Michelle Shocked

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Michelle Shocked is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose music and performances seem influenced by her Texas roots, her political activism, and a self-assured style that her first major label producer likened to troubadors such as Joni Mitchell, Spider John Koerner, and Dave Van Ronk.

She was born Karen Michelle Johnston on February 24, 1962, in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of a carpenter and a woman who would end up committing her to a psychiatric hospital twenty-something years later. She graduated from high school in Gilmer, Texas and received her bachelor’s degree in the Oral Interpretation of Poetry from the University of Texas in Austin. She was raised in a strict Mormon household and worked her way through college to pay for tuition.

Michelle’s stage name dates back to the name she gave when arrested in 1984 at a protest for fair housing during the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. Her nickname was ‘Chel, so Michelle Shocked was a play on words intended to resemble the phrase “shell shocked”. The front cover of her (arguably) best-known album, Short Sharp Shocked, shows her restrained by the chokehold of a San Francisco policeman in a supposedly authentic photograph of this incident. However, some indie music critics of the time observed that the style of this image showed a strong similarity to a photo that appeared on an album cover from British punk band Chaos UK. This led some to assert that she plagiarized the concept, but the accusation was never answered nor seriously pursued.

(Straight copy from Wikipedia)

Tagged as:

folk, singer-songwriter, female vocalists, alt-country, americana
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wowugotit wrote:
September 2009

I simply adore her latest album, Soul of My Soul. I saw her live for the first time recently and loved her performance.

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clareHusk wrote:
August 2009

Where is her new album on this list???!! I wanted to listen to that amazing track about "seeing other people"

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rainy-dog wrote:
July 2009

soul of my soul is actually brilliant

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kaiserzeitgeist wrote:
June 2009

Goddamn if Michelle Shocked isn't strenuous.

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Owen47 wrote:
May 2009

'Chelle's new record is available to download from her site and from iTunes - it's excellent!

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foxyluva wrote:
April 2009

New album out May 12! http://www.songsillinois.net/2009/03/michelle-shocked-soul-of-my-soul-mighty-sound-records-may-12/

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mikestep1234 wrote:
March 2009

cannot get any sound at all from Michelle, shocked and damn annoyed., Wotsup>.

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foxyluva wrote:
February 2009

This current picture really stinks

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LondonLouis wrote:
February 2009

There's something wrong with Graffito Limbo (no sound) and someone else reports that they've had problem on other of Michelle's tracks. Incidentally, it's a shame that more of her tracks are not available as full tracks. She's good.

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owlies wrote:
January 2009

i want to start a michelle shocked cover band

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musicdish wrote:
January 2009

Fans of Michelle Shocked should also check out Amy Speace...

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ihavesoldout wrote:
November 2008

:O

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brudenell wrote:
November 2008

MONDAY 10th NOVEMBER - MICHELLE SHOCKED plus ROBIN AULD - at BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS, UK - www.brudenellsocialclub.co.uk / www.myspace.com/brudenell - Tickets onsale now from JUMBO RECORDS www.jumborecords.co.uk and CRASH RECORDS www.crashrecords.co.uk and GIGANTIC www.gigantic.com - Doors 7pm

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Roddelin wrote:
October 2008

I would like to go to Gillmore to step where she's grown up - as bizriak wrote "she's brilliant" - Leadbelly would be pleased when listening from above everytime someone plays's one of her Songs :)

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bizriak wrote:
October 2008

What a crime that there are so few listens to this brilliant woman.

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legbamel wrote:
September 2008

Send me a dozen long-stemmed roses, I'll tell you what I will do...

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strajnic wrote:
March 2008

Too little, too late!

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Dgold wrote:
January 2008

I made the Top Listeners list for Michelle Shocked, YEAH buddy! Arkansas Traveler has been one of my favs since the early 90's. I have about 10 of her albums, which isn't nearly all of them. Planning to buy more.

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seattlerain wrote:
October 2007

A little information on Michelle Shocked http://www.last.fm/user/seattlerain/journal/2007/10/16/550958/

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striegel wrote:
June 2006

Give a listen to her Moanin' Dove. It's got beautiful guitar sounds on it and is one of my favorites.

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