Dana Fuchs

Early life

The youngest of six children, Fuchs was born in New Jersey and raised in the small rural town of Wildwood, Florida. When she was twelve, she sang in the First Baptist Gospel Choir. Her father was an alcoholic and her grandfather committed suicide. At an early age she liked to perform. She participated in drama class and in a guitar group in her early teens. She began using illegal drugs, dropped out of school, left home, and worked as a stripper. In debt to drug dealers, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a legal secretary before returning to stripping. She entered psychotherapy and group meetings. Shortly after, her sister, an alcoholic and drug addict, committed suicide.

Career

In 1998, Fuchs began to concentrate on singing and songwriting. She performed in blues clubs, and after meeting Jon Diamond, they formed the Dana Fuchs Band and released the album Lonely for a Lifetime (2003). Her raspy voice invited comparisons to rock singer Janis Joplin. She was encouraged by friends to audition for Love, Janis, an Off-Broadway musical about Joplin that ran from 2001–2003. When director Julie Taymor wanted to make a movie about someone similar to Joplin, she hired Fuchs for Across the Universe (2007). The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globe Awards. Fuchs's albums Bliss Avenue (2013) and Songs from the Road (2014) reached the Blues Album Chart at Billboard magazine.

With Jack Livesy, Fuchs wrote and performed songs on the soundtrack for the Big Beach production of Laurie Collyer's independent film Sherrybaby, including the opening and closing title songs. She also worked for MTV during the 1990s and 2000s as the voice of many of its on-air promos.

Discography