vocals.

2010: ''Volume Two''

On March 17, 2010, She & Him released their second album, '' Volume Two''. The album features eleven original songs written by Deschanel and covers of

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

's 1977 single "Ridin' in My Car" and Patience and Prudence's "Gonna Get Along Without You Now", as well as a guest appearance from the indie pop group Tilly and the Wall on the track "In the Sun". They performed concerts throughout the United States including the music festivals

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

Bonnaroo Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) far ...

, Savannah,

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

, Nateva, Verge and the inaugural LouFest in St. Louis, Missouri, headlining with the likes of Broken Social Scene, Jeff Tweedy and Built to Spill. They also toured Europe, visiting London,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Amsterdam. They were chosen by

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

to perform at

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

music festival in England.

2011–2013: ''A Very She & Him Christmas'' and ''Volume 3''

'' A Very She & Him Christmas'' was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The twelve track Christmas album was released October 24, 2011 under Merge Records.

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

said on 29 December 2011 that the album was one of its top three best-selling MP3-albums over the Christmas period. Deschanel confirmed on Twitter that a new album would be released in early 2013. ''

Volume 3 Volume Three, Volume 3 or Volume III may refer to: Music Albums * Volume 3 (She & Him album), ''Volume 3'' (She & Him album), 2013 * ''Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter'', a 1999 album by Jay-Z * ''Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil'', ...

'' was subsequently announced, with a release date of May 7, 2013 (May 13, 2013 for Europe). She & Him toured the US and Canada in support of ''Volume 3'' in the summer of 2013. Supporting acts along the tour included Tilly and the Wall,

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and The Chapin Sisters.

2014–present: Record label change and ''Classics''

On June 27, 2014, it was announced that She & Him had left independent label

and had joined major label

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, with their fifth studio album, ''

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

'', scheduled to be released later in the year. The next month, Deschanel and Ward were photographed with

in the studio recording his forthcoming album '' No Pier Pressure'' which features Deschanel as a guest vocalist on the cha-cha-esque track "On the Island". On September 15, 2016, She & Him announced the forthcoming release of their second holiday album, ''Christmas Party'', in October of that year.

Awards and honors

* Grammy Award nomination: Best Song Written for Visual Media for "So Long" in ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

'' (2012)

Members

– lead vocals, tambourine, piano, ukulele * M. Ward – guitar, backing vocals, piano, production

Discography

* ''

'' (2008) * '' Volume Two'' (2010) * '' A Very She & Him Christmas'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2014) * '' Christmas Party'' (2016) * '' Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson'' (2022)

References

External links

* *
''AV Club'' article

''Broward-Palm Beach New Times'' article

{{DEFAULTSORT:She and Him 2006 establishments in Oregon American alternative country groups American rock music duos Double Six Records artists Indie pop groups from Oregon Indie rock musical groups from Oregon Male–female musical duos Merge Records artists Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Portland, Oregon