Michelle Shocked

Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, with her debut album, The Texas Campfire Tapes, a bootleg recorded around a festival campfire on a cassette recorder. Her U.S. debut came with the release of her 1988 album, Short Sharp Shocked on college radio rotations around the country, which was met with strong acclaim from listeners.

The songs of Short Sharp Shocked are mostly about what it was like to grow up in rural Texas. Every song on this album is a gem. She signed with Mercury in 1987.

Captain Swing, recorded in 1989, is almost perfect; the style is not exactly swing, because it's also rock and roll. Arkansas Traveler, recorded in 1992, is mainly bluegrass.

Michelle recorded and distributed Kind Hearted Woman in 1994 herself after leaving Mercury. In 1995, she contributed an original song to the soundtrack for the film Dead Man Walking called "Quality of Mercy".

In 1996, she released a studio version of an underground release Kind Hearted Woman. Starting in 2002 with the release of Deep Natural; Shocked established her own label, Mighty Sound.

A 2005 trilogy called Threesome, and a 2007 bootleg of a gospel set called ToHeavenURide were followed In 2009 by her new album, Soul of My Soul, all released on Mighty Sound. Shocked continues to make music as an independent artist and currently lives in Downtown Los Angeles.