Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston; February 24, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music entered the Billboard Hot 100, was nominated for Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording, and received a Folk Album of the Year at the CMJ New Music Awards.
Shocked was born at the Baylor University Medical Center. Her stepfather was in the US Army and the family moved from base to base, eventually settling in Gilmer, Texas. Her mother was Mormon and she was raised in that faith. Her mother had her committed to a psychiatric hospital for a time during years of drug abuse. Johnston went through a punk rock phase, wearing a Mohawk hairdo and squatting in abandoned buildings in San Francisco, California.
In 1984, Johnston adopted the stage name "Michelle Shocked," a play on the expression "shell shocked," she said in a 1992 interview with Green Left Weekly: "The term 'Miss shell shocked' is a direct reference to the thousand-yard stare, which was a term that they first used to describe the victims of shell-shock in World War I. These people from outward appearances had survived the war quite well when in fact inside their minds were blown. I first used that name in 1984 at the Democratic Convention in San Francisco where I was arrested for protesting and demonstrating against corporations who contribute money to both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party campaigns."
Shocked received her first international exposure after Pete Lawrence recorded her performance on a portable tape recorder at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Lawrence released the tape in Europe as The Texas Campfire Tapes (1986) (later released as The Texas Campfire Takes). The album's success brought major labels asking her to sign a contract. Shocked was resistant to what she saw as the machinations of the music industry, and worked to retain a degree of creative control.
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Links to Peel[]
Peel was generally not a follower of Michelle Shocked's music and only played her cover of a Johnny Cash song, 'One Piece At A Time', on his 02 August 1988 programme. His friend and colleague, Andy Kershaw, played more of her music on his shows during most of the late 80's, including a track played when Kershaw sat in for Peel on 04 November 1986.
Shows Played[]
- 04 November 1986: 5 a.m. In Amsterdam (LP - The Texas Campfire Tapes) Cooking Vinyl
- 1988
- 02 August 1988: One Piece At A Time (v/a LP - 'Til Things Are Brighter... A Tribute To Johnny Cash) Red Rhino