Jewel Instagram – 30 years ago, I wrote a folk album at the height of grunge. The post-grunge movement was just beginning, with artists like Boyz II Men, Madonna’s Take a Bow, and TLC…
I had risked everything to make the album. I turned down a million-dollar advance because I knew it would put a bounty on my head if I didn’t sell enough albums to repay it. I wanted artistic freedom, so I bought it by refusing the record label’s money.
And then I went on to fail. A lot. I could write a book about the rejections and the “shock jocks” who asked me, “How can you give a bj with those teeth?”
I walked out of stations, told people to f off, and my label just shook their heads because I refused to eat 💩
The album failed for so long that I started making a second one. In the middle of recording, Bob Dylan asked me to tour with him. So I told the band I’d be back in the studio soon and went on the road with Bob. He believed in me. He watched my shows. He went over my lyrics with me. He invited me to sing with him. He told me to keep going with Pieces of You. So I did.
Then Neil Young took me out on tour. He believed in me. He told me to keep going. So I did. And slowly, things began to take off.
You guys connected with the music. You called radio stations for me and created a groundswell online. My fans and I are credited as being one of the first acts to harness the internet to break an album, forcing mainstream radio to pay attention.
That little album—5,500 words—changed the course of my life forever. Thank you all. | Posted on 28/Feb/2025 21:40:32
