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Revision as of 03:29, 24 May 2023 by MamaTot22 (talk | contribs) (Early life)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American musician| Olivia Jean | |
|---|---|
 Jean performing at Women's Music Festival in 2020 | |
| Born | Olivia Jean Markel (1990-02-23) February 23, 1990 (age 34) Metro Detroit, Michigan |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse |
Jack White (m. 2022) |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | Third Man |
| Musical artist | |
Olivia Jean Markel White (born February 23, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is known as the lead singer and guitarist of the all-female "garage goth" rock band the Black Belles.
Early life
Olivia Jean Markel was born on February 23, 1990 to Brent O. Markel and Julie V. (Philippo) Markel. She has an older sister, Sarah, a younger brother, Brent, and a younger sister, Katlyn who passed away in 2019. Her paternal grandmother, Patricia (Berdon) Markel is of Filipino decent.
Jean was raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit and attended Lake Shores Public Schools. She credits her parents for encouraging her and her siblings to be creative. Jean began teaching herself to play guitar at 7 years old. At the age of 12, she and her younger brother formed a band and won their school's Battle of the Bands contest. By 16 years of age, Jean was a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and songwriter and began recording her own music by using a small computer microphone and layering the individual instrument recordings on top of each other using a free music editing program. She also began performing in small clubs around Detroit. She would leave her demo CDs in the clubs and also hand them out to family, friends and co-workers. After high school, Jean enrolled in graphic design school and thought of music as a hobby.
Career
Jack White and Third Man Records
Jack White, musician and founder of Third Man Records, discovered Jean after receiving a demo of her recordings at a Dead Weather show in Detroit. In 2009, Jean was invited to record at Third Man in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Black Belles
Because Jean did not have a band to record with in Nashville, Jack White introduced her to several musicians including Shelby Lynne and Ruby Rogers. The group went into the studio and recorded some original songs including Jean's "What Can I Do?", later released as the first single by the Black Belles. After their success in the studio, the group decided to become a band. Regarding her first recording session in Nashville, Jean stated in an interview, "Once we all met, we kind of collaborated together and shared ideas, threw all those ideas together and we had a lot of material to work with." Jack White signed the Black Belles to Third Man Records and produced a handful of singles, as well as the bands debut self-titled album The Black Belles, released on October 8, 2011. The band saw moderate success with touring; however, in 2012 the band was put on hiatus.
Solo career
The success of the Black Belles led to Jean's career as a solo artist. Her debut solo album, Bathtub Love Killings, was released in 2014 by Third Man. Jean's second solo album, Night Owl was released on August 30, 2019, also on Third Man. Her third album, Raving Ghost, was announced March 2, 2023, with a release date of May 5 by Third Man.
Jean has also performed and recorded with artists as Jack White, Wanda Jackson, and among others.
Personal life
On April 8, 2022, White proposed to Jean near the end of a Supply Chain Issues Tour concert performance at Detroit's Masonic Temple, while "Hotel Yorba" was being played. Jean and White were married shortly afterward by White's business partner Ben Swank, who officiated on stage and was joined by family members.
Discography
Solo
Studio albums
- Bathtub Love Killings (2014)
- Night Owl (2019)
- Raving Ghost (2023)
EPs
- Palladium with April March (2020)
with the Black Belles
- Studio albums
- The Black Belles (2011)
References
- ^ "Jack White proposes, gets married during show at Masonic Temple". wxyz.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- "Olivia Jean Flies Solo: Slay Belle Rings, Are You Listening?". HuffPost. February 8, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ Aggeler, Madeleine (2022-07-08). "What Happens When a Rock Star Proposes Onstage?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- "The Black Belles Ring True". Interview Magazine. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
- Minsker, Evan (March 2, 2023). "Olivia Jean Announces New Album Raving Ghost, Shares New Song "Trouble"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- 1990 births
- American blues guitarists
- Alternative rock guitarists
- American women singers
- American rock guitarists
- American rock singers
- 21st-century American guitarists
- Living people
- Lead guitarists
- One-man bands
- 21st-century American singers
- Third Man Records artists
- American women drummers
- Guitarists from Detroit
- 21st-century American drummers
- 21st-century American women guitarists