Leigh Nash
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Leigh Anne Bingham Nash ( ; born June 27, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the Christian alternative rock band
Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer (also known as Sixpence) is an American Christian alternative rock band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, and eventually settled in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs " Kiss Me" and "Breathe Yo ...
and was also a member of
Fauxliage __NOTOC__ ''Fauxliage'' is a musical project consisting of Canadian electronic musicians Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, both of Delerium and Front Line Assembly, and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer in 2007. The vocals are performed exclusivel ...
. Her debut solo album, '' Blue on Blue'', was released on August 15, 2006, by the One Son/Nettwerk record labels. Nash has released two other solo albums in 2011 and 2015. Nash has two Grammy nominations: Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1999 and Best Rock Gospel Album in 1998.


Early life

Nash was born Leigh Anne Bingham in
New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...
, Texas. She started singing country music and learning old country songs on the guitar at the age of 12. She had several years' experience singing in local cafes with a band and performed regularly at a Texan country & western dance hall. She met guitarist and songwriter
Matt Slocum Matt Slocum (born 27 December 1972) is a guitarist, cellist, pianist and composer, known for his work as the principal songwriter and lead guitarist of Sixpence None the Richer. Biography Born in Rhode Island to Joseph and Hildegard Slocum, ...
at a church retreat in the early 1990s.


Career

Leigh Nash and
Matt Slocum Matt Slocum (born 27 December 1972) is a guitarist, cellist, pianist and composer, known for his work as the principal songwriter and lead guitarist of Sixpence None the Richer. Biography Born in Rhode Island to Joseph and Hildegard Slocum, ...
formed Sixpence None the Richer (named for a line from the book ''
Mere Christianity ''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ...
'' by the author
C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
) soon after and went on to record four full-length albums with the band. Their first album, released when she was age 17, was '' The Fatherless & the Widow''. The album garnered critical acclaim and Slocum and Nash searched for new band members. Joined by Tess Wiley, Dale Baker, and J.J. Plascencio, the new band recorded ''
This Beautiful Mess ''This Beautiful Mess'' is the second studio album by American band Sixpence None the Richer, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). The recording was produced by Armand John Petri, who also managed the band from 1993 to 1997. ''This Beautiful Me ...
'', which won a Dove Award for Best Album. Wiley quit the band after their US tour and the band released the '' Tickets for a Prayer Wheel'' EP and then signed to the Squint Records label following the demise of R.E.X. upleft, Leigh Nash with Jars of Clay in Toronto in 2009 The band's eponymous album was released in 1997 and the single " Kiss Me" in 1999. In 1999 they received numerous Dove Awards, including Best Artist of the Year. The band was also nominated for a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
. A second single, a cover of the La's " There She Goes", also hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, followed by a third single, "I Can't Catch You". In 2000, Nash sang the song " Need to Be Next to You" for the movie '' Bounce''. Written by Diane Warren, it became Nash's first solo single. After the departure of drummer Dale Baker and bass player J.J. Plascencio, Sixpence None the Richer released ''Divine Discontent'' in 2001. Two singles from that album, "Breathe Your Name" and a cover of Crowded House's 1986 hit single "
Don't Dream It's Over "Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by rock band Crowded House, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album. The song was composed and written by New Zealand frontman Neil Finn, and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from ...
", charted on the US Adult Top 40 at No. 18 and No. 9, respectively. In 2003, the band appeared on an episode of the final season of the ABC sitcom ''
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
''. In 2004, Sixpence None the Richer announced their break-up by letter from Matt Slocum to ''
CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has be ...
''. After that, the band released '' The Best of Sixpence None the Richer''. Nash and her husband left their Nashville home of 10 years and moved to Los Angeles. Nash released her first solo record, '' Blue on Blue'', in August 2006 on One Son Records, Nash's own imprint label through
Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...
Productions. The first single, " My Idea of Heaven", was released to U.S. radio the week of July 14, 2006, and the song "Ocean Size Love" was to be the second single, but it was a promo release only. She has also recorded a song "Mirrors and Smoke" with the band Jars of Clay on their album ''
Good Monsters ''Good Monsters'' is the seventh full-length studio album from Jars of Clay, released by Essential Records on September 5, 2006. This is their last album of new material from Essential Records and it is said to be lyrically their most aggressi ...
'' the same year. She also performed the song "A Place for Us" (written by
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
) with Tyler James for the 2007 Disney film '' Bridge to Terabithia''. In 2007, Nash began a new band,
Fauxliage __NOTOC__ ''Fauxliage'' is a musical project consisting of Canadian electronic musicians Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, both of Delerium and Front Line Assembly, and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer in 2007. The vocals are performed exclusivel ...
, with Canadian band
Delerium Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band’s history, their musical style has encompassed a ...
, which released a self-titled album on August 14, 2007. Nash, Megan Thompson and Kate York also started a Christian band called Thompson, York & Nash. They worked on a few songs that have been put on MySpace. However, none of the songs posted on their MySpace page have been formally released. In January 2008 Nash traveled to New Zealand for the annual Parachute Music Festival, where she performed acoustic covers of Sixpence None the Richer hits "Kiss Me " and " There She Goes". In late 2008, Nash toured with Delerium. Nash has since rejoined Sixpence and worked on a new EP '' My Dear Machine EP'', and the Christmas album '' The Dawn of Grace''. Guitarist Tess Wiley returned to the band to support them on a European tour. Nash joined Open Wings-Broken Strings tour in late 2009, along with
Ed Kowalczyk Edward Joel Kowalczyk (; born July 16, 1971)"Edward Kowalczyk IMDb entry"
''
of Live and Art Alexakis of Everclear. In 2011 she released a worship album entitled ''Hymns and Sacred Songs'', and in August 2012, she released '' Lost in Transition'', her sixth studio album with Sixpence None the Richer. On September 18, 2015, Nash released her album: '' The State I'm In''. She writes for BMG. In 2018, Nash released a cover of
the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...
' 1986 single "
Don't Get Me Wrong "Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song released by British-American alternative rock group The Pretenders. It was the first single taken from the group's 1986 album, '' Get Close''. It can also be found on the band's '' The Singles'' album, released in ...
". In an interview, Nash stated that new music will be coming soon and will be crowd-funded. On August 25, 2021, Nash announced ''The Tide'', a six-song project, would be released September 24 and would feature collaborations with
Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...
,
Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...
,
CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been ...
, Ruby Amanfu,
Raul Malo Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965, in Miami, Florida), known professionally as Raúl Malo, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band The Mavericks and the ...
and Stephen Wilson Jr.


Inspiration

Nash has two distinct poles of inspiration: her work with Sixpence in the Christian music sphere and her childhood fascination with older female country artists like
Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...
,
Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...
, and
Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...
. "I started singing country music and learning old country songs on the guitar when I was 12. I was really, really shy but just had this desire to get on stage and started calling clubs myself to ask if I could come down and sing," says Nash, who grew up in the Texas Hill Country town of New Braunfels. Before long, the adolescent Nash was singing Loretta Lynn and Tanya Tucker songs like "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" and "Texas When I Die" on alcohol-free, open mic Sunday nights, backed by a middle-aged band of town locals. Later in life her interest in pop acts like
the Sundays The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s. The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...
,
Innocence Mission The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris (née McCullough), her husband (and fellow guitarist) Don Peris, and Mike Bitts (on bass guitar). Although all memb ...
, and
the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
provided more formative material for her songwriting and singing.


Personal life

Nash is the younger of two sisters. She married PFR drummer Mark Nash in May 1996, whom she met while both bands were performing at the
Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...
in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. They have one child (a son) together, who was born in 2004. The couple divorced in 2007. Nash married musician Stephen Wilson in 2011.


Discography

* '' Blue on Blue'' (2006) * ''
Fauxliage __NOTOC__ ''Fauxliage'' is a musical project consisting of Canadian electronic musicians Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, both of Delerium and Front Line Assembly, and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer in 2007. The vocals are performed exclusivel ...
'' (collaboration with
Delerium Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band’s history, their musical style has encompassed a ...
)
(2007) * ''Hymns and Sacred Songs'' (2011) * '' The State I'm In'' (2015) * ''The Tide'' (2021)


Other appearances


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Leigh Bingham 1976 births Living people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers People from New Braunfels, Texas People from Nashville, Tennessee American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women pop singers American women rock singers American pop rock singers American performers of Christian music Musicians from New Braunfels, Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Tennessee New Braunfels High School alumni