Jewel Kilcher was born on Thursday, May 23, 1974. She is a singer and songwrite that is better known as simply "Jewel." During high school, she was known to spell her name "Jule," but she attributes this to simple playing with her name as teenagers are wont to do.
Early years
Jewel was born in Payson, Utah, but spent most of her young life growing up in Homer, Alaska, living with her father. The home she grew up in there did not have indoor plumbing, but a simple outhouse instead. She and her father sometimes earned a living by singing in bars and taverns. It was from these experiences she learned to yodel, a quality demonstrated in many of her songs. Her father was a Mormon, but they stopped attending the church shortly before she turned eight.
Jewel learned to play the guitar while on scholarship at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, where she majored in operatic voice. She started writing songs at the age of seventeen.
For a time, she was poverty-stricken and lived in her van while travelling about the country. She gained a reputation by singing at the Innerchange Coffeehouse in San Diego, California. It was at these appearances she met the band The Rug Burns, who she often appeared with. For a time she dated Steve Poltz, one of the band's members. Poltz has collaberated with her on several of her songs and appeared in Jewel's band on the Spirit World Tour 1999 playing acoustic guitar.
Career
It was at these coffeehouse appearances she was discovered by Atlantic Records. She cut her debut album, Pieces of You, when she was nineteen and it was released in 1995. Some of the songs on the album are were recorded at the coffeehouse. The album stayed on the Billboard Top 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak popularity.
Jewel is noted for her song's qualites of stark honesty and soulful introspection. Her songs resist categorization, but, because of their mostly guitar accompaniment, have sometimes been categorized as folk music or the hybrid class folk-pop. However, her music is mostly recognized as popular music and enjoys wide exposure on a variety of music radio stations.
As part of her success, she was chosen to sing the national anthem at the opening of the Super Bowl in January 1998.
Besides singing, Jewel has also tried her hand at acting and writing. The first movie she appeared in was in 1999 in Ride with the Devil, for which she received critical acclaim.
Writing is nothing new for Jewel since she has been writing poetry most of her life. She has at least two published works. A Night Without Armor is a collection of some of her poems. Chasing Down the Dawn is a collection of diary entries and musings detailing her life growing up in Alaska, her struggle to learn her craft and life on the road.
In 2003 Jewel underwent a drastic image change with the release of her album 0304. Her video for the debut single Intuition had her cavorting in full dance numbers, often scantily clad in bras and bikinis. The song and video seemed to be intended as social commentary on the state of pop music but it left fans wondering if Jewel had in fact become what she was satirizing.
Jewel the Philanthropist
Jewel Kilcher formed a non-profit organization called Higher Ground For Humanity with her mother Lenedra J. Carroll and her older brother Shane Kilcher. The organization's main focus became access to clean water in developing countries after The Clearwater Project was launched in 1999. The organization's focus is education, sustainable improvements, and building alliances with like minded organizations.
The Clearwater Project has taken on projects in South America, Central America, India, and Africa, building wells and water filtration systems. One such project was the reactivation of construction of a well through the use of a of a solar powered pump for on the Maasai people in the Sukenia region of Tanzania, Africa. Before Clearwater's involvement villagers were walking as much as 10 hours a day to fetch clean water. Other projects have taken place in Malakkara, India; Gualcea, Honduras; Sisoguichi, Mexico; and Bangladesh.
Jewel donates a portion of her income the organization and often holds events to benefit the organization. The organization tends to parallel the career of Jewel since she provides the majority of the organization's funding. As of 2005, the activities of the organization were reduced.
Jewel has publicly supported The ONE Campaign.
Jewel's Hit Singles
"Who Will Save Your Soul?" (Pieces of You) #11 US
"You Were Meant For Me" (Pieces of You) #2 US
"Foolish Games" (Pieces of You) #2 US (B side of "You Were Meant For Me")
"Morning Song" (Pieces of You) [hit in UK only]
"Have a Little Faith in Me" ("Phenomenon" Soundtrack)
"Hands" (Spirit) #6 US
"Down So Long" (Spirit) #59 US
"Jupiter (Swallow the Moon)" (Spirit)
"What's Simple is True" (Ride With the Devil soundtrack)
"Under the Water" ("The Craft" soundtrack)
"Life Uncommon (Live)" (Charity CD)
"Joy to the World" (Joy - A Holiday Collection)
"Hands (Christmas version)" (Joy - A Holiday Collection)
"Standing Still" (This Way) #25 US
"Break Me" (This Way)
"This Way" (This Way)
"Serve the Ego" (This Way) [Club Only Release]
"Intuition" (0304) #20 US
"Stand" (0304)
"2 Become 1" (0304)
