was born in 1966 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. She attended Southern Methodist University for a year and a half before mustering the courage in a bar one night in 1985 to get up on-stage with a local band,
. She joined the band and wrote songs over the next year as the band changed and evolved. They finally settled on the personnel of
(drums) before taking off for Rockfield Studios in Wales to record their debut album. That album,
to be a songwriter with a unique perspective and a singer with an intimate, conversational style. The album was hailed by critics and became a massive hit, selling over a million copies and producing the Top Ten hit "What I Am."
After the disappointing performance of their follow-up album,
Ghost of a Dog,
the New Bohemians disbanded.
Brickell married
Paul Simon and the couple had a child. After several years of remaining artistically quiet, she released her first solo album in late summer 1994. While
Picture Perfect Morning was pleasantly received, it wasn't a return to the million-selling heights of the
New Bohemian zenith. This was fine with
Brickell, who had burned out from the press attention and touring that followed
Rubberbands' success, and was content to quietly issue the record while focusing on her and
Simon's young son. Geffen naturally thought otherwise, but
Brickell was resolute. She wouldn't return to recording until almost ten years later. In the interim, two greatest-hits packages appeared:
Best Of on MCA International and Hip-O's
Ultimate Collection from 2002. Of these, the latter was most comprehensive, drawing on material both with and without
the Bohemians and featuring seven previously unreleased tracks.
Brickell finally hit restart on her solo career in 2003 with
Volcano (Cherry/Universal). Produced by
Charlie Sexton, the LP explored some new stylistic avenues inside the familiar rootsy landscape, and showed off
Brickell's newly acquired acoustic guitar skills. She supported the effort with the usual round of late-night TV appearances and a brief tour. In 2006, she reunited with some of the original members of
the New Bohemians for
Stranger Things, the first studio album from the group in almost 16 years. Tragedy struck the band a year later when keyboardist
Carter Albrecht was shot in the head and killed in a bizarre misunderstanding involving his neighbor. Two
Brickell projects were released in 2011, an eponymous solo album (her third) and a collaboration with Steve Gadd, Pino Palladino, and Andy Fairweather Low called the Gaddabouts.
–
William Ruhlmann, Rovi