Corinne Bailey Rae

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This article is about the singer. For her self-titled album, see Corinne Bailey Rae (album).
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae performing live at the V Festival at Weston Park in Stafford, Staffordshire, England on 18 August 2007
Corinne Bailey Rae performing live at the V Festival at Weston Park in Stafford, Staffordshire, England on 18 August 2007
Background information
Birth name Corinne Jacqueline Bailey
Born 26 February 1979 (1979-02-26) (age 29)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Genre(s) Soul, R&B, jazz, blues, acoustic
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar
Years active 2005–present
Label(s) EMI, Capitol
Website www.corinnebaileyrae.net
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Hummingbird[1]

Corinne Bailey Rae (born Corinne Jacqueline Bailey[2] on 26 February 1979) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist who released her eponymous debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006. Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006.[3] The poll's predictions subsequently came true, as she became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. She has been nominated for a BRIT Awards and has won two MOBO Awards

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Childhood

Rae was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire to a Kittitian father and an English mother as the eldest of three daughters. Her sister is actress Rhea Bailey. She used to be racially abused on a regular basis while growing up, even though her verbal attackers mistakenly thought she was of Iraqi origin. She says about the situation, "My sisters and I were different and people used to say, 'Ah, aren't they cute, the little chocolate children', and 'look at their hair'". "I know they were only being cute but it was over the top. Then people from other schools would shout, 'Paki' (a commonly used racist term used in the UK) to me because it was the most common racist insult of the time. 'At least if you're going to do it, get it right,' I used to shout back, 'But my dad isn't from Pakistan, he's from St Kitts—so there!'"[4]

Rae began her musical career at school where she studied classical violin before she turned her attention to singing: "I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption", she says in reference to her multiracial background. "But it wasn't gospel at all, it was just your regular Brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favourite part of the service, the singing".[5]

Rae later transferred to a Baptist church, where the choir would sing traditional hymns, and Primal Scream tunes. "We changed the words though", Rae states on her website. "We didn't want to offend the regular churchgoers, now did we?"[5]

Performing in church broadened Rae's musical horizons, and her love affair with making music was solidified after a local youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar. In her mid-teens, she became obsessed with rock legends Led Zeppelin, "I loved that band during my teens; I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and to create music of my own".[5]

Rae formed an all-female indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy—but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something".[6]

The group raised eyebrows on several fronts; in the white male-dominated world of indie music, they were an all-female group fronted by a mixed-race singer from Leeds. The moniker "Helen" also drew attention, albeit for not all the right reasons: "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time. Admittedly, it seems less so now".[5]

The group played many gigs around Leeds and eventually became the first indie act to be signed to heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records, home to acts such as Slipknot, in 1995. The venture proved to be short-lived however after the bassist became pregnant and the group disbanded. "[Was I] Disappointed? I was gutted! I had no idea what to do next".

Rae has often stated that she is a proud Leeds United A.F.C. fan.

[edit] University life

After the disappointment of Helen, Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied an English Literature degree. While at University, she began work as a hat check girl on an evening in her local jazz club. Permitted to sing on stage with the jazz band when business was slow, it was there that she discovered a different type of music that sent her on a different musical path: "I kept hearing this jazz and soul stuff and I realised I loved music too".

[edit] Jason Rae

It was at university that she met Jason Rae, whom she eventually married in 2001 at age twenty-two. "I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I got married. There's no hyphen; stops it being posh!".[citation needed] Born in 1976, Jason Rae was a Scottish musician, originally hailing from Aberdeen, who played saxophone for the eight-piece group Haggis Horns. The group has performed with Amy Winehouse,[7] Lily Allen, Mark Ronson,[8] Nightmares On Wax and Corinne Bailey Rae herself.[9] Jason had recorded with Bailey Rae, The New Mastersounds and Martina Topley-Bird (Quixotic).[10] He began playing the saxophone as a child, and stated that his interest in jazz and funk was inspired by Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall.[11] He was awarded the top prize in his class for Jazz when he graduated from the Leeds College of Music with Honors in 1998, which was also where he met the other members of the Haggis Horns.[12]

His body was found in a flat in the Hyde Park area of Leeds on 22 March 2008. A pathologist report noted the possible cause of death as a "suspected drug overdose". A post-mortem examination on the musician's body was found to be inconclusive and police have confirmed that they are waiting on toxicity tests before stating the cause of death.[13] It was reported that Bailey Rae was not in the flat at the time of his death.[14] A 32 year-old man was arrested under suspicion of dealing recreational drugs to the musician but has since been released on bail.[15][16]

[edit] Career

Over the space of the next three years, Rae began working on solo material—this time steering away from her indie past and embarking on a more "soulful" path. She collaborated with Leeds-based funk group The New Mastersounds on the track "Your Love Is Mine", featured on their 2003 album Be Yourself, released via One Note Records. The following year she again worked with another Leeds-based group, Homecut Directive, on the song "Come the Revolution", which was the first single from the group's debut album.

In 2004, Rae got a breakthrough when she was signed by Global Talent Publishing and then approached by Craig David's mentor Mark Hill, from the duo The Artful Dodger, to appear on his new album better luck next time under his new alias, The stiX. The resulting collaboration, "Young and Foolish", was released in April 2005 and brought Rae to the attention of the major record label bosses. Rae released her debut single, "Like a Star", in November 2005 and her first album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006. In September 2006, Rae scooped two awards at the UK's MOBO Awards: "Best UK Newcomer" and "Best UK Female". Rae recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios in July 2006 for Live from Abbey Road.

Rae also received three nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year" (both for "Put Your Records On"), and "Best New Artist". During the ceremony, she performed "Like a Star" and joined John Legend and John Mayer in a collaborative performance, providing accompanying vocals to Legend's "Coming Home" and Mayer's "Gravity".[17]

[edit] Other activities and appearances

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo albums

[edit] Singles

Year Single Chart positions Album
UK UK R&B U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Adult R&B U.S. Smooth Jazz AUS NZ IRE ITA NL EUR BRA
2005 "Like a Star" 32 — 56 59 18 30 — — — — — 99 29 Corinne Bailey Rae
2006 "Put Your Records On" 2 1 64 — — 8 30 6 27 19 17 8 18
"Trouble Sleeping" 40 29 — — — 7 — — 46 50 27 — —
2007 "I'd Like To" 79 — — — — — — — 92 — — 184 —
"Breathless" — — — 70 25 — — — — — — — —
2008 "River" (with Herbie Hancock) — — — — — 28 — — — — — — — River: The Joni Letters
"Free" (with Marcus Miller) — — — 101 19 9 — — — — — — — Free/Marcus

[edit] B-sides

Year Song Appeared on
2005 "Enchantment" "Like a Star" CD single/7" vinyl single
"Choux Pastry Heart" "Like a Star" CD single
2006 "Another Rainy Day" "Put Your Records On" UK/Australian CD single
"Since I've Been Loving You" "Put Your Records On" Australian CD single/DVD single/7" vinyl single
2006 "Munich" (Live Lounge Version) "Trouble Sleeping" UK CD single

[edit] Album appearances

Year Song Album
2003 "Your Love Is Mine" (with The New Mastersounds) Be Yourself
2004 "Come the Revolution" (Homecut Directive featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) —
2005 "Young and Foolish" (The stiX featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) better luck next time
2007 "If I Don't" (Amp Fiddler featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) Afro Strut
"Free" (Marcus Miller featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) Free
"River" (Herbie Hancock featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) River: The Joni Letters
2008 "Where Is The Love" (John Legend featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) John Legend: Live from Philadelphia

[edit] Awards history

  • BET Awards
    • 2007, Best New Artist (Nominated)
    • 2007, Best Female R&B Artist (Nominated)
    • 2006, BET J Cool Like Dat Award (Nominated)
  • BRIT Award
    • 2007, Best British Single: "Put Your Records On" (Nominated)
    • 2007, British Female Artist (Nominated)
  • Grammy Awards
    • 2008, Song of the Year: "Like a Star" (Nominated)
    • 2007, Best New Artist (Nominated)
    • 2007, Record of the Year: "Put Your Records On" (Nominated)
    • 2007, Song of the Year: "Put Your Records On" (Nominated)
  • Image Awards
    • 2007, Outstanding New Artist (Winner)
    • 2007, Outstanding Album: Corinne Bailey Rae (Nominated)
    • 2007, Outstanding Female Artist (Nominated)
  • MOBO Awards
    • 2006, Best UK Female (Winner)
    • 2006, Best UK Newcomer (Winner)
    • 2006, Best Song: "Put Your Records On" (Nominated)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gibson Black History Month Salutes: Corrine Bailey Rae Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  2. ^ ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  3. ^ Sound of 2006: The Top 10. BBC News (6 January 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  4. ^ Corinne's Bully Rage. Top of the Pops (23 October 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  5. ^ a b c d The official Corinne Bailey Rae site. Retrieved on 2006-03-09.
  6. ^ 'I was speechless, just squeaking!'. The Guardian (11 November 2005). Retrieved on 2006-03-09.
  7. ^ Williams, Owen. "Amy Winehouse vows to quit drugs after the death of Corinne Bailey Rae’s husband", Showbiz spy, March 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  8. ^ Pareles, Jon. "A D.J. Segues to His Other Job, His Band Close at Hand", The New York Times, July 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  9. ^ Tributes for Bailey Rae's husband, BBC News, March 24, 2008.
  10. ^ Jason Rae on MSN Music, MSN.
  11. ^ The Haggis Horns, BRIT Awards, 2008.
  12. ^ Hale, Beth; Madeley, Gavin & Sugden, Jennifer. "The tragic story of Corinne Bailey Rae's husband - from award-winning musician to sordid 'drugs death'", Daily Mail, March 25, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  13. ^ "BBC Bailey Rae's husband found dead", BBC News, March 25, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  14. ^ Singer's husband dies of suspected overdose. Yorkshire Post (23 March 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  15. ^ "Husband of singer Corinne Bailey Rae dead", Miami Herald, March 23, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  16. ^ "Corinne Bailey Rae's husband 'found dead'", Telegraph.co.uk, March 23, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  17. ^ Stevie: Please Keep Listening, Boomers. KCNC-TV (11 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-12.

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Corinne Bailey Rae
Albums
Singles
Persondata
NAME Rae, Corinne Bailey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Corinne Jacqueline
SHORT DESCRIPTION English singer-songwriter and guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 26 February 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH