BIOGRAPHY
Natalie Merchant is an American artist born on October 26, 1963, in Jamestown, New York. She began her musical career in 1981 as a singer and pianist for the rock band 10,000 Maniacs, with whom she recorded seven studio albums before leaving the group in 1993 to begin a solo career. Since then, she has released eight solo albums, including three compilations and one live album. Her first solo album, Tigerlily, was released in 1995 and reached number five on the Billboard 200, while her second album, Ophelia, was released in 1998 and reached number four. Her third album, Motherland, was released in 2001 and reached number nine on the Billboard 200. In 2005, she released her fourth album, The House Carpenter's Daughter, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Folk Albums chart. In 2007, she released her fifth album, Leave Your Sleep, a double album consisting entirely of covers of children's songs, which reached number one on the Billboard Folk Albums chart and number 45 on the Billboard 200. In 2010, she released her sixth album, Parades and Panoramas: Songs of the American Civil War, an album of American Civil War songs, which reached number one on the Billboard Folk Albums chart. In 2014, she released her seventh album, simply titled Natalie Merchant, which reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. In 2019, she released her eighth album, also titled Leave Your Sleep, a second album of children's songs covers.