Sophie B Hawkins

Sophie Logo copy

About

Sophie Ballantine Hawkins (born November 1, 1967, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and painter. Her biggest hits are "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover", "Right Beside You", and "As I Lay Me Down".Hawkins's debut album, Tongues and Tails, was released in 1992. It achieved both worldwide commercial success and critical acclaim, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1993. The single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles' chart in the USA, and was also a top 20 hit in the UK. As a result of this success Sophie was asked to perform "I Want You" during "Bobfest" a concert held on October 16, 1992 in Madison Square Garden honoring Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary as a musician.Whaler, her second album, was released in 1994. Produced by Stephen Lipson, it also contained a US Top 10 hit, "As I Lay Me Down," and made gold status. Three singles from the album made the UK top 40, including "Right Beside You" which peaked at #13. It reached number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. A 1998 documentary by Gigi Gaston, titled The Cream Will Rise, followed Hawkins during one of her tours and captured her struggle to deal with past troubles with her family, including her mother and brother. Music and riffs by Hawkins were included throughout the film.Also in 1998, Hawkins's record company at the time, Sony Music, delayed the release of her third album. Its executives were unhappy with the finished product, and wanted Hawkins to rework some of the material. In particular, they were insisting that Hawkins remove a banjo track from one of the songs. Hawkins refused to accommodate them, citing artistic integrity as her main reason. After a lengthy battle between Hawkins and the company, the album, Timbre, was eventually released in 1999, though Sony declined to promote it. Hawkins subsequently left the label and founded her own label, Trumpet Swan Productions. In 2001, Timbre was re-released on Hawkins' label, now as a 2-disc set that contained new songs, demos, remixes, and videos.Her first independently recorded and released album, Wilderness, was released in 2004.

Personal life
Hawkins's website states that she is bisexual. On November 18, 2008, she gave birth to a son, Dashiell Gaston Hawkins. He was named in part for Hawkins's longtime partner and manager, Gigi Gaston, who directed a documentary about Hawkins titled The Cream Will Rise.In May 2010, Sophie affiliated herself with Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Sophie is donating 100% of the proceeds of her single "The Land, the Sea, and the Sky" to the organization. abbridged from Wikipedia