Alanis Morissette

Today, we continue our series of “Women In Rock” by diving into the life and legacy of Canadian-American rock singer Alanis Morissette.

She was born on 1st June 1974 in Ottawa, Canada, and spent the first 5 years of her life living in Germany, due to her parents’ military jobs. Morissette moved back to Canada in 1981, where she began playing the piano at the age of 6 and was even composing and writing songs at the age of 7. Despite this, her first claim to fame is a role in 5 episodes of a sketch show named “You Can’t Do That On Television”, which was aimed at young adults and aired on North American Nickelodeon channels from 1979-1990.

From this, Morrisette was able to put her earnings from the show towards the production and recording of her debut album “Alanis” and follow up album “Now This Is The TIme, both of which were dance-pop albums aimed at young adults who would have watched her on TV. Unfortunately, these albums failed to create much impact outside of her native country, but nonetheless paved the way for her third and most successful album, “Jagged Little Pill”.

“Jagged Little Pill” showed a change of musical direction for Morissette, as she traded in the radio-friendly dance-pop tracks for a heavier, punky sound, pairing Morissette’s trademark soprano vocals to harsh guitars and pounding drums. The album did wonders for Morisette’s career, selling over 33 million copies and gaining the number one spot in the charts of 13 countries. The album has received 9 Grammy award nominations since its release and has won 5, making it one of the most successful albums ever released by a relatively new and unestablished artist.

Following the success of “Jagged Little Pill”, fans eagerly awaited the release of new material, as she became one of the biggest artists in the world. The next song that would be released however would be “Uninvited”, which became the lead single to the soundtrack of the romantic fantasy film “City Of Angels” garnering her critical acclaim for her “cryptic lyrics” and “haunting melody”, built around 4 piano notes.

Morissette has gone on to inspire countless other female Canadian punk rock artists, most notably Avril Lavigne, who states that Morissette is one of her biggest inspirations. In 2020, she was due to begin a world tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Jagged Little Pill”, but it has been postponed due to the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, we hope to see Alanis Morissette touring again soon, and look forward to hearing any new material she may release in the future!

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