Elizabeth Mitchell (born 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She began her career performing with

Lisa Loeb Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites,'' the first number 1 single for an artist ...

as the duo Liz and Lisa, then founded the

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band Ida in 1991, of which she continues to be a member. As a solo artist, she has been recording and performing music for children since 1998. Mitchell was the first children's music artist signed to

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

in the 21st century. She has released seven albums of children's music, including her 2006 release '' You Are My Little Bird'', which was voted Best Children's Album of 2006 by Amazon.com. Mitchell has also collaborated with musicians including

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

Dan Zanes Daniel Edgerly Zanes (born November 8, 1961) is an American former member of the popular 1980s band the Del Fuegos and is now the front man of the Grammy-winning group Dan Zanes and Friends. History Zanes's father was a teacher, as well as a p ...

Ella Jenkins Ella Jenkins (born August 6, 1924) is an American folk singer and actress. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Children's Folk Song" by the ''Wisconsin State Journal'', she has been a leading performer of children's music for over fifty years. Her alb ...

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

and

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...

Early life, education and early career

Mitchell was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1968. She attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, graduating in 1990. While at Brown, Mitchell formed the band Liz and Lisa with fellow student and singer-songwriter

, who was also in the class of 1990. The two put out two albums: ''Liz and Lisa'' in 1989, and ''

Liz and Lisa – Days Were Different ''Liz and Lisa – Days Were Different'' is an album by Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song " Sta ...

'' in 1990. Among their backing band was

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed m ...

, another Brown University student. Soon after graduating from Brown, Mitchell moved to Brooklyn and got a job as an assistant teacher at the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery School in New York City.

Career

In 1991, Mitchell and Daniel Littleton started recording and performing as a duo. After playing shows with double-bassist Rick Lassiter they recorded a 4-track cassette of their songs. Jenny Toomey, co-owner of Simple Machines Records heard it, and offered to release an album on her label; the result was '' Tales of Brave Ida'' in 1994. Littleton's brother Michael joined the band soon afterwards, and Karla Schickele joined in 1996, creating Ida's first classic lineup. They have since released seven studio albums, in addition to various live albums, EPs and compilations. Mitchell fell into the world of children's music in part by accident. Her first album of children's music, '' You Are My Flower'', was recorded in a single afternoon in 1998 at the home studio of

Warren Defever Warren Defever (first name often spelled Warn; born April 30, 1969) is a musician and producer, originally from Livonia, Michigan, and now based in Detroit. He is most known for his chameleonic project His Name Is Alive, though he is active in num ...

of the band His Name is Alive. It was not intended for commercial release, but after much word of mouth demand, she released the album on her and Daniel's record label, Last Affair Records. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings released Elizabeth Mitchell's album ''Sunny Day'' on October 5, 2010. ''Sunny Day'' features performances with Mitchell's husband and musical partner, Daniel Littleton, their nine-year-old daughter Storey and Storey's cousins and friends. The album features two original songs written by Storey, and guest performers include Levon Helm, Dan Zanes, Jon Langford (

Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

), and the Children of Agape Choir of South Africa. Songs on the album range from traditional American folk songs, to Japanese and Korean nursery songs, to fresh new arrangements of popular songs. Her next album, ''Little Seed'', was released in 2012. ''Little Seed'' features performances with Mitchell's husband, Daniel Littleton, daughter Storey, as well as other musical friends. The album is dedicated to Mitchell's interpretation of America's musical bard, Woody Guthrie, including the well-known track, "This Land Is Your Land." The album was nominated in the Best Children's Album category for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The album ''Blue Clouds'' was released by Smithsonian Folkways in October 2012. Mitchell's inspiration began from a bedtime story that her husband Daniel used to tell her daughter called "Land of the Blue Clouds." As with her previous albums, Mitchell collaborates with her husband Daniel, daughter Storey, and other musical family and friends. The album includes covers from various artists including

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

, as well as her own compositions. ''You Are My Flower'' and ''You Are My Sunshine'' have since been re-released on Mitchell's own label, Little Bird Records. At the suggestion of artist Dan Zanes, Smithsonian Folkways signed Mitchell as their first new children's music artist of the 21st century. Mitchell can be heard singing a duet with Ziggy Marley on his 2009 release '' Family Time''. Her first

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

, ''The Sounding Joy'', was released on October 15, 2013. This collection of folk carols draws from Ruth Crawford Seeger's 1953 songbook ''American Folk Songs for Christmas''. The album includes Mitchell's family, friends and neighbors, including

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeger's father ...

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

, Aoife O’Donovan,

Amy Helm Amy Helm (born December 3, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the daughter of drummer Levon Helm and singer Libby Titus. She is a past member of the Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble Band and Ollabelle, as well as her own t ...

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Dan Zanes Daniel Edgerly Zanes (born November 8, 1961) is an American former member of the popular 1980s band the Del Fuegos and is now the front man of the Grammy-winning group Dan Zanes and Friends. History Zanes's father was a teacher, as well as a p ...

Happy Traum Happy Traum (born Harry Peter Traum, May 9, 1938, The Bronx, New York) is an American folk musician who started playing music in the 1950s and became a stalwart of the Greenwich Village music scene of the 1960s and the Woodstock music scene of t ...

, and many others.

Personal life

Mitchell married her longtime Ida bandmate Daniel Littleton in 1999. They have one daughter, Storey, born in New York City in 2001. They live in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Dan is the guitar player for

's band, the Handsome Strangers.

Discography

*'' You Are My Flower'' - Little Bird Records, 1998 *''

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is a song published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell on January 30, 1940. According to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the song has been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. In 1977, the Louisi ...

'' - Little Bird Records, 2002 *'' Catch the Moon'' w/Lisa Loeb - Artemis Records, 2004 *'' You Are My Little Bird'' -

Recordings, 2006 *''Sunny Day'

- Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, October 2010 *''Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie'' - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2012 *''Blue Clouds'' - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2012 *''The Sounding Joy: Christmas Songs In and Out of the Ruth Crawford Seeger Songbook'

-

Recordings, 2013 * ''Turn Turn Turn'', 2013 with

In popular culture

"Little Bird, Little Bird" from ''You Are My Little Bird'' was featured on the sixth episode of season six of

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

, titled "

Lethal Inspection "Lethal Inspection" is the sixth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama'', and the 94th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 22, 2010. In t ...

". "Three Little Birds", from the same album, was featured in the first episode of season one of Watchmen (TV series), titled "

It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" is the pilot episode of the HBO superhero drama miniseries ''Watchmen'', based on the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and ...

Footnotes

External links

Official siteAll Things Considered NPR interview with Melissa Block
* ttp://www.landofnod.com/Nodcast/Mitchell-And-Jenkins.aspx Land of Nod "Nodcast Podcast" with Ella Jenkinsbr>Video for Little Bird, Little Bird at Smithsonian Folkways siteMaverick Concerts InterviewVideo for the album 'Sunny Day' at Smithsonian Folkways site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Elizabeth 1968 births Living people Brown University alumni American women singers Musicians from New York City Lisa Loeb