Linda Perry is Pop Music's Power
She produces big names like Courtney Love and Alicia Keys
Pop music never sounded so good with producer Linda Perry quietly working in the background to make today's pop vocalists sound not just good, but great.
One of pop music's most powerful hit makers is a woman whose name you probably don't even know -- Linda Perry. But you know her artists - they are people like James Blunt, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Kelly Osbourne, and Gwen Stefani. You may even know the sound of her voice if you were anywhere near a radio in the mid-1990s when her band, 4 Non Blondes, had a one-hit wonder with What's Goin' On? Perry left 4 Non Blondes in 1994 and put out a solo album titled In Flight in 1996.
What differentiates Perry from other female vocalists is her expressive rock n' roll voice that can at times go soft or, at other times, fly into a rage. The depth of feeling in all her song lyrics will be felt by those who listen.
While her talent as an artist is amazing, it's her talents as a songwriter and producer that show her true breadth and depth as a musician. Perry is the producer you call if you're an artist who is having trouble getting words on paper and notes out of an instrument. She's hell on writer's block to say the least and can really bring the heart and soul out of an artist in the studio. She's done it with all the above-mentioned artists and now with Courtney Love on her new album.
Perry's roster as a music mogul is growing as she has signed Ben Jelen to the Custard label she owns. Another new artist Perry is working on is a band called Big Elf she calls "the Black Sabbath of today." Then there's Sierra Swan, a young girl with a voice that is a lot like Perry's - soulful, deep, husky, and rockin'. Swan has already been back in Perry's Kung Fu Gardens studio this year writing new material.
The essential Linda Perry:
Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
Gwen Stefani - Whatcha Waitin' For?
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Sierra Swan - The Ladder
4 Non Blondes - What's Up?
Linda Perry - In My Dreams
Linda Perry with Grace Slick - Knock Me Out
Linda Perry - Fill Me Up
Linda Perry - Freeway
Pink - Get This Party Started
How's all that for diversity? That's the one thing that comes out of Perry's body of work: diversity. Before you read this, would you have known Christina Aguilera's Beautiful, Gwen Stefani's Whatcha Waitin' For, Pink's Get the Party Started and James Blunt's You're Beautiful all came from the ear of the same pop music mastermind? Expect more surprises from this producer but no more solo albums; Perry doesn't want to be an artist anymore. It's a good thing for music because guess who else she's producing these days? None other than Alicia Keys.
