Elisabeth Corrin Maurus (born November 21, 1982), known as Lissie, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, ''

Catching a Tiger ''Catching a Tiger'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Lissie, released in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2010 on Columbia Records. It was released in the United States on 17 August 2010 on Fat Possum Records. The album has ...

'', was released in June 2010. Her second studio album, '' Back to Forever'', was released in October 2013. Her first record as an independent artist, and third studio album, '' My Wild West'', was released February 12, 2016 and went on to receive critical acclaim. Her fourth studio album ''

Castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...

'', was released worldwide on March 23, 2018. Her fifth studio album, ''Carving Canyons'', was released September 16, 2022.

Early life

Lissie was born Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, the youngest of four children and raised in Rock Island,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Her father is a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and her mother, who is of Swedish ancestry, is an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

er. She was interested in singing and music from an early age. She played the title role of the musical '' Annie'' at the age of nine. "In high school it seems like everyone has more drama than any other time in their life. So that was the time in my life where I really leaned on music as a way to stay sane," she said in an interview. In her senior year of high school, she was expelled over what she described as "something stupid that I did, but it was sort of like the culmination of just a lot of negative things that had happened". She got her diploma at an alternative outreach center. She spent two years at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

Fort Collins A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

, during which time she would

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

for musicians who visited the city. She collaborated with DJ Harry of SCI Fidelity Records on the song "All My Life", which was featured on television shows ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'', ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on Fox in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, with a total of four seasons consisting of 92 episodes. The serie ...

'', ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'' and ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

''. After spending a semester in Paris, she finished her studies to pursue a career in music. In 2007, she produced a four-song EP that received some airplay on

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

's ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is an American three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill t ...

''.

Career

In early 2008,

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

invited her to be the opening act for his Love Revolution Tour, after a friend tipped him about her

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

page. Later that year, "The Longest Road", a song she co-wrote with DJ

Morgan Page Morgan Wolf Page (born May 31, 1981) is an American DJ and music producer. His tracks include "The Longest Road", "Fight for You" and "In the Air". Page has received two Grammy Award nominations; a personal nomination for best remix with Nadia ...

reached No. 4 on ''

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 ...

''s

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

chart. "We met under that idea that he was going to remix a song of mine ... But we decided to work on a new song together", she told the ''

Quad-City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area, including Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island, an ...

''. The

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

remix of the track was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

in the "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical" category. Her EP, ''Why You Runnin, produced by Bill Reynolds of

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line ...

, was released in November 2009 on

Fat Possum In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple ester ...

. One of the songs, "Oh Mississippi" was co-written with

Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released ten studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, '' Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Pr ...

, whom she met through a mutual friend. The EP was listed amongst ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' magazine's "Eight Most Auspicious Musical Debuts of 2009". In early 2010, she toured various venues in the United Kingdom supporting Ohio-born singer-songwriter

Joshua Radin Joshua Radin (born June 14, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. He has recorded ten studio albums, and his songs have been used in a number of films and TV series. His most successful album, ''Simple Times'', was released in 2008. Beginning ...

. Lissie signed with

Sony Music UK Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Her debut album, ''

'', was released on 21 June 2010. The album was recorded in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 2009 and produced by

Jacquire King Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Zach Bryan, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, ...

. The first single from the album, "In Sleep", was selected as Track of The Day by '' Q'' on 13 March 2010. A second single, "When I'm Alone," was released alongside the album; it would later be chosen by

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

UK as their song of the year 2010. In August 2010, her single "Cuckoo" was voted overwhelmingly to be the Record of the Week by listeners of

expat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

radio station Heart FM Spain (www.heartfmspain.com), as a result of listener feedback, Lissie and the album "Catching A Tiger" were featured throughout the week of August 23 to 27. The single was also added to the "A" level playlist on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

giving it around twenty plays a week on the UK's most popular station. The ''Cuckoo'' EP includes Lissie's live version of "

Bad Romance "Bad Romance" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Following an unauthorized demo leak, Gaga premiered the ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

, which became popular online before being included on the release. Lissie is featured on at least 4 tracks on

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

's album '' Fallen Empires'', released in November 2011. Her cover of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

's 'Go Your Own Way' found prominence in early 2012, when it was used in a

Twinings Twinings () is a British marketeer of tea and other beverages, including coffee, hot chocolate, and malt drinks, based in Andover, Hampshire. The brand is owned by Associated British Foods. It holds the world's oldest continually used company ...

advert and in the film Safe Haven. The song was also used as a theme for the BBC Radio 4 reading of

Iain Banks Iain Banks (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, adding the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies (). After the success of '' The Wasp Fact ...

's Stonemouth, read by

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

. The song was also featured in the closing moments of the first-season finale for "Good Behavior" in 2017. On 4 November 2015, she announced the released date for her new album, '' My Wild West'', as 12 February 2016. She performed her song 'Wild West' in Part 14 of the third season of ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

''. In season 3 of the TV show '' Loudermilk'' that was released in 2020, she played a fictional character called Lizzie Poole who used to be a singer-songwriter in a band called Pool, but gave that career up after a negative review written by the title character, Sam Loudermilk, played by

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Peter Gibbons in ''Office Space'' (1999) and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001). Liv ...

. The songs that character performs in the show are previously released Lissie songs, including "When I'm Alone."

Personal life

Lissie lives on a farm in northeast

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, moving there from

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, California, in 2015. She is a fan of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

, citing ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' and the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series as favorites.

Discography

* ''

'' (2010) * '' Back to Forever'' (2013) * '' My Wild West'' (2016) * ''

'' (2018) * ''Carving Canyons'' (2022)

References

External links

Official WebsiteUK Record Label Bio
Bonedo.de * ttps://www.npr.org/2011/08/28/140017382/catching-a-tiger-a-midwestern-debut-album Interview with Lissie on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, 08/28/11 {{authority control 1982 births Living people American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American women rock singers American folk rock musicians American people of Swedish descent Columbia Records artists Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Illinois People from Ojai, California People from Rock Island, Illinois American rock songwriters Fat Possum Records artists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from California Guitarists from Illinois 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from California Country musicians from Illinois 21st-century American singer-songwriters