Piece Description

A 59:00 VERSION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE. 54:00 VERSION AVAILABLE BY REQUEST TO PRODUCER. One :30 break in each hour. Shawn Colvin is, according to the Music Hound Folk Encyclopedia, "a writer and performer of rare and special abilities." In this two-hour special for public radio, award-winning producer Paul Ingles presents a compelling portrait of the singer/songwriter at work on her most recent music and at home reflecting on her remarkable career that has included three Grammy awards, critical and commercial success. This program is an independently produced study of a notable artist coming to grips with mid-life, and personal and professional challenges. Ingles visited with Colvin at the beginning, middle and end of her process of writing and recording the 2006 release THESE FOUR WALLS. Listeners will hear both early and finished versions of tracks from the CD (released 9/12/06) as well as highlights of a studio recording session in Austin. Woven into the story of the making of the album is Shawn Colvin's own tale of growing up in South Dakota, struggling to make it as a performer and writer, then getting "discovered" at the relatively late age of 33, and recording a #1 song and top-selling album at 41. Soon after hitting this peak, however, her record company lost interest in her, unable to imagine a 40-something woman hitting the pop radio charts again. In the past decade, Colvin has had her first and only child, endured a second divorce, changed management and record labels, and turned 50. All bringing her to the moment in her life documented in SHAWN COLVIN: INSIDE 'THESE FOUR WALLS.' Also featured: Colvin's long-time producer and co-writer John Leventhal, Lydia Hutchinson (editor, Performing Songwriter Magazine) and Jody Denberg of Austin's KGSR Radio. Music from all parts of Colvin's career provides the soundtrack to this lively portrait of an important, though sometimes overlooked, figure in music.