Kate Jacobs (born January 11, 1959, in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, United States) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer-songwriter.

Biography

Jacobs wanted to become a ballet dancer. Her father was in the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

, and she moved to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

when she was eleven. Her family was a singing one, if not formally musical. Her father sang old

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

songs at home, and her mother sang Russian ballads and American standards. At church, she sang songs of the civil rights era and the folk revival, and some songs such as " Up, Up and Away". She was a fan of

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

, and her disparate musical tastes included standards written by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

, and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

, as well as country music by artists like

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

. During the early 1980s, Jacobs moved to New York City. She continued to dance, but by 1987, she had started to write songs. In 1992, she recorded her first album, ''The Calm Comes After''

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his na ...

. She followed in 1995, with '' What About Regret''. In 1999, she released her third album, ''Hydrangea'', to which guests

Peter Holsapple Peter Livingston Holsapple (born February 19, 1956) is an American musician, who formed, along with Chris Stamey, the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongat ...

Vicki Peterson Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson Cowsill (born January 11, 1958) is an American rock musician and songwriter. She has been the lead guitarist for the Bangles since their foundation in 1981. After their first disbandment in 1989, she has returned ...

and

Susan Cowsill Susan Claire Cowsill (born May 20, 1959; Canton, Ohio) is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. The Cowsills Cowsill began her musical career with the Cowsills in 1967; she is the youngest member of the Cowsills and the only daughter of parent ...

added their musical contributions, as did long-time cohorts Dave Schramm and James MacMillan. The key songs on the album are taken from her family's history. "Never Be Afraid" is based on a phrase of her Aunt Katia's in 1938 when the family was emigrating to the US; "A Snowy Street" is based on a journal entry of her doctor grandfather in post- revolutionary Russia; "Eddy Went To Spain" is about an uncle who fought in the

Abraham Lincoln Brigade The Abraham Lincoln Brigade ( es, Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (''XV Brigada Internacional''), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the Internationa ...

for the republican side in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, and "Good Doctor" was based on a journal of Elena, a fourteen-year-old

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

patient of her great grandfather's, who fell in love with her physician. After ''Hydrangea'', she became busy with her family life, and did not release another album for six years. In 2004, she released her fourth album, ''You Call That Dark''. After a six-year hiatus while she raised two sons, Jacobs, a

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

resident since 1981, released her fifth album ''Home Game'' in January 2011 through Small Pond Music.Testa, Jim
"Hoboken singer/songwriter Kate Jacobs releasing new album, returning to live performance"
''

The Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton and ...

'', November 5, 2010. Accessed January 21, 2018. "It’s been six years since singer/songwriter Kate Jacobs released her last album, time she’s spent raising two sons in her Hoboken apartment.... Jacobs recorded four albums for Hoboken’s Bar None Records, the last in 2004, but ''Home Game'' will be released on Small Pond Music."

Discography

* ''The Calm Comes After'' (Bar/None, 1993) * '' What About Regret'' (Bar/None, 1995) * ''Hydrangea'' (Bar/None, 1998) * ''You Call That Dark'' (Bar/None, 2004) * ''Home Game'' (2011)

References

External links

Kate Jacobs' homepage
* Kate Jacobsat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Kate 1959 births Living people American folk musicians Musicians from Alexandria, Virginia American women singer-songwriters American folk singers Musicians from Hoboken, New Jersey People from Fairfax County, Virginia Singer-songwriters from Virginia Singer-songwriters from New Jersey 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Guitarists from Virginia Guitarists from New Jersey 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American women guitarists Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Bar/None Records artists