Now on sale! On her 1999 melodious, slightly darker album, Vonda struts her own stuff. Eschewing covers, she sings her songs of bittersweet love with increased confidence and vocal richness. Backed by a wide range of instruments, including Calamari bass, Indian harmonium, cello, accordian, and backwards piano, Vonda paints vivid pictures of passion and despair. Even before I knew all the words, I was trying to sing along with the refrains. The Middle Eastern-inspired title track, as well as Confetti, Soothe Me, and Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow, which pairs Vonda with Indigo Girls' Emily Saliers, all sent me looking for a piano bar.

By 7:30 is an album by Vonda Shepard, released on 20 April 1999. The album reached position #39 in the UK Albums Chart.

References

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Category:1999 albums

This text has been derived from By 7:30 on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0

Artist/Band Information

Vonda Shepard (born July 7, 1963) is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.

Biography

Vonda Shepard was born in New York but her family relocated to California when she was a child. She played piano from an early age. Her father is Richmond Shepard, a mime and improv actor. Vonda has three sisters: Armina, Rosetta (now Brianna) and Luana.

After performing as a backing singer for many years she was eventually given her own recording contract. Shepard's first chart appearance was in 1987 when she recorded a duet with Dan Hill entitled "Can't We Try". Before this she tried out for the part of Michael J. Fox's sister in Light of Day but lost the part out to Joan Jett. She was also poised to sing on Peter Cetera's duet "The Next Time I Fall" but he picked Amy Grant instead. She released her first self-titled album in 1989 with little fanfare. The album did yield one chart single, "Don't Cry Ilene", a mid-tempo, piano-driven jazz-R&B flavored song dealing with the break-up of a relationship between a black woman and a white man, arising from adult peer pressure. The track is sung from the perspective of the woman's white female friend, who harbors a desire to have the man for herself, but keeps her distance out of respect for her friend. The song peaked at Number 17 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart and stayed on the charts for 12 weeks.

After her third album, Shepard was signed up to appear on Ally McBeal after being spotted by the show's creator David E Kelley. While on the show she recorded two full soundtrack albums and was featured on two other Ally McBeal compilations. The songs Shepard recorded for Ally McBeal soundtrack albums were mainly covers of old songs with lyrics that paralleled what was happening in the title character's life onscreen. Since appearing in the show, Shepard has released two more studio albums and a live album.

Shepard has been married to music producer Mitchell Froom since 2004; they had their first child, Jack Froom, on 15 April 2006.

Discography

Albums

* Vonda Shepard 1989 US: Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, licensed to Vesper Alley Records in 1998

* The Radical Light 1992 US: Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, licensed to Vesper Alley Records in 1998

* It's Good, Eve 1996 US: Vesper Alley Records / UK: Epic Records

* Songs From Ally McBeal 1998 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records Number 3 /Spain: Number 1

* By 7:30 1999 US: Jacket Records / UK: Epic Records Number 39

* Heart And Soul: New Songs From Ally McBeal 1999 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records Number 9

* Chinatown 2002 US: Jacket Records / UK: Edel Music

* Live: A Retrospective 2005 US: Jacket Records

* From the Sun 2008 US: Redeye Distribution

* The Best of Ally McBeal - The Songs of Vonda Shepard / Sony Legacy / October 6, 2009

Compilation soundtracks

* Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas 2000 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records

* Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life Soundtrack 2001 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records

* The Best of Ally McBeal - The Songs of Vonda Shepard / Sony Legacy / October 6, 2009

Singles

Guest singles

* "Can't We Try" (duet with Dan Hill) - Pop Number 6, Adult Contemporary Number 2, 1987

References

This text has been derived from Vonda Shepard on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0