Michael Daniel Penn (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He is noted for the 1989 single " No Myth", a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries.

Early life

Penn was born in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He is the first son of actor and director

Leo Penn Leonard Francis Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director and the father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn. Early life Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russi ...

and actress

Eileen Ryan Eileen Ryan (; October 16, 1927 – October 9, 2022) was an American actress. The wife of actor and director Leo Penn, she was the mother of actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn, and of singer Michael Penn. Life and career Ryan was born in the Bro ...

, and the brother of actors

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

and

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...

. He is of

Lithuanian-Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...

(paternal) and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

–

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

(maternal) descent. Penn began playing music in junior high school and attended

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

Career

Michael Penn is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and film composer. Prior to the release of his 1989 debut album ''

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

'', Penn was a member of the Los Angeles band Doll Congress. Penn was one of two musical guests, as a solo artist on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' October 24, 1987, with his brother Sean hosting. Penn had also appeared as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

on a few television series, including '' St. Elsewhere''. ''March'', particularly the first single, " No Myth", brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990

MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist The MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist has been given out since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Until 2006, the award was named Best New Artist in a Video. In 2007 its name was changed to Best New Artist, as the category un ...

. Penn's follow-up albums ''

Free-for-All Free for All may refer to: * ''Free for All'' (film), a 1949 American comedy film * "Free for All" (The Prisoner), a 1967 episode of the British television series ''The Prisoner'' * ''Free-for-All'' (Ted Nugent album), a 1976 album by Ted Nuge ...

'' (1992), ''Resigned'' (1997), ''MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident'' (2000), ''Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947'' (2005) and ''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea'' (2007) weren't able to match the commercial success of ''March'', although critics continued to praise his songcraft. It was with ''Free-for-All'' that Penn faced the specter of the

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

. The album, while praised by critics, was not as successful as Penn's debut, though it had more than its share of supporters. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called it "stunning" and ''CMJ'' wrote that the album "exhausts any doubts" about whether ''March'' was a fluke. In '' Vox'' magazine, critic Gary Leboff acknowledged that Penn could be "pig-headedly uncommercial," but, he conceded, "the payoff is sublime". Leboff continues, "His freeform songwriting creates tracks of startling shape and originality, offering literate reflections on the human condition..." Penn collaborated with the renowned surrealist animators

The Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They were also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ...

on "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)", which found a home not only on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

but in film festivals around the country. He has worked extensively creating original music for film. He scored

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...

's films '' Hard Eight'' (1996) and ''

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

'' (1997); he also appears in the latter in a cameo role as a recording engineer. During the editing of the film, Anderson directed a music video with Penn for "

Try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

" from ''Resigned'' (the video can be found on the ''Boogie Nights'' DVD). Other films scored by Penn include

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...

's first two directorial efforts, ''

The Anniversary Party ''The Anniversary Party'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film co-written, co-directed, co-produced by, and co-starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, both making their respective feature directorial debuts. It is Phoebe Cates's final film ...

'' and '' Suffering Man's Charity''; '' American Teen'', ''

Sunshine Cleaning ''Sunshine Cleaning'' is a 2008 comedy-drama film written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. It stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around two sisters who start a crime scene cleanup business and the vari ...

''; the documentary ''

The Comedians of Comedy ''The Comedians of Comedy'' is a stand-up comedy tour featuring comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed ...

''; and '' The Last Kiss''. In 2003, he was nominated for a DVDX Award for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie for ''

Melvin Goes to Dinner ''Melvin Goes to Dinner'' is a 2003 American film adaptation of Michael Blieden's stage play ''Phyro-Giants!'', directed by Bob Odenkirk. Blieden wrote the screenplay from his stage play, and he also stars in the film (as he did in the Los Angel ...

''. Penn has produced recordings for

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band h ...

and

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

. In August 2005, Penn released '' Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947'' on his own Mimeograph Records label. Its songs are set against the background of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Los Angeles; Penn said he chose the year because of several notable events that took place then, including the passage of the National Security Act and the invention of the

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...

. The album was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d by

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

in April 2007 with bonus tracks from a

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

session. The reissue came in conjunction with Legacy's release of ''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection'', a compilation that includes several alternate versions and previously unreleased songs. Penn said his goal in compiling, ordering tracks for and producing ''Palms and Runes'' was to "make it feel like an album" in its own right. In late 2009, Penn composed the music for the film ''

That Evening Sun "That Evening Sun" is a short story by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1931 in the collection '' These 13'', which included Faulkner's most anthologized story, "A Rose for Emily". The story was originally published, in a slight ...

''. In 2012, Penn began work as the composer for the HBO TV show ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...

''. In January 2013, the ''Girls Vol. 1'' soundtrack was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The album contained a new song by Michael Penn titled "On Your Way", which was featured in the finale of Season 1. He also joined the crew of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through t ...

'' in 2013 as series composer. The show's pilot episode was initially set to be scored by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); ''The Sha ...

, but this did not come to fruition and Penn scored both the pilot and the rest of the series. In 2018, he joined '' Good Girls'' on NBC and '' Here and Now'' on HBO as a composer. In 2020, Penn released a new single, "A Revival". It was his first non-soundtrack work in 15 years.

Personal life

Penn met fellow singer-songwriter

, and during the recording of her album '' I'm with Stupid'' (to which Penn contributed), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their subsequent marriage on December 29, 1997. Together with manager

Michael Hausman Michael Hausman is an American musician and talent manager, known for his collaboration with former-girlfriend and bandmate Aimee Mann. Hausman attended Berklee College of Music and played with a Boston band called The Dark before becoming the dr ...

they formed

United Musicians United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, an independent music collective founded on "the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created and that this ownership is the basis for artistic strength and true independence." Penn and Mann live in Los Angeles. His niece is actress

Dylan Penn Dylan Frances Penn (born April 13, 1991) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright. Her early public roles included modeling campaigns for Gap Inc., a magazine cover for '' treats!'', a music video appe ...

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Cinemascope'' (collection of film score tracks) (2005) *''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection'' (2007)

Singles

With Gabriele Morgan and Doll Congress/Doll Congress

* ''Buried Treasure'' (5-song EP) (1981) * ''Doll Congress'' 12" (1983) * "Give Up Your Ghost" (sung by Morgan) and "I Will Be Around" (sung by Penn) appear on the soundtrack to ''Welcome to 18'' (1986)

Appearances

*"Retribution" (guitar solo) on

Randell Kirsch Randell Kirsch is an American musician. Early life Kirsch received his first guitar lesson in 1962, performed publicly for the first time in 1963 at the Fresno County Fair, won the Wolters Elementary School talent show in 1966 with his band Th ...

, LuAnn Olson and

Chris Hickey Chris Hickey is a professional rugby union coach and the former coach of the NSW Waratahs in the Super Rugby tournament. Early coaching career Chris Hickey first started his coaching career in 1992 with the First Grade Ballina Seahorses rugby u ...

's Show of Hands (I.R.S. 1989) *"Body and Soul?" (backing vocals) on

Thelonious Monster Thelonious Monster is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, led by singer-songwriter Bob Forrest and named after jazz musician Thelonious Monk. Active from 1984 to 1994, again from 2004 to 2011, and reforming a second time in ...

's ''Beautiful Mess'' (1992) *"Weeds" on the

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

'' Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams'' (1993) *"It's Not Safe" (guitar, solo guitar) on

's '' I'm With Stupid'' (1995) *"Christmastime", with Aimee Mann on ''Just Say Noel'' (1996) *"

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in October 1978 as the third single from their 1978 debut album, ''Van Halen''. This song is one of the few David Lee Roth-era songs that subsequent replaceme ...

", with

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

The Moog Cookbook The Moog Cookbook was an American electronic duo consisting of Meco Eno (Roger Manning) and Uli Nomi (Brian Kehew). The project was a parody of and tribute to the novelty Moog records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which featured cover vers ...

's ''

Ye Olde Space Bande ''Ye Olde Space Bande'' is the second album by the Moog Cookbook, released in 1997. It is a selection of covers of classic rock tracks remade using Moog synthesizers and other analog synthesizer An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthes ...

'' (1997) *"Macy Day Parade" on ''Godzilla: The Album'' (1998) *"Reason to Believe", with Aimee Mann on ''Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska'' (2000) *"Wise Up" (Produced) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) * "How Am I Different", "Susan" (backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's '' Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) * "Red Vines" (slide guitar) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) *"Satellite" (guitar feedback, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) *"Driving Sideways" (electric guitar, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) *"Susan" (guitar), on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000) * Co-produced

' ''

(Breach) ''Breach'' (stylized as ''(Breach)'') is the third studio album by The Wallflowers. The album's first single was "Sleepwalker", the video of which poked fun at lead-singer Jakob Dylan's "rock star" status following the success of ''Bringing Down th ...

'' (2000) *"Two of Us", with Aimee Mann on ''

I Am Sam ''I Am Sam'' (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American comedy film co-written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with an intellectual disability, Dakota Fanning as his bright and inquisitive daughter, and Michelle Pfe ...

'' (2001) *"It's Sweet", "Little Digger" (produced, recorded by, guitar, bass) on

's self-titled fourth album (2003) *"Red Light Fever", "Take A Look", "Friend of Mine" (produced, recorded by, guitar) on ''Liz Phair'' (2003)

Film scores

*''Tales From The Vienna Woods'' (1993) *'' Hard Eight'' (originally titled ''Sydney''), with

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

(1996) *''

'' (1997) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2005) *'' The Last Kiss'' (2006) *'' Suffering Man's Charity'' (2007) *'' American Teen'' (2008) *''

'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *''

Bollywood Hero ''Bollywood Hero'' was an American television miniseries that aired on the IFC in three parts on August 6–8, 2009. The miniseries were shot in Mumbai and Los Angeles. The show is a musical miniseries about Chris Kattan and his journey to Mum ...

'' (2009) *'' Solitary Man'' (2010) *''

Carrie Pilby ''Carrie Pilby'' is a coming-of-age novel by Caren Lissner, first published by Red Dress Ink in 2003, then re-released on July 1, 2010 for teenage readers under the new imprint Harlequin Teen. It was among the first novels published by Harlequi ...

'' (2016) *'' Boundaries'' (2017)

Filmography

* St. Elsewhere (playing a lab technician, as an extra) (1985) *''Boogie Nights'' (Nick, an engineer) (1997)

References

External links

*
Bunker Hill
fan site
United MusiciansMySpace pageDiscogs page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Michael 1958 births Aimee Mann American film score composers American male singer-songwriters Record producers from New York (state) American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Living people Singer-songwriters from California People from Los Angeles County, California American alternative rock musicians People from Greenwich Village Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Guitarists from California Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American guitarists Record producers from California American male film score composers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists RCA Records artists