(At times mistakenly spelled as Nathalie) Merchant was the third of four children raised by a single mother in Jamestown, a once-booming steel town in upstate New York. She was raised Catholic (a factor that would inform much of her lyrical output as an adult) and sang in a church choir at an early age.
As a precocious teen she kept journals and wrote poetry, much of which served as the basis for early 10,000 Maniacs songs. Her plans to attend art school were sidelined when she met members of the band at a party and was later asked to join the group, a post-punk outfit which covered songs by bands such as Joy Division and Gang Of Four before settling into their own melodic style.
The group released two records on their own Christian Burial label while Merchant was still in her teens. A deal with Elektra led to a string of well-received albums, elevating the band from their status as college rock favorites in the '80s to mainstream success in the '90s before Merchant left the group in 1993.
Her 1995 album, the understated Tigerlily, marked the beginning of her solo career. It was three long years before she would follow up with a concept album of sorts, Ophelia, though she toured with Lilith Fair between the two releases.
Though Merchant has long valued an element of privacy in her personal life, the stark emotion she conveys on records and onstage is itself intensely personal. As she embarks down her own musical path, it seems likely that the singer's mystique will only grow more intriguing.
This Biography was written by Stephen Peters
