Aimee Mann | |
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![]() Mann in October 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Aimee Elizabeth Mann |
Born | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | September 8, 1960
Genres | Alternative rock |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1980–present |
Labels | |
Member of | The Both |
Formerly of | |
Spouse(s) | |
Website | aimeemann |
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, and her work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.
Mann was born in Richmond, Virginia, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1980s, after playing with the Young Snakes and Ministry, she co-founded the new wave band 'Til Tuesday and wrote their top-ten single "Voices Carry" (1985). 'Til Tuesday released three albums and disbanded in 1990 when Mann left to pursue a solo career.
Mann released her first solo album, Whatever, in 1993, followed by I'm with Stupid in 1995. Both earned positive reviews but low sales, and placed Mann in conflict with her record company, Geffen. She achieved wider recognition for her contributions to the soundtrack for the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia (1999). Her song "Save Me" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal. After Geffen refused to release her third album, Bachelor No. 2, Mann released it under her own label, SuperEgo Records, in 2000. It achieved acclaim and strong sales, establishing Mann as a career artist who could work outside the major label system.
In 2014, Mann released an album with Ted Leo as the Both. Mann also paints and makes comics, and has appeared in film and television series including The Big Lebowski, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Steven Universe, The West Wing and Portlandia. Her awards include two Grammy Awards, including Best Folk Album for Mental Illness (2017). She was named one of the greatest living songwriters by NPR and Paste.