Tori Amos Biography

Tori Amos is an American Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and pianist. She composes her own music and is known for her mezzo-soprano voice. Her songs combine rock, pop and classical musical. Tori rose to fame in 1992 with singles like Crucify and Winter and continued to impress by releasing Cornflake and, more recent, A Sorta Fairytale. 

Early Life & Career

Tori Amos was born in 1963, in Newton, North Carolina. When she was two, the family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. While her siblings took piano lessons, Tori learned to play by herself and could already reproduce pieces after only listening to them once. By the age of three, she was already composing her own music. In 1968, she became the youngest student at Peabody Conservatory of Music. At the age of 13, Tori played in bars, under the supervision of her father. In 1980, a 16-year old Tori Amos released her first single, Baltimore.After four years of performing in piano bars from Washington, D.C, the young singer moved to L.A.

Breakthrough & Success-Streak

In 1986, Tori formed a synthpop band, Y Kant Tori Read. The group released a self-titled studio album, but it failed to reach recognition. However, the singer had to honour her contract with Atlantic Records. Therefore, after a period of struggle and rework, she released her first solo album, Little Earthquakes (1992). The album focused on religious and personal themes. It was a commercial success, peaking at number 15 in the UK and number 55 on the Billboard 200. Following up on that success, Tori then released Under the Pink, which topped the UK albums chart. Moreover, in 1996, Boys for Pele, reached number 2 on the Billboard 200, becoming her most successful album in the US to date.

Later Years

After two more platinum-certified albums, From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back, both high-sellers and acclaimed, Tori released her first concept album. Strange Little Girls is a collection of covers, reinterpreted from a woman’s point of view. The artist covered a diverse batch of stars, from Tom Waits to Eminem. In 2002, Tori released Scarlet’s Walk, under Epic Records. It debuted at number 7 in the US and approached subjects like culture, history and identity. Moreover, the seventh album spawned the popular hit, A Sorta Fairytale. In 2011, Tori moved to Universal Music and released her first classical music album, Night of Hunters, as a tribute to the legendary composers that inspired her.

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