Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert ( ; born March 17, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter from
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.[Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round".
Kesha's music and ima ...]
. Sebert has co-written number-one hits for
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
,
Pitbull, and Kesha, her daughter. Sebert and Kesha have written 11 published songs together. The songs Sebert wrote for other artists have combined sales of over 8 million copies in the United States alone.
In 2013, Sebert appeared as a regular on reality show ''
Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life'', which starred Kesha and was filmed by her son Lagan.
Early life and education
Sebert was born on March 17, 1956, in
Michigan City, Indiana
Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 32,075 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Lake Michigan in the Michiana region, the city is about east of Chicago and is west o ...
, and her early years were spent on her parents' farm. She is of
German,
Hungarian, and
Polish descent. Pebe began singing and making up songs at age 4 and singing publicly by age six, and she trained as a singer and played piano and guitar. She sang in groups, bands, and as a solo artist. Sebert entered the
Interlochen Arts Academy at age 15, where she participated in the Madrigal group, which toured by invitation in Europe. She also toured as a soprano with the American Youth Symphony and Choir. She began playing coffeehouses in Chicago and Europe throughout her high school years.
Career
In the 1970s, Sebert wrote "
Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" with then-husband
Hugh Moffatt for
American Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
singer
Joe Sun for his album ''Old Flames''.
Sun's version soon became a hit, peaking at No. 14 on the ''
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 ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
included a cover of the song on her 1980 album ''
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly'' two years after Sun's version was released. Parton's version became a huge hit, reaching No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" was later covered by many artists, including Sebert's daughter Kesha for her
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
''
Deconstructed'' and her third studio album ''
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
''.
In 2004, Sebert lent her vocals on X-Mas Balls' debut holiday album, ''She Left Me For Rudolph'', singing "If I Was an Angel" with Ned McElroy and Jerry Williams.
In May 2005, Sebert and her two children Kesha and Lagan starred in an episode of the reality series ''
The Simple Life'' which starred
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...
and
Nicole Richie. In the May 12, 2005 episode "The Wedding Planner," Sebert lets Hilton and Richie stay at her house while they attempt to plan a wedding and eventually try, with Kesha's help, to set Sebert up on a date.
In 2010, Sebert co-wrote her daughter Kesha's hit song "
Your Love Is My Drug", which became a Top 10 single in nine countries and reached triple-platinum in the U.S. Later that year, Sebert and Kesha gave the song "Disgusting" to pop singer
Miranda Cosgrove for her debut album, and contributed the title track for
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
's debut EP, ''
The Time of Our Lives''.
In 2012, Sebert co-wrote "Warrior", "Dirty Love", "Wonderland", "Gold Trans Am", and "Out Alive" for Kesha's second album ''Warrior''. Sebert also provided backing vocals for the tracks "Dirty Love", which featured
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
, and "Gold Trans Am".
In April 2013, Sebert appeared on Kesha's reality show ''
Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life'' which was filmed by her son Lagan Sebert and aired on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. The first season (April 23, 2013 – May 28, 2013) documented Kesha's life as she embarked on her first solo tour and worked on her second album, ''Warrior''.
The second season featured Kesha spending more time at home taking a much-needed break, and featured Sebert's youngest son and Kesha's youngest brother, Louie, who hadn't appeared in the first season. Season two ran from October 30 to December 18, 2013.
In 2013, Sebert co-wrote Kesha and American rapper
Pitbull's hit single "
Timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
", which was released on October 2, 2013, and became a Top 10 single in 28 countries and No. 1 in 12 countries.
On December 31, 2013, Kesha released a music video for "Dirty Love", which Sebert had co-written and for which she contributed vocals.
In 2017, Sebert co-produced Kesha's comeback album ''Rainbow'' which features two new tracks co-written by the duo ("Hymn" and "Learn To Let Go"), as well as a duet of "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You", between Kesha and Parton. Sebert co-wrote the duet "
Safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...
" with Kesha and her son Louie, who performed it alongside indie rapper Chika.
Personal life
Sebert was married to
Hugh Moffatt, with whom she wrote "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You",
for seven years, separating in 1984. They had one child together, Lagan Sebert.
In 1987, Sebert gave birth to daughter
Kesha Rose Sebert. Sebert frequently brought Kesha and her brother along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing.
She moved the family to
Nashville, Tennessee
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 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting.
Sebert has one adopted son, Louis Sage "Louie" Sebert, who was born on October 12, 1999. He appeared in an episode of the television series ''
Victorious
''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...
'' alongside Kesha.
Through Lagan, Pebe has two grandchildren.
Sebert checked into Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center in
Lemont, Illinois
Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks ...
, for
rehab in January 2014, claiming that she had post-traumatic stress disorder from the trauma of Kesha being attacked by her record label and
Dr. Luke.
Sebert has admitted that she is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic and had taken Kesha to
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
meetings with her since Kesha was a year old.
Discography
Awards and nominations
BMI Pop Music Awards
*2010 ("
Your Love Is My Drug" Kesha)
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebert, Pebe
1956 births
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
American people of German descent
American people of Hungarian descent
American people of Polish descent
Kesha
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
American women pop singers