Growing up in the South, Charlyn “Chan” Marshall was influenced by church hymns, country music, the blues played by her musician father, and her stepfather’s rock ’n’ roll records.
∙ After a seeing a man wearing a trucker cap emblazoned with the words “Cat Diesel Power,” she named her first band Cat Power, before adopting the moniker for herself.
∙ Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and Two Dollar Guitar’s Tim Foljahn were so impressed by her live performances that they became her bandmates during the mid-’90s.
∙ Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl contributed to 2003’s You Are Free, the first Cat Power album to make the Billboard 200 chart.
∙ While she was recording her album The Greatest with renowned Memphis musicians, Al Green’s longtime guitarist Teenie Hodges praised her playing, saying, “It’s so simple, it’s difficult.”
∙ The Greatest was honored with the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize, awarded to the best US album with sales under 500,000 copies.
∙ After helping Marshall through a time of self-doubt, Lana Del Rey collaborated with her on the feminist anthem “Woman,” which became one of Cat Power’s biggest hits.