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Lalah Hathaway

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lalah Hathaway, born in Chicago in 1968, is an American singer, songwriter and producer. She is the eldest daughter of the soul singer Donny Hathaway and was therefore called the First Daughter of Soul. Her father died when she was ten. Her mother was a classically trained singer. Lalah learned piano at the American Conservatory of Music, wrote her first songs at the Chicago Academy for the Arts and later went to Berklee College of Music.

Music and breakthrough

Her first album, Lalah Hathaway, appeared in 1990, with the single Heaven Knows. The follow-up A Moment from 1994 failed to catch on, and Virgin Records let her go. In 1999 The Song Lives On appeared, a collaboration with Joe Sample, and in 2004 Outrun the Sky with Forever, for Always, for Love. Self Portrait from 2008 and Where It All Begins on Stax Records followed. In 2014 she won a Grammy for Something, which she sang on Snarky Puppy's Family Dinner Volume 1, and in 2015 a Grammy for Jesus Children followed. Her live record from 2015 earned three Grammys, including that for best R&B album. In 2017 and 2024 she released Honestly and Vantablack on her own label.

Influence

Her voice is warm and agile, with a large range, and her music moves between soul, R&B and jazz. She stands in the line of her father, but has a sound of her own, and works a great deal with jazz musicians. In 2022 she received an honorary doctorate from Berklee.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Something with Snarky Puppy and notice how her voice switches between soft, almost whispered passages and full outbursts, while the band follows her precisely.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists