Elliott Smith

@Singers, Timeline and Family

Elliott Smith was a talented musician who could play multiple instruments like guitar, piano, drums, and clarinet

Aug 6, 1969

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Biography

Personal Details

  • Birthday: August 6, 1969
  • Died on: October 21, 2003
  • Nationality: American
  • Famous: Musicians, Singers
  • Known as: Steven Paul Smith
  • Cause of death: Suicide
  • Birth Place: Omaha

Elliott Smith born at

Omaha

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Birth Place

He was not married and shared a home with his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba till his death.

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Personal Life

He led a very troubled personal life and battled with depression, drug addiction and alcoholism. He attempted rehab many times but that did not work for him. On his own accord, he gave up alcohol and psychiatric medications in 2003.

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Personal Life

On 21 October 2003, he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the chest. He was just 34.

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Personal Life

Elliott Smith was born to Gary Smith and Bunny Berryman. At the time of his birth, Gary was a student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, while Bunny was an elementary school teacher.

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Childhood & Early Life

His parents divorced when he was six months old. Initially he lived with his mother who eventually remarried. His stepfather sexually abused the little boy who had a very difficult and disturbed childhood.

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Childhood & Early Life

He began playing the piano from a young age and learned guitar by the time he was 10. He also began to compose original songs and played one piece at an arts festival which won him a prize.

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Childhood & Early Life

He moved to Oregon when he was 14 to live with his father and his new family consisting of his stepmother and two half-sisters. As a disturbed teenager from a trouble home, he started using drugs and alcohol.

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Childhood & Early Life

At this time, he also started exploring music as a professional career and began to record his music with a borrowed recorder. As a student in Lincoln High School, he sang, played multiple instruments, and occasionally performed for the bands ‘Stranger than Fiction’ and ‘A Murder of Crows’.

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Childhood & Early Life

During college he met Neil Gust who shared his dreams of building a musical career. The duo recruited bassist Brandt Peterson and drummer Tony Lash and formed the alternative rock band ‘Heatmiser’ in 1991.

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Career

In 1992, the band released an Extended Play (EP) of six demo songs in 1992. It was a limited version series and some of the songs from the EP were later re-recorded for Heatmiser’s future album.

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Career

Heatmiser released its first album, ‘Dead Air’, in 1993. Their music was a contrast of happy and cheerful songs, along with sad and melancholy singles. Their first album featured the single ‘Still’ by Elliott.

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Career

The band released an (EP) titled ‘Yellow No.5’ in 1994. The EP was appreciated by music critics for having a varied and fresh approach. The same year their second album, ‘Cop and Speeder’ was also out.

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Career

The band was doing fine, but not well enough to support the band mates financially. Elliott did odd jobs also to earn his living.

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Career

His song ‘Miss Misery’ featured on the soundtrack of the drama movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997) was his claim to wide spread fame. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song and was requested to play the songs at many of his tours.

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Major Works

His last album, ‘From a basement on the Hill’ which he left incomplete at the time of his death was released posthumously and went on to become the most popular of his works.

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Major Works