Great Lives

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Factual: Life Stories

Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

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Great Lives: Arlo Parks on Elliott Smith

Arlo Parks on Elliott Smith

BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Arlo Parks on Elliott Smith

Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks nominates the young life of singer Elliott Smith.

The singer Arlo Parks tells Matthew Parris why she chooses the singer Elliott Smith as her Great Life.

Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks has been nominated for three Brit Awards at just 20 years old. Her inspiration for her debut studio album is drawn from American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. 

Matthew Parris and Arlo Parks are joined by Elliott’s friend and former manager of his band Heatmiser, JJ Gonson. They also hear from writer and college professor William Todd Schultz, author of the biography ‘Torment Saint: The Life Of Elliott Smith’. 

Together they explore Elliott’s life and musical achievements; from his unsettled childhood to performing at the 1998 Oscar awards ceremony. Although nominated for Best Original Song in the Hollywood film Good Will Hunting and deemed a cult icon in the Indie music scene after releasing an impressive six solo albums, Elliott rose to fame with reluctance and eventually committed suicide at just 34 years old. 

Arlo contemplates the direction Elliott’s music might have taken were he still alive today, and how his work has influenced and inspired her own. 

Produced in Bristol by Caitlin Hobbs.

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