Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith
Smith performing in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Steven Paul Smith
Born	(1969-08-06)August 6, 1969 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	October 21, 2003(2003-10-21) (aged 34) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Indie folk[1] indie pop[2] indie rock[3] lo-fi[4]
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar
Discography	Elliott Smith discography
Years active	1985–2003
Labels	Virgin/Caroline Cavity Search Kill Rock Stars Suicide Squeeze DreamWorks ANTI- Domino
Formerly of	Heatmiser
Website	elliottsmith.co

Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument was the guitar, though he also played piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica. He had a distinctive vocal style in his solo career after Heatmiser, characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery",^[5] and often used multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures, and harmonies that were usually finger picked and recorded with tape.

After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994, with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars (KRS). In 1997, he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded his final two albums.^[6] Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery"—included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting (1997)—was nominated for the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Song.^[7]

Smith was a heavy drinker and drug user, and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression.^[8] His struggles with drugs and mental illness affected his life and work, and often appeared in his lyrics. He died at his Los Angeles home from two stab wounds to the chest at age 34 in 2003.^[9] The autopsy evidence did not determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted.^[10] At the time of his death, Smith was working on his album From a Basement on the Hill, posthumously produced and released in 2004.