After graduating in 1991, Smith moved back to Portland with Gust, and the co-singer/songwriter/guitarists formed the indie rock band Heatmiser with bass player Brandt Peterson and drummer Tony Lash. It was there that he met future bandmate Neil Gust. After high school, Smith headed to Amherst, Massachusetts to study philosophy and political science at Hampshire College. He began writing and recording his first songs around the time he moved to Portland, Oregon at the age of 14. He recorded only six solo albums, releasing five before his untimely death at the age of 34 in 2003.īorn Stephen Paul Smith in Omaha, Nebraska but raised mostly in Texas, Elliott Smith's musical influences included such figures as Bob Dylan, the Kinks, Big Star, Elvis Costello, and the Beatles he said he was inspired to become a musician after hearing The White Album. He moved abruptly from indie cult status to mainstream success in 1997 when his contributions to the Good Will Hunting soundtrack resulted in an Academy Award nomination ("Miss Misery").
His music's character was also shaped by artful chord transitions, which he called his favorite part of songs. Still, all were distinguished by a vulnerable demeanor conveyed by intense but wispy vocals (often double-tracked) and personal lyrics that referred candidly to subjects like addiction, depression, and alienation. His musical palette expanded over time, from the hushed acoustic guitar demos of his 1994 solo debut, Roman Candle, to the orchestrated studio craftsmanship of his fifth album, 2000's Figure 8. An acclaimed singer/songwriter with a distinctively melancholic sound, Elliott Smith was a member of the thriving music scene of Portland, Oregon in the mid-'90s when he began releasing a series of highly influential solo albums.
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