Annie Lennox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Annie Lennox is a British rock musician and vocalist. She was born December 25, 1954 in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
As a child, Lennox attended a school for the exceptionally intelligent. She was educated as a classical musican and studied the flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
After three years as lead singer of The Tourists, Lennox achieved her greatest fame to date as the alto, soul-tinged lead singer of the 1980s rock duo Eurythmics with British musician David A. Stewart. Early in the Eurythmics' career, she was known for her androgyny, wearing suits and once impersonating Elvis. Many journalists often referred to her as "the white Grace Jones." The duo released a long line of classic singles in the 1980s: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", "Here Comes The Rain Again", "Would I Lie To You?", "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)", "Missionary Man", "You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart", "Don't Ask Me Why" and so on. After her break-up with Stewart (the other half of the duo) in 1990, she began her long and equally successful solo career.
Her 1992 debut album, Diva, was an unambiguous commercial and critical success: Lennox's profile was boosted by Diva's singles, numerous awards and a soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie Dracula. This profile decreased due to her somewhat sparse output although she continued to be a major figure in popular music. Medusa was released three years after Diva and sold well. In 1997 she re-recorded the Eurythmics track "Angel" for the Diana, Princess of Wales tribute album. In 1998 she re-established contact with Dave Stewart and by 1999, Eurythmics had reformed for the album Peace. In 2003 she released her third solo album, Bare.
In 2004, Lennox won the Academy Award for Best Song for "Into The West" from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at the 76th Academy Awards. She had previously recorded "Use Well the Days" for the movie, which incorporates numerous quotations from Tolkien in its lyrics. This song was not used in the film, but appears on a bonus DVD included with the "special edition" of the movie's soundtrack CD.
In July 2005, Annie Lennox performed at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London.
Lennox and Stewart recently collaborated on two new pieces for their upcoming Eurythmics hits album, Ultimate Collection. One of which, "I've Got a Life" was released as a single on October 31 2005. The promotional video for the song features Lennox and Stewart performing in present day, with images of past Eurythmics videos playing on television screens behind them. Lennox also appears in a man's suit and cane, reminiscent of her "Sweet Dreams" video image from 1983.
She has two daughters and has been divorced twice.
Contents |
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | UK | US | RIAA cert. | worldwide sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Diva | 1 | 23 | 5X platinum | 15.0 million |
| 1995 | Medusa | 1 | 11 | 3X platinum | 13.5 million |
| 2003 | Bare | 3 | 4 | 2X platinum | 14.0 million |
Singles
| Year | Song | UK | US | US Dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" (with Al Green) | 9 | 28 | 29 | Scrooged soundtrack |
| 1992 | "Why" | 5 | 34 | - | Diva |
| 1992 | "Precious" | 28 | - | - | Diva |
| 1992 | "Walking On Broken Glass" | 8 | 14 | - | Diva |
| 1992 | "Cold" | 26 | - | - | Diva |
| 1992 | "Little Bird" | 3 | 49 | 1 | Diva |
| 1993 | "Love Song For a Vampire" | 3 | - | - | Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack |
| 1995 | "No More 'I Love You's'" | 2 | 23 | 1 | Medusa |
| 1995 | "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" | 16 | 101 | - | Medusa |
| 1995 | "Waiting In Vain" | 31 | - | - | Medusa |
| 1995 | "Something So Right" (with Paul Simon) | 44 | - | - | Medusa |
| 2003 | "Pavement Cracks" | - | - | 1 | Bare |
| 2004 | "A Thousand Beautiful Things" | - | - | 1 | Bare |
| 2004 | "Wonderful" | - | - | 1 | Bare |
| 2004 | "Into the West" | - | - | - | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
