[歌手简介]

　　Tori Amos was one of several female singer/songwriters who combined the stark lyrical attack of alternative rock with a distinctly '70s musical approach. Her music falls between the orchestrated meditations of Kate Bush and the stripped-down poetics of Joni Mitchell. In addition to reviving the singer/songwriter traditions of the '70s, Amos revived the piano as a rock & roll instrument. With her 1992 album, Little Earthquakes, Amos built a dedicated following that continued to expand with her second album, Under the Pink.

　　Born in North Carolina but raised in Maryland, Amos was the daughter of a Methodist preacher. By the age of four, she was singing and playing piano in the church choir; she began writing her own songs shortly afterward. Amos won a scholarship to Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory based on her instrumental prowess. While she was studying at Peabody, she became infatuated with rock & roll, particularly the music of Led Zeppelin. She began writing pop ballads and performing in local bars. Amos moved to Los Angeles in her late teens to become a pop singer. Atlantic Records signed her in 1987, recording an uninspired pop-metal album called Y Kant Tori Read the following year. The record was a complete failure, attracting no attention from radio or press and selling very few copies; nevertheless, she didn't lose her record contract.

　　By 1990, Amos had adopted a new approach, singing spare, haunting, semiconfessional piano ballads that were arranged like Kate Bush but had the melodies and lyrical approach of Joni Mitchell. Atlantic sponsored a trip to England in 1991, where she played a series of concerts in support of an EP, Me and a Gun.

　　The harrowing "Me and a Gun" was an autobiographical song, telling the tale of Amos' own experience with rape. It gained positive reviews throughout the media, and both the EP and the concerts sold well. Little Earthquakes, Amos' first album as a singer/songwriter, was released in late 1991 and sold well in both the U.S. and the U.K. In 1992, she released the Crucify EP, which featured three covers, including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You."

　　Delivered in early 1994, Under the Pink, the full-length follow-up to Little Earthquakes, was a bigger hit, selling over a million copies and launching the minor hit singles "God" and "Cornflake Girl." Two years later, Amos delivered her third album, Boys for Pele, her most ambitious and difficult record to date. The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum.

　　Amos spent much of 1997 dealing with personal matters, including a miscarriage and a marriage, and working on her fourth album, From the Choirgirl Hotel, which was released in the spring of 1998. The two-disc To Venus and Back followed in 1999 to coincide with a tour with Alanis Morissette. In 2001, Amos returned with the covers album Strange Little Girls, which also marked her last release for Atlantic. The next year, she found a new label home with Epic and followed with Scarlet's Walk in October. Her eighth studio album, an autobiographical record titled The Beekeeper, was released in 2005.

　　96年才知道 Tori Amos，是听了那首“Blood Roses”，那种独特的类似小提琴扫弦的嗓音和具有古典意味却又叛逆的钢琴伴奏，让人感到这个女人奇妙的吸引力。

　　Tori Amos 1963年8月出生于美国北卡罗莱纳，原名Myra Ellen Amos。她的音乐天份一开始就十分明显，两岁半开始弹钢琴，四岁在教堂唱诗班演唱，五岁收到巴尔地摩Peabody音乐学院的学习邀请。 但是Amos因为不服从音乐学院的课程安排，11岁时Amos对古典音乐逐渐失去兴趣，开始疯狂迷恋Led Zeppelin，于是退学。13岁是在当地的一次比赛中因弹奏了自己创作的曲子“More Than Just A Friend”获得一等奖。

　　就在此时，她发现了摇滚乐的魅力。于是，她开始写歌，并在当地的一些夜总会中表演。起初在父亲的带领下，她在华盛顿的地下酒吧演奏钢琴，这一时期，Amos开始大量创作属于自己的歌曲，这使得Amos为日后的创作积累了大量财富。

　　也是在这期间，将近20岁时，Amos正式改名叫 Tori Amos，搬到洛山矶继续发展，并开始参与组建了自己的第一支乐队——Y Kant Tori Read。 1987年与Atlantic Records签约，那个时代正直金属流行，Amos尝试着以披挂时髦金属服饰的形象，在Atlantic旗下推出了她的第一张乐队专辑《Y Kant Tori Read》。随着唱片销量不佳，乐队彻底地解散了。

　　这次挫折使Amos冷静下来，她坐在自己的钢琴边，开始重新审视自己的音乐风格。 直到1991年，当带着个人首张专辑 《Little Earthquake》重新杀回乐坛时，这个诡异精灵的红发女人终于以看似平静温娴，实则充满尖锐思想，直指性和宗教等敏感问题的作品取得了成功。这张独唱专辑《Little Earthquakes》在全球共售出二百万张，此CD包括12首歌，其中《Me and a Gun》描述了她自己曾经历的一段不幸遭遇，Amos大胆地写出了自己的感受和心情。《LittleEarthpuakes》的确掀起了一场不大不小的地震 ，她所宣扬的对犯罪的痛恨深深打动了每一个人。 　

　　1994年，Amos在亚特兰大发行了个人的第二张专辑《Under the Pink -- 粉红色的下面》，到达英国排行榜第二名位置。此CD包括金曲《God》和《Cornflake Girl》，共售出几百万张。这张专辑表现出了更强的女权倾向，而 Tori对钢琴魔鬼般的驾驭能力也得到了充分展现。其中有一首“Icicle”的前面的一段钢琴solo和“Bells for Her”的击弦古钢琴的演奏可谓晶莹剔透，人仙莫辨。

　　99年，Amos又推出了收录有新歌和现场录音的双张大碟《To Venus And Back》。她的音乐风格也逐渐从偏重民谣，爵士，过渡到了融合电子，爵士，民谣等风格的钢琴摇滚，唯一没变的是她音乐中那始终如一的尖锐和敏感。