As early as the age of six, Jewel began
accompanying her parents singing in local
Anchorage performances, during which she
mastered the fine art of yodeling from her dad.

When Jewel was faced with her parents� divorce
two years later, she went with her dad and
brothers to live in Homer, Alaska on the 800 acre
family homestead. Although the divorce and
relocation invoked many mixed feelings, Jewel
found solace in writing. She remembered the
vitality of those poetry workshops she
participated in back in Anchorage.

As her teenage years approached, Jewel
enjoyed performing with her dad as a duo in
local bars, hotels, and Eskimo villages. She
learned how to �work a room� the way her dad
did and to study people�s reactions to the songs
and stories.

Jewel's interests weren�t limited to music. She
also spent a lot of time enjoying her first love,
horses. For hours on end, Jewel rode and cared
for a horse named Clearwater.

At age fourteen, Jewel was introduced to
something that would change her outlook on
herself and the world around her. She was
"adopted" into a native Ottawa Indian tribe.
Among the sacred ceremonies she participated
in, one included a "talking circle.� This opened
her eyes to the realization that although she was
a prolific writer, she also needed to express
herself verbally. Jewel's Ottawan uncles taught
her that spoken word was just as precious a gift
and she had her own special "gift to give the
world.

One year later, Jewel was asked to perform solo
for the first time, in Tom Bodet�s popular "End Of
The Road Show." Nedra rehearsed intensively
with Jewel perfecting a rendition of "Somewhere
Over The Rainbow.� It was during the
performance, in January of 1989, that Jewel
claims to have "found her voice.� Singing was
something she wanted to celebrate more often.

High school was a stimulating growth period for
Jewel and her dream. She spent her junior and
senior years at Interlochen Fine Arts Academy in
Michigan as a voice major. Her vocal teachers
introduced her to opera and her singing skills
improved drastically while practicing difficult
arias by Monteverdi, Bononcini and others.
Working within a very stringent academic
schedule, Jewel also pursued interests including
sculpture, art, music and dance. Another interest
she felt strongly about was acting. However, the
school's policy didn�t allow voice majors to
participate in the drama program. With enough
persistence and strong will, Jewel was finally
granted an audition. She successfully landed
the leading role in that semester�s play "Spoon
River Anthology.� Her performance was so
impressive, Interlochen began accepting other
non-theater majors into their drama program.

Upon graduation in the summer of 1992, Jewel
made a bold move to San Diego, California to
live with Nedra. She got herself a variety of jobs,
one of which was waitressing. But her delight in
meeting and chatting with the fascinating
customers surpassed her actual job duties.
Lacking interest and skills in other jobs, Jewel
soon found herself unemployed, pondering her
next move.

With Nedra's emotional support, encouragement
and limitless hope to pursue their dreams, they
moved out of their apartment and into their
vans. Cutting costs, eating mainly peanut butter
& carrot sticks, Jewel settled down with her guitar
and began to write songs. These songs were
from her heart, about her own life, about those
she'd met, about pain she saw in others and joy
she wanted to share.

Her song writing flourished and soon she met
local singer/songwriter, Steve Poltz and his band
The Rugburns. Their friendship was
instantaneous and Steve helped Jewel to work
within a verse/chorus/verse structure. His
influence also helped Jewel combine her
deeply serious writing style with his own of
humor and spontaneity. (Steve and Jewel later
co-wrote You Were Meant For Me and Steve
appears in the video with Jewel.)

Also during this time Jewel met and
collaborated with other talented musicians in
San Diego. She enthusiastically participated in
"house jams" which often became spontaneous
song writing sessions for her. She then began
performing solo to scattered curious crowds at
coffee houses throughout the San Diego area
among which was The Innerchange Coffee
House in Pacific Beach. To her, it was just
another fun gig to play after brushing the sand
off her feet, but to the audience it was an stirring
experience not to be forgotten. Word spread
around town, and soon Jewel had a regular
Thursday night gig at The Innerchange. For a
mere $3, people listened to a three to four hour
set of Jewel singing and telling funny little
stories about her life. Little did she know how
popular she'd become. Audiences multiplied,
Jewels name began to appear in the local press,
and she landed several choice opening spots for
bigger bands.

But 1993 was a year Jewel will always
remember. By July her reputation as a
mesmerizing singer/songwriter had spread like
wild fire to Los Angeles. Record executives
began racing each other to San Diego to see
her perform. Her radiant stage presence,
powerful voice and alluring charm were in
instant demand. Soon the limos were arriving
and Jewel knew that waitressing was far from
what was ahead of her.

After a flurry of options, Jewel signed a deal with
Atlantic Records. Her gift to give the world was
about to be opened. She spent the beginning of
1994 traveling to Los Angeles to meet with
potential album producers. Finally, Ben Keith
(Neil Young and James Taylor) was chosen to
produce Jewel's first album.

The recording sessions began at Neil Young's
Redwood Digital Studio in Woodside, California.
Young's longtime band, the Stray Gators, were
recruited to back Jewel on five songs, along with
Steve Poltz. To capture Jewel's strong
connection with her audience, Atlantic Records
suggested a live recording. So in late July, a
sound crew set up The Innerchange Coffee
House to record four sets of Jewel singing to her
regulars, who knew this was the last time they
would get seats this close. Over the next few
months, songs were selected from the
Innerchange recordings and the studio sessions
were mixed.

After the final special touches, Jewel's first
album, "Pieces Of You," was released to the
public in February of 1995. Who Will Save Your
Soul was the first hit single, followed by You
Were Meant For Me, and Foolish Games. As of
this year, the album has sold over 10 million
copies and has won her, among others, an
American Music Award for Best New Artist. She
describes the album as a time capsule of where
she was at nineteen years old.

From 1995 to 1998, Jewel continuously toured
the world, promoting her album. Quickly
learning the rigor of traveling the world, she
played thirty cities in twenty days, touring
Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, and
Taiwan. Europe was on her path three times.
She had the honor of opening for legends Bob
Dylan and Neil Young and collaboratively
performing in Lilith Fair. By 1997, she was
selling out 15,000-seat arenas. Her press and
promotional schedule was so rigorous, she
appeared in over one hundred magazines and
newspapers and several TV talk shows. Most
notable was her appearance on the cover of
Time Magazine. However far from San Diego,
she still kept her friendships close. Steve Poltz
opened for her several times and Jewel and
Steve occasionally performed their favorite
songs together.

This year has proven to be a flourish of Jewel's
other abilities. She published her first book, a
collection of her poetry entitled, A Night Without
Armor which remained on the New York Times
best sellers list for weeks. She also made her
acting debut playing the lead female role in
Ride With The Devil, a Civil War drama directed
by Ang Lee.

Her long-awaited second album "Spirit, has just
been released and is a spectacular display of
her development as a singer/songwriter. Its
theme conveys Jewels strong sense of faith,
love, and humanity. Jewel chose Patrick
Leonard (renowned for his work with Madonna)
as the producer who, as a musician and
songwriter himself, related to Jewel from an
artists point of view. Among the many musicians
who backed Jewel on this album, longtime
friend, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), plays bass
on Barcelona. Nedra, who is now Jewels
manager, backs her on several songs and sings a
precious, beautiful duet with her on the albums
additional track, This Little Bird.

Jewel's spectrum of talent is unlimited and her
continued realization of her dreams gives her
encouragement to inspire those around her. She
found a responsibility through her fortune to
making a difference in this world.

* This biography is excerpted from a more in depth
authorized ongoing "Jewel History" project soon to be
featured on this site. Copy written by Anita Michetti.
Adapted from an indepth biography by Alan Bershaw.
Taken from the website www.jeweljk.com.