Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American musician from

Los Angeles, California 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 wo ...

. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single " LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album ''

Screamin' for My Supper ''Screamin' for My Supper'' is the second studio album by American singer/songwriter Beth Hart. It was released on August 3, 1999, by Atlantic Records. The album features her most notable single to date, "LA Song (Out of This Town)", which was a ...

''. The single was a number one hit in New Zealand, as well as reaching the top 5 of the US

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

and Top 10 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data System ...

charts. Hart has had several well received collaborations with guitarist Joe Bonamassa, beginning in 2011 with '' Don't Explain'', followed with the

Grammy 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 pres ...

-nominated '' Seesaw'' (2013) and '' Live in Amsterdam'' (2014), the latter of which topped the Billboard Blues Album Chart, a chart that she has topped six times. Her latest work with Bonamassa was the 2018 album '' Black Coffee''. Hart has had two number 1 singles in Denmark, "As Good as It Gets" and "Learning to Live", as well a double platinum-selling album, '' Leave the Light On''. Hart's most recent album, released in 2022, is '' A Tribute to Led Zeppelin'', a collection of covers of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

songs.

Early life

Hart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As a 4-year-old, she began to play piano. At first, she concentrated on classical works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, but as she grew older, she also began to play pieces by artists such as

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

and

. Regarding her childhood in an interview with Don Wilcock, Hart stated, "When I was a kid, my dad left me in a bad way, and what fucked me up the most was that he would be in the lives of my other sisters and brothers, but he wouldn't be in mine." At the age of 22, Hart lost her sister from complications of AIDS.

Career

1987–1998: Career beginnings

Hart entered Los Angeles'

High School for the Performing Arts The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public performing arts high school located in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland, United States and is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system. Established in 1979, The Baltimore School for ...

in 10th grade as a vocal and cello major. At the prompting of a classmate, she soon began singing during open mic nights in the Belly Room of the Comedy Store. Hart began playing clubs in Hollywood at the age of 15, and eventually enlisted bassist Tal Herzberg and guitarist Jimmy Khoury for ''Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls'', which was recorded in 1993. It includes "Am I the One" (which later appeared on her first official record ''Immortal'') and a pop-rock cover of the Beatles' "

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...

". The first released album with the Beth Hart Band, '' Immortal'', was released in 1996 through Atlantic, scanning 13,000 copies and featured the single "God Bless You". It also included "Am I the One", a fan favorite that ended up on her first DVD that was released in 2005. After touring the record, including at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...

in 1996, the Beth Hart Band disbanded due to infighting. In 1993, Hart appeared on

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...

's '' Star Search'', ultimately winning the Female Vocalist competition. Hart has stated that winning the show did not land her a record deal due to the stigma associated with performing on the show, and that she had burned through the prize money she received by the time she struck a deal with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

1999–2009: Commercial breakthrough

Hart's second solo album, ''

'' was released in 1999, and featured " LA Song (Out of This Town)", a No. 1 hit in New Zealand, as well as a Top 10

chart hit in the US. The song also aired during Episode 17 of the 10th and final season of ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran ...

''. At the same time, Hart was singing the lead role in ''Love, Janis'', an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

musical based on Joplin's letters home to her mother. Hart's follow-up album, '' Leave the Light On'', was released in 2003 via Koch Records, after being dropped by Atlantic presumably due to Hart's drug addiction. While still successful in New Zealand, the album saw her breakthrough in the European market, with the single "Learning to Live" reaching number 1 in Denmark, while the album achieved a 2× Platinum certification. "Learning to Live" was also used as the theme song to ''

Losing It with Jillian ''The Biggest Loser'' is an American competition reality show that initially ran on NBC for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2016 before moving to USA Network in 2020. The show features Obesity, obese or overweight contestants competing to win a cash pri ...

'' on NBC. In 2003, she became the first and only musician to feature as backing vocalist for a Deep Purple song ("Haunted", released on the Bananas album). Two years later in 2005, Hart released her first live album, '' Live at Paradiso'', which was recorded at a former church in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and released both as a CD and a DVD. It featured a variety of Hart's self written songs and a cover of " Whole Lotta Love" by

. Hart appears on Toots Thielemans' album ''One More For the Road'' on the track "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues", which was released in 2006. Hart's fourth solo studio album '' 37 Days'' was released in Europe in July 2007, and eventually as a DVD as well. The album debuted at No. 1 in Denmark and spent two weeks at the top, her first album to top a national chart, and additionally reached a Gold certification in the country. The record was her last on a major label (Universal), though it solidified her European commercial success.

2010–2014: Independent career, collaborations with Joe Bonamassa

Her fifth solo studio album ''

My California ''My California'' is the fifth studio album by Beth Hart, released in 2010. Hart worked with Danish producer Rune Westberg, who had already worked on Beth's previous albums '' 37 Days'' and '' Leave the Light On''. Westberg challenged Hart not to ' ...

'' was released in 2010, and was her first on Provogue Records. Hart delivered music to the end-scene of the last episode of season 6 of '' Californication'', with the title song of this record "My California". On August 23, 2012, her song "Take It Easy on Me" from ''My California'' was used in the first episode of the eighth series of the BBC TV drama '' Waterloo Road''. On July 31, 2012, the album was released in the United States. On the same date, she released an EP titled ''Introducing Beth Hart''. During this time, Hart collaborated with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

on "Mother Maria", released on the iTunes version of Slash's 2010 solo album, ''

'', and additionally collaborated with rapper Born on his single "It Hurts", released in February 2012. Following her tour with Jeff Beck in 2006 through the United States, she appeared with him again in December 2012, at the Kennedy Center Opera House, along with a group of blues/rock musicians, performing " I'd Rather Go Blind" in tribute to Buddy Guy, who received a 2012 Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture. The performance received a standing ovation from

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and First Lady Michelle Obama, and led to the collaboration with Buddy Guy, where he recorded the song "What You Gonna Do About Me" with Beth Hart for his album '' Rhythm & Blues''. In 2011, Hart collaborated with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa on their first co-release " Don't Explain", an album of blues and soul classics. The album reached number 3 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart and also went gold in the Netherlands. She additionally provided vocals for the track "No Love on the Street" on Bonamassa's ''

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

'', which was released the same year. The following year, Hart's release ''

Bang Bang Boom Boom ''Bang Bang Boom Boom'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Beth Hart, released on October 5, 2012 by Provogue/ Mascot Label. Track listing Personnel ;Musicians * Beth Hart – Piano, Vocals * Lee Thornburg – Hor ...

'' became one of her biggest commercial successes, appearing on the charts of at least 10 countries, as well as becoming her first to chart on the ''Billboard'' Blues Album Chart, climbing to Number 3. She worked with producer Kevin Shirley, whom she collaborated with for the first time on the album "Don't Explain". The album was released the following year in the United States. In 2013, the duo Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa released '' Seesaw'', again produced by Kevin Shirley. The album rose to number 8 on the Billboard Top Independent Album Chart. In 2014 Hart was 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 pre ...

for ''Seesaw'' and she was also nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy ...

in the category 'Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist'. The album additionally holds her highest peak position on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

, reaching the Top 50. Hart's second live album/DVD, Live in Amsterdam, was also recorded in

, Netherlands, this time at the Royal Carré Theatre. Hart and Joe Bonamassa went on a mini European tour of five shows (Bergen, Norway - London, UK - Antwerp, Belgium - Amsterdam, Netherlands), of which two were at the Carré Theatre. Both nights were recorded and released on the DVD/LP/CD "Live in Amsterdam" in 2014. In 2014, she performed once again with Jeff Beck, this time during his Australian tour as a supporting act, in addition to joining him on stage during his set.

2015–2019: ''Better Than Home'', ''Fire on the Floor'', ''Black Coffee'', and ''War in My Mind''

Hart's seventh solo studio album '' Better Than Home'', was released on April 13, 2015, in Europe and on the following day in the US. The recording process was "painful" for Hart: the album was produced by Michael Stevens, whose cancer diagnosis pressured Hart into completing the recording of the album in just five days. In addition to this, she entered a psych ward twice while making the album. Nevertheless, the lead single "Mechanical Heart" charted at number 1 in the "iTunes Blues" song list, and the album entered the album charts in the Netherlands at number 1. In the USA the album entered both the Billboard Blues Charts and iTunes Blues Charts at number 1. The album also charted in other countries: number 11 in Germany and 33 in the UK. On January 29, 2016, Hart and Jeff Beck released the single "Tell Her You Belong To Me" worldwide on iTunes, after performing the song live on '' Jools' Annual Hootenanny'' in 2015/2016 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

. They also performed " Nutbush City Limits" on the show as well. At the end of 2015, Mojo magazine ranked the album as the fourth best blues album of the year, while Hart appeared as one of the narrators for the documentary film '' Unity''. Hart released her eighth studio album, ''

Fire on the Floor ''Fire on the Floor'' is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Beth Hart. It was released on October 14, 2016 in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and February 3, 2017 in the rest of the world. Hart wrote and recorded the ...

'', on October 14, 2016, in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. For the rest of the world it was released on February 3, 2017, to coincide with her tour. Hart wrote all songs herself, except for "Let's Get Together" (with Rune Westberg) and "Fat Man" (with Glen Burtnik). The title track was released first followed by "Love Is a Lie", which is the official first single off the album. On January 26, 2018, Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa released '' Black Coffee'', again produced by Kevin Shirley. The album debuted at number 1 on the US Blues Chart, and also in the Dutch album top 100. On November 30, 2018, Hart released a live concert recording, '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall'', as a video release and a live album on Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group. The recordings were captured in May 2018 when she performed at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. Hart released her ninth solo studio album, '' War in My Mind'', on September 27, 2019, through Provogue/Mascot Label Group. The album became her highest-charting solo album in a number of European markets, including the UK where it reached the Top 20, as well as Germany, where it hit the Top 10.

2020–2022: ''A Tribute to Led Zeppelin''

In 2021, Hart began teasing new music by hiding hints in her

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

canvas videos. On November 12, she announced her tenth solo studio album, '' A Tribute to Led Zeppelin'', alongside the first single, a cover of " Good Times Bad Times." The album was released on February 25, 2022, debuting at No. 1 in the Netherlands and became her highest charting solo album in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Artistry

Hart is known for her "visceral", "gritty", "soaring" and "dynamic"

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typical ...

vocals. Hart also plays piano, guitar, cello, bass guitar and percussion. Describing his collaborator's performance at Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland, Joe Bonamassa told Music Radar: "I was totally knocked out by Beth. Here's this lady who's acting like I'm the cool one, and meanwhile I'm thinking, Man, she's got it all. She's the new Janis Joplin,

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

- the real deal, you know?" American pop singer

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

lists Hart amongst her favorite singers of all time. In 2013, she told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

,'' "she's got one of the best voices, I feel like, of all time."

Personal life

Hart is married to her road manager Scott Guetzkow, and currently resides in Los Angeles. Her manager is David Wolff. Hart has struggled with drug addiction and

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, but has been sober for a number of years finding religion and practicing transcendental meditation.

Awards and nominations

At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Hart received a nomination for

Best Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Blues Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the blues genre. Honors in sever ...

with ''Seesaw'', ultimately losing to Ben Harper and

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal ...

's '' Get Up!''. Hart has been nominated at the

s for six consecutive years, ultimately winning the "Instrumentalist - Vocals" category in 2018.

Discography

* ''Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls'' (1993) * '' Immortal'' (1996) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Leave the Light On'' (2003) * '' 37 Days'' (2007) * ''

'' (2010) * '' Don't Explain'' with Joe Bonamassa (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Seesaw'' with Joe Bonamassa (2013) * '' Better Than Home'' (2015) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Black Coffee'' with Joe Bonamassa (2018) * '' War in My Mind'' (2019) * '' A Tribute to Led Zeppelin'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Beth 1972 births Living people American women singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American women rock singers MNRK Music Group artists Torch singers American blues singers American contraltos American soul singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Provogue Records artists