Elisabeth Corrin Maurus (born November 21, 1982), known as Lissie, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, '' Catching a Tiger'', was released in June 2010. Her second studio album, '' Back to Forever'', was released in October 2013. Her first record as an independent artist, and third studio album, '' My Wild West'', was released February 12, 2016 and went on to receive critical acclaim. Her fourth studio album ''

Castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

'', was released worldwide on March 23, 2018. Her fifth studio album, ''Carving Canyons'', was released September 16, 2022.

Early life

Lissie was born Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, the youngest of four children and raised in Rock Island,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Her father is a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and her mother, who is of Swedish ancestry, is an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

er. She was interested in singing and music from an early age. She played the title role of the musical '' Annie'' at the age of nine. "In high school it seems like everyone has more drama than any other time in their life. So that was the time in my life where I really leaned on music as a way to stay sane," she said in an interview. In her senior year of high school, she was expelled over what she described as "something stupid that I did, but it was sort of like the culmination of just a lot of negative things that had happened". She got her diploma at an alternative outreach center. She spent two years at Colorado State University in

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, during which time she would

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...

for musicians who visited the city. She collaborated with DJ Harry of

SCI Fidelity Records Formed in 1998, SCI Fidelity Records is an independent record label based in Boulder, Colorado. It is owned and managed by the jam band The String Cheese Incident. Artists SCI Fidelity artists include Keller Williams, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco B ...

on the song "All My Life", which was featured on television shows '' House'', ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...

'', ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...

'' and ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

''. After spending a semester in Paris, she finished her studies to pursue a career in music. In 2007, she produced a four-song EP that received some airplay on

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 program ...

's ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...

''.

Career

In early 2008, Lenny Kravitz invited her to be the opening act for his Love Revolution Tour, after a friend tipped him about her MySpace page. Later that year, "The Longest Road", a song she co-wrote with DJ

Morgan Page Morgan Wolf Page (born May 31, 1981) is an American DJ and music producer. His tracks include "The Longest Road", "Fight for You" and "In the Air". Page has received two Grammy Award nominations; a personal nomination for best remix with Nadia ...

reached No. 4 on '' Billboard''s Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "We met under that idea that he was going to remix a song of mine ... But we decided to work on a new song together", she told the ''

Quad-City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area (Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Isla ...

''. The

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...

remix of the track was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical" category. Her EP, ''Why You Runnin, produced by Bill Reynolds of

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also inclu ...

, was released in November 2009 on Fat Possum. One of the songs, "Oh Mississippi" was co-written with

Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...

, whom she met through a mutual friend. The EP was listed amongst '' Paste'' magazine's "Eight Most Auspicious Musical Debuts of 2009". In early 2010, she toured various venues in the United Kingdom supporting Ohio-born singer-songwriter

Joshua Radin Joshua Radin (born June 14, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. He has recorded nine studio albums, and his songs have been used in a number of films and TV series. His most successful album, '' Simple Times'', was released in 2008. Beginni ...

. Lissie signed with Sony Music UK's Columbia Records. Her debut album, '' Catching a Tiger'', was released on 21 June 2010. The album was recorded in Nashville in 2009 and produced by

Jacquire King Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, ...

. The first single from the album, "In Sleep", was selected as Track of The Day by '' Q'' on 13 March 2010. A second single, "When I'm Alone," was released alongside the album; it would later be chosen by iTunes UK as their song of the year 2010. In August 2010, her single "Cuckoo" was voted overwhelmingly to be the Record of the Week by listeners of

expat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

radio station Heart FM Spain (www.heartfmspain.com), as a result of listener feedback, Lissie and the album "Catching A Tiger" was featured throughout the week of August 23 to 27. The single was also added to the "A" level playlist on BBC Radio 2 giving it around twenty plays a week on the UK's most popular station. The ''Cuckoo'' EP includes Lissie's live version of "

Bad Romance "Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, which became popular online before being included on the release. Lissie is featured on at least 4 tracks on Snow Patrol's album '' Fallen Empires'', released in November 2011. Her cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Go Your Own Way' found prominence in early 2012, when it was used in a

Twinings Twinings () is a British marketer of tea and other beverages, including coffee, hot chocolate and malt drinks, based in Andover, Hampshire. The brand is owned by Associated British Foods. It holds the world's oldest continually used company log ...

advert and in the film Safe Haven. The song was also used as a theme for the BBC Radio 4 reading of

Iain Banks Iain Banks (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, adding the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies (). After the success of ''The Wasp Factor ...

's Stonemouth, read by

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

. The song was also featured in the closing moments of the first-season finale for "Good Behavior" in 2017. On 4 November 2015, she announced the released date for her new album, '' My Wild West'', as 12 February 2016. She performed her song 'Wild West' in Part 14 of the third season of ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

''. In season 3 of the TV show '' Loudermilk'' that was released in 2020, she played a fictional character called Lizzie Poole who used to be a singer-songwriter but gave that career up after a negative review written by the title character, Sam Loudermilk, played by

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for playing Peter Gibbons in the 1999 film ''Office Space'' and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the 2001 miniseries '' Band of Brothers.'' Livingston's other roles include ...

. The songs that character performs in the show are previously released Lissie songs.

Personal life

Lissie lives on a farm in northeast

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, moving there from

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, California, in 2015. She is a fan of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

, citing ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' and the '' Harry Potter'' series as favorites.

Discography

* '' Catching a Tiger'' (2010) * '' Back to Forever'' (2013) * '' My Wild West'' (2016) * ''

'' (2018) * ''Carving Canyons'' (2022)

References

External links

Official WebsiteUK Record Label Bio
Bonedo.de * ttps://www.npr.org/2011/08/28/140017382/catching-a-tiger-a-midwestern-debut-album Interview with Lissie on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, 08/28/11 {{authority control 1982 births Living people American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American women rock singers American folk rock musicians American people of Swedish descent Columbia Records artists Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Illinois People from Ojai, California People from Rock Island, Illinois American rock songwriters Fat Possum Records artists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from California Guitarists from Illinois 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from California Country musicians from Illinois 21st-century American singers