Perky pop singer Lisa Loeb, known for her large eyeglasses, became the first unsigned performer in history to top the Billboard Hot 100 when her "Stay," from the movie "Reality Bites," did the trick in 1994.
Lisa Loeb was born March
11, 1968, in Bethesda, Md. She grew up in Dallas, joining her older brother and her sister in singing along with Kiss albums and Olivia Newton-John songs, respectively.
As a youngster, Loeb studied ballet, tap, piano and music theory. In her teens, she began playing the guitar and performed for the first time when she was at camp. The budding songwriter then attended Brown University.
During her college days, she started a singing duo, Liz and Lisa, with a friend. For a year, the team included future pop star Duncan Sheik on guitar. A few years after graduation, Loeb began her solo career playing coffeehouses in New York.
Loeb met producer Juan Patiño, who helped her make demos, including "Stay." Her friend actor Ethan Hawke, played the tape for director/actor Ben Stiller; "Stay" was chosen for the soundtrack of the Winona Ryder film "Reality Bites." Hawke directed Loeb's video for the track.
The Grammy Award–nominated "Stay" went to #1, and Loeb signed with Geffen Records. She issued Tails (1995), including "It's Over" and "Do You Sleep?," and toured with her band Nine Stories (Tim Bright on guitar, Jonathan Feinberg on drums and Joe Quigley on bass).
In 1997 and 1998, Loeb played the Lilith Fair, where her diarylike tales of angst fit in perfectly.
Firecracker (1997), including the hit "I Do," the title track and "Dance With the Angels" (RealAudio excerpt), is Loeb's most recent LP. Shawn Colvin performed backing vocals on "Falling in Love."
Loeb is in the process of recording her third album. She spent some time in Nashville, where she wrote songs with Randy Scruggs and Deana Carter, among others. Loeb also joined the songwriters' circle with Aimee Mann and John Popper at the recent Sundance Film Festival.
She is scheduled to go to Australia this month as part of the Music Bridges program, in which U.S. songwriters collaborate with Australian tunesmiths and then perform together in Melbourne.
Other birthdays on Saturday: Flaco Jimenez (Texas Tornados), 61; Ric Rothwell (Mindbenders), 56; Harvey Mandel (Canned Heat), 54; Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge), 53; Blue Weaver (Strawbs), 53; George Kooymans (Golden Earring), 52; Bobby McFerrin, 50; Nina Hagen, 45; Mike Percy (Dead or Alive), 39; Bruce Watson (Big Country), 39; and Lenny Wolf (Kingdom Come), 38.
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