Ballad of Big Nothing: The Unofficial Biography of Elliott Smith

By BookCaps

By his untimely death at 34, Elliot Smith had contributed more to the indie music scene then almost any artist. Despite all he contributed, there is little known about him. This book examines his life, his music, his death, and his legacy.

LifeCaps is an imprint of BookCapsTM Study Guides. With each book, a lesser known or sometimes forgotten life is recapped. We publish a wide array of topics (from baseball and music to literature and philosophy), so check our growing catalogue regularly to see our newest books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookCaps
• Release date: Aug 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476079905

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Book preview

LifeCaps Presents:

Ballad of Big Nothing

The Unofficial Biography of Elliott Smith

By Lora Greene

Golgotha Press

By LifeCaps/BookCaps Study Guides

© 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc.

Published at SmashWords

About LifeCaps

LifeCaps is an imprint of BookCaps™ Study Guides. With each book, a lesser known or sometimes forgotten life is is recapped. We publish a wide array of topics (from baseball and music to literature and philosophy), so check our growing catalogue regularly (www.bookcaps.com) to see our newest books.

Introduction

Elliott Smith, the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter behind classic songs like Miss Misery and Needle in the Hay, was a legend long before his untimely passing in late 2003. Famous as much for his tortured life and death as his hauntingly beautiful songs, Smith has become a voice for a generation without a name.

This book traces Smith’s history, from his early days in Texas through his time in Heatmiser, to his final solo recordings and controversial last days, revealing a complex artist in search of his own truth.

I didn’t have a hard time making it, I had a hard time letting it go, Smith once said of his music. His many fans across the world agree.

Chapter 1: Memory Lane - Texas Childhood and Portland Beginnings

Elliott Smith began his life as Steven Paul Smith on August 6th, 1969. His parents, Gary and Bunny Kay, separated by the time he was six months old, and Smith moved with mother from Omaha, Nebraska to Duncanville, Texas, a white flight suburb of Dallas.

My first memory is of breaking the TV by repeatedly flicking the volume and turning the set on and off. I was three, Smith said. It was the first piece of electronic equipment I was ever allowed to operate. The first day I was, I broke it.

Although he moved from the city (and the state) by the time he was 14, the early years he spent in Duncanville were significant enough to him that he later adorned himself with a large tattoo of the outline of Texas on his upper arm.

I didn’t get it because I like Texas, kind of the opposite, he said. But I won’t forget about it, although I’m tempted to because I don’t like it there.

While the facts of his Texas childhood remain a little murky, it was by all accounts a relatively unhappy one. His mother soon remarried, and Smith had a difficult relationship with his stepfather, Charlie Welch. He alluded to this several times in his music, notably on Some Song, released on the Needle in the Hay single.

Charlie beat you up week after week, and when you grow up you’re going to be a freak, he sings on the track.

Later in his life, Smith began to reveal the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of his stepfather. He came to believe that Welch had molested him at some point, though no charges were ever filed.