Cat Power

An artist who openly channels raw emotion and chases creative impulses without hesitation, Cat Power—Chan Marshall—crafts deeply candid material and delivers it through a blend of power and fragility. Early recordings like the 1996 release What Would the Community Think captured echoes of New York’s experimental rock circles. Over subsequent years, the folk, blues, and soul traditions from her upbringing surfaced clearly on 1998’s Moon Pix and 2006’s The Greatest, which included contributions from Memphis soul veterans. Although Marshall’s reverence for those origins equipped her as a skilled interpreter on projects such as 2008’s Jukebox and 2023’s Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, her work never remained anchored in earlier eras. By introducing electronics on 2012’s Sun and unveiling one of her most austere collections with 2018’s Wanderer, she solidified her standing among the 21st century’s most celebrated singer-songwriters while opening doors for kindred talents including Mitski, Snail Mail, and Angel Olsen.

Charlyn Marie Marshall, who performs under the name Chan (pronounced “Shawn”), entered the world on January 21, 1972, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father performed blues, yet her parents separated during her childhood, prompting frequent moves among her father, mother, and grandfather. Church visits with her grandmother introduced her to hymn singing, and she composed her initial song during fourth grade. At the same time, she absorbed Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, and Creedence Clearwater Revival LPs from her stepfather’s holdings; during adolescence she gravitated toward Siouxsie and the Banshees alongside the Cure.

At age 16 Marshall relocated to live with her father in Atlanta, and by 18 she had left high school to live independently. She entered the local indie rock community, performed with various groups, and eventually assembled Cat Power. The moniker originated from a “Cat Diesel Power” cap she noticed while employed at a pizzeria; she later adopted Cat Power for her solo work. In 1992 she relocated to New York City alongside a prior bandmate, who connected her to the experimental music scene there. Semi-improvised performances followed, and in 1993 she met God Is My Co-Pilot, who issued Cat Power’s debut single “Headlights” b/w “Darling Said Sir” on their Making of Americans imprint. An opening slot for Liz Phair impressed Two Dollar Guitar’s Tim Foljahn and Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, both of whom offered to assist with recording. In December 1994 the trio tracked 20 songs in one day at a New York basement facility. Those sessions yielded October 1995’s mini-album Dear Sir, an unvarnished effort mixing original cathartic pieces with renditions of Tom Waits and This Kind of Punishment material, and March 1996’s Myra Lee on Shelley’s Smells Like Records, which paired gentler tracks with Marshall’s more intense expressions.

Positive notices prompted a Matador Records deal, after which her third full-length, What Would the Community Think, surfaced in September 1996. Cut at Memphis, Tennessee’s Easley Studios under Shelley’s production, the set displayed refined, expansive playing and sharper writing, evident on the single “Nude as the News.” Post-release, Marshall stepped away from music, departed New York, and settled first in Portland, Oregon, then a South Carolina farmhouse. There a vivid nightmare supplied the core songs for her following album. Collaborating with the Dirty Three’s Mick Turner and Jim White at Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios, September 1998’s Moon Pix presented a warmer, fuller sound compared with prior Cat Power work. The next year she toured accompanying the 1929 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, and the resulting setlist of originals and covers prompted a recordings collection. Issued in March 2000, The Covers Record added a fresh take on “In This Hole” from What Would the Community Think alongside versions of songs by Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, Moby Grape, and additional artists. Its spare, close approach resonated sufficiently to reach number 44 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Marshall reemerged in February 2003 with You Are Free. The album offered a steadier, more unified sound and featured guest spots from admirers Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and Ellis. It marked Cat Power’s first Billboard 200 entry, peaking at number 105. October brought Speaking for Trees, a DVD/CD package documenting a two-hour woodland performance of originals and covers. Throughout 2005 she tracked The Greatest, a soul-leaning record spotlighting Memphis R&B figures Mabon “Teenie” Hodges and Leroy “Flick” Hodges from the Hi Records Rhythm Section. Her first album without covers, The Greatest arrived in February 2006 to broad praise, debuting at number 34 on the Billboard 200 and claiming that year’s Shortlist Music Prize. She toured with the self-named Dirty Delta Blues Band, including White, Judah Bauer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Gregg Foreman of the Delta 72. Additional 2000s activities encompassed a duet with Karen Elson on the Serge Gainsbourg tribute Monsieur Gainsbourg: Revisited, an appearance on Yoko Ono’s Yes, I’m a Witch, and a role in My Blueberry Nights. The Dirty Delta Blues Band anchored her next studio effort, January 2008’s Jukebox. Another interpretations collection—drawing from Billie Holiday, James Brown, and Joni Mitchell—it extended The Greatest’s commercial reach, attaining number 12 on the Billboard 200 and exceeding 100,000 European sales. December’s Dark End of the Street EP gathered further material from those sessions, while 2008 also included an appearance on Beck’s Modern Guilt. In 2009 she contributed to the charity compilation Dark Was the Night and Neko Case’s Easy Come Easy Go.

Following a 2011 collaboration with Eddie Vedder on Ukulele Songs and a charitable version of “King Rides By” supporting The Festival of Children Foundation and The Ali Forney Center, Marshall issued Sun in September 2012. Five years in development, the album wove electronics into her established approach across locations including her Malibu home studio and Paris sessions with Cassius’ Philippe Zdar. It entered the Billboard 200 at number ten. Shortly afterward she received a hereditary angioedema diagnosis, prompting a postponed European tour until 2013. In 2015 she narrated the Janis Joplin documentary Janis: Little Girl Blue.

Amid continued touring, Marshall prepared her next album in Miami and Los Angeles with engineer Jeff Dominguez and mixer Rob Schnapf. Her Domino Records debut, 2018’s Wanderer, comprised austere folk- and blues-rooted songs featuring “Woman,” a partnership with prior tourmate Lana Del Rey, and a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay.” Wanderer reached number 96 on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Independent Albums chart. Fresh compositions appeared on the 2021 Flag Day soundtrack, coinciding with tours alongside Alanis Morissette and Garbage. January 2022 brought Covers, her third interpretations collection encompassing material originally by Del Rey, Frank Ocean, the Pogues, and Kitty Wells. That November, Cat Power staged a song-for-song recreation of Bob Dylan’s famed May 1966 concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall—though the original occurred at Manchester Free Trade Hall, a mislabeled bootleg cemented the “Royal Albert Hall Concert” title. A year later the performance appeared as Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert.