Elliott Smith was born one Steven Paul Smith, August 6, 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Raised primarily in Texas till the age of 14 Elliott packed his bags and went to live with his Father in Portland, Oregon in 1983. It was after this move that the young Elliott, as he began calling himself on account of his dislike for his given name, began experimenting with recording music using a borrowed four-track recorder.
While attending college in Amherst, Massachusetts, Smith formed the band Heatmiser, named after the villain from the 1974 Rankin and Bass stop motion animated Christmas television special “The Year Without A Santa Claus”, and began playing gigs back in Portland after graduating in 1991. Heatmiser released two EP’s and three albums before disbanding in 1996.
Smith released his first two solo albums, “Roman Candle” (1994) and the self titled “Elliott Smith” (1995) before the break up of Heatmiser and went on to release three additional albums before his tragic untimely death at the age of 34 in 2003. The album he was working on at the time of his death, “From A Basement On The Hill”, was released posthumously in 2004 the year following his death.
John Lennon’s song “Jealous Guy” was frequently included as part of Smith’s set list for his live shows.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry that I made you cry. I didn’t want to hurt you” – John Lennon