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Verse Jewel Well, Allison laid an egg on me, and every time I turn around It’s swimming through the air above my bed —TVZ, “You Are Not Needed Now,” High, Low and In Between J ewel’s confessional lyrics typically favor rustic idylls rather than dark recesses. However, the singer-songwriter, born Jewel Kilcher on May 23, 1974, in Payson, Utah, but raised in Homer, Alaska, clearly appreciates Townes Van Zandt’s multilayered poetry. After all, she named her first born son Kase Townes in July 2011. Jewel, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA, July 30, 2009. Courtesy Kirk Stauffer. Jewel 153 Jewel’sdebutalbum Pieces of You(1995)anditshitsingles“WhoWillSave Your Soul” and “You Were Meant for Me” launched a highly successful commercial career that has spanned a variety of genres, including the recent collection of children’s songs Lullaby (2009). “Parents always have told me, ‘I don’t know what it is about your voice, but my kids are so calmed down when they hear you sing,’” she says.1 “Ithinksomeofthestrongestsinger-songwriterslikeMerleHaggard and Loretta Lynn and Townes Van Zandt come from the country genre,” Jewel continues. “I’ve always loved storytellers and lyricists that wrote from their really strong, personal point of view. That’s what I’ve set out to do. I’ve always had really strong country influences in my music and on all my albums, but I’ve never been able to get my label to work anything to country radio. Even ‘You Were Meant for Me’ I wanted to work for country radio, and they never did it. “Townes seemed like a pure soul. He’s a musician and an artist and a rolling stone that had his own little path and wrote some really lovely and really unique songs without really being constricted by hit-song structure. I think that allowed him to be really creative and tell stories. I don’t think a standard songwriter would come up with ‘Pancho and Lefty,’ because it’s too long or it doesn’t go to the chorus the exact same way. That type of music is really valuable.”2 ...

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