Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described as a mix of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, folk, and rock. Citizen Cope's compositions have been recorded by

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

, Dido, Pharoahe Monch and Richie Havens. He currently records and produces for his own record label, Rainwater Recordings, which he founded in 2010. He had previously been signed to Capitol, Arista, DreamWorks and RCA. On March 1, 2019, he self-released his first album in six years, ''Heroin and Helicopters''.

Early life

Born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, Greenwood spent parts of his childhood in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, ultimately ending up in Washington, D.C., where he was primarily raised. He graduated from Wilson High School and attended

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Recording career

Greenwood was initially the DJ for Washington, D.C.-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band

Basehead Basehead, also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0, is an American alternative rock band formed by Michael Ivey in 1992. Ivey serves as the group's songwriter and leader, performing vocals and various instruments. Basehead's 1992 debut album ...

. He was signed to Capitol Records in 1997. In 2000, Citizen Cope signed with DreamWorks and released a self-titled album in 2002. In 2004, he released ''

The Clarence Greenwood Recordings ''The Clarence Greenwood Recordings'' is the third album by American recording artist Citizen Cope. It was released on September 14, 2004 via RCA Records. Originally, ''The Clarence Greenwood Recordings'' was scheduled to be released under Arista ...

'', which he also produced. ''

Every Waking Moment ''Every Waking Moment'' is Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described as a mix of blues, soul, folk, and ro ...

'' followed in 2006 (also self-produced), and debuted at #69 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In 2010, Greenwood established his own record label, Rainwater Recordings. The move allowed him full creative control over his music and career. He released ''

The Rainwater LP ''The Rainwater LP'' is Citizen Cope's fourth studio album, released 8 February 2010 on Amazon MP3, and digitally released elsewhere on 9 February 2010, and in-stores on 2 March 2010. The album is produced by Cope (Clarence Greenwood) and it is t ...

'' that year. "Let the Drummer Kick" from his 2002 album '' Citizen Cope'' achieved

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

gold disc status. Greenwood released his following album, ''One Lovely Day'' on July 17, 2012. On March 1, 2019, his first album in six years, ''Heroin and Helicopters'' was released. He released his first single from the album, "Justice," on November 30, 2018. Citizen Cope in Seattle WA in 2008

Songwriting and producing

Greenwood's work has been recorded by a number of musicians. In 2002, Santana recorded Cope's song "Sideways" for their ''

Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

'' album. He performed "Sideways" in concert with Santana on his 2003 European tour. Greenwood sang on and produced the track.

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

asked to record the song in 2010 for her '' 100 Miles from Memphis'' album, and invited Greenwood to join her in concert on several occasions, including the Crossroads Guitar Festival in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. At the same festival,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

brought Greenwood onstage to perform "Hands of the Saints" together.

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the rock band Ston ...

also recorded a version of the song.

Brett Dennen Brett Michael Dennen (born October 28, 1979) is an American folk/pop singer-songwriter from Central California. His seventh studio album, ''See the World'' was released in July 2021. Early life Dennen grew up in Central Valley, California in a s ...

recorded a version of the song "Healing Hands" for ''The Voice Project Presents Home Recordings Volume 1'' in 2012. In 2008, Greenwood wrote and recorded "Burnin' Love" with Dido for her '' Safe Trip Home'' album. That same year, Richie Havens released his version of "Hurricane Waters" and the hip-hop artist

Rhymefest Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American rapper from Chicago whose first official album, '' Blue Collar'', was released in 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co-writing Kanye West's " ...

recorded "Bullet," featuring Greenwood. His work appeared in a number of soundtracks to films including '' Trust the Man'', ''

Ghost Town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

'', ''Coach Carter (2005 film)'', '' Accepted'', ''

The Lincoln Lawyer ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was adapted as ...

'', ''

Fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...

'' and Jamesy Boy (2014)

Jamesy Boy ''Jamesy Boy'' is a 2014 American biographical crime drama film directed by Trevor White and written by White and Lane Shadgett. The film stars Spencer Lofranco, Mary-Louise Parker, Taissa Farmiga, Ving Rhames, and James Woods. It tells the true ...

. His song "Bullet and a Target" appeared in 2006's '' The Sentinel'', ''

Alpha Dog ''Alpha Dog'' is a 2006 American crime film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Ha ...

'' as well as in the television show, '' Cold Case''. Greenwood's songs have also been included on '' Scrubs'', '' One Tree Hill'', '' Entourage'', '' So You Think You Can Dance'', and ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

''. "One Lovely Day" appeared in the film ''

Battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

.''

Personal life

Greenwood currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the we ...

. He has one child with singer/songwriter Alice Smith.

Discography

* ''3 Song Demo'' (1990) (Cassette) * ''

Cope Citizen ''Cope Citizen'' is the debut album by American recording artist Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described a ...

'' (1992) (500 copies) * ''Asst. of Shells Remnants Of The Shotgun Trials. CD-R'' (1999) (100-300 copies+/-) * '' Citizen Cope'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2006) #69 U.S. * ''

'' (2010) #111 U.S., #10 U.S. Independent Albums * ''One Lovely Day'' (2012) #39 U.S. * ''Heroin and Helicopters'' (2019) * ''The Pull of Niagara Falls'' (2021)

Other contributions

*'' Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted'' (2002, World Café) - "If There's Love" *Vocals on " Karma Police" from the

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...

album ''

Radiodread ''Radiodread'' is a 2006 tribute album by the Easy Star All-Stars that covers Radiohead's 1997 album ''OK Computer'' in reggae, ska and dub styles. History ''Radiodread'' producer and arranger Michael Goldwasser said: :''OK Computer'' has el ...

'', a complete

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

/ dub cover of Radiohead's "OK Computer" *Duet with Dido on "Burnin Love" from her album '' Safe Trip Home'' (2008) *"Way Down in the Hole" -

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

cover *Guest vocals on "The Grand Illusion (Circa 1973)" for the album ''

W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) ''W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)'' is the third studio album of American hip hop artist Pharoahe Monch released on March 22, 2011 under Duck Down Records. Producers include Lion's Share Music Group, Exile, Marco Polo, M-Phazes, Mike Loe, Fatin "10" ...

'' by Pharoahe Monch *Turntablism in "Let The Drummer Kick" by DJ JVC *Vocals for the song "Muse" by G. Love & Special Sauce from the album ''Love Saves the Day'' (2015) * "Let the Drummer Kick it " By Citizen Cope featured on soundtrack of "Coach Carter" film (2005)

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial YouTube
* Citizen Cope Artist Station
Citizen Cope on Slacker.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citizen Cope 1968 births Living people American male singers American rock singers American soul singers People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn