Caroline Kennedy-McCracken

Caroline Frances Kennedy-McCracken[1] (born Caroline Frances Kennedy in 1967) is an Australian musician and visual artist.[2] Kennedy-McCracken has been a singer-songwriter and guitarist in several bands, including The Plums (1992–1995), Deadstar (1995–2001) and The Tulips (2002–2006). In 2013, she appeared as a vocalist on Don't Tell The Driver, a solo album by the Dirty Three's Mick Turner.[2] Kennedy-McCracken is also a visual artist, working primarily as a painter and sculptor.[3]

Caroline Kennedy-McCracken
Birth nameCaroline Frances Kennedy
Born1967 (age 53–54)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, visual artist
Years active1989–present
LabelsTemptation, Mushroom, White Label, Festival Mushroom
Associated actsThe Plums, Deadstar, Salon Baby, The Tulips, Mick Turner, The Tren Brothers

Biography

Caroline Frances Kennedy was born in Melbourne[4] and became Kennedy-McCracken upon marrying musician Pete McCracken. She has pursued parallel careers in music and in visual arts.[5]

Artist

Kennedy-McCracken's works combine painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, and music.[4] She was short-listed for The Siemens-RMIT Fine Art Awards in 2009, for her piece Notation.[3]

Musician

Caroline Kennedy-McCracken has performed in and with a number of Australian bands and artists, including The Plums, Deadstar and The Tulips, as well as performing under her own name.[6] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005, the electronic group Deepface were nominated for 'Best Dance Release' for their single, "Been Good", which Kennedy-McCracken co-wrote.[7][8][9]

Kennedy-McCracken has sung on records by Crow and Charlie Marshall and The Body Electric, and on Kim Salmon and the Surrealists' album, Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing . In 2009 she collaborated with Mick Turner and Jim White of The Dirty Three on The Tren Brothers' single, "Sometimes", and in 2013 sang on Turner's album, Don't Tell the Driver.[2]

The Plums

In 1992, Kennedy-McCracken formed indie pop four-piece The Plums with guitarist Steve Moffat and drummer Shamus Goble; all three had previously played in the band Jack and the Beanstalk. They were joined by Pete McCracken on bass guitar.[10] According to rock music historian Ian McFarlane, "The Plums mixed strident guitar riffs with melodic pop roots. Kennedy was the band's focal point with her tough-but-graceful presence, opinionated views and emotion-charged, if imperfect, vocals".[10]

The band released two EPs on Mushroom's Temptation label, Au Revoir Sex Kitten and Read All Over.[10] The album Gun followed in 1994. The band's final recording was the Heavenly EP, released in 1995. The band broke up the same year.[10]

Deadstar
Main article: Deadstar

In 1995, Kennedy-McCracken joined pop group Deadstar as vocalist. Deadstar, initially a side-project for drummer Peter Jones and Hunters and Collectors guitarist Barry Palmer, included, at different times, ex-Crowded House bass guitarist Nick Seymour, Michael den Elzen (guitar, ex-Schnell Fenster), and Pete McCracken.[6]

Palmer invited Kennedy to write melodies and lyrics over tracks of guitar music he had recorded for a projected short film, The Baby Bath Massacre. The tracks formed the basis of the band's debut eponymous album, released in 1996. Deadstar released two more studio albums, Milk (1997) and Somewhere Over the Radio (1999) on Mushroom's White Label Records.[6]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1997 Deadstar were nominated for 'Best Independent Release' for their single, "Don't It Get You Down".[11][12] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 the band was again nominated, this time for 'Best Pop Release' for their single "Run Baby Run".[13][14] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000, Deadstar were nominated for 'Best Rock Album' for Somewhere Over the Radio.[15]

In 2000 the band's single "Deeper Water" peaked at No. 28 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[16][17] The group disbanded in 2001. In 2004 a compilation album, The Definitive Collection, was issued by Festival Mushroom.

The Tulips

In 2002, Kennedy-McCracken formed a country duo with Pete McCracken. The group released an eponymous EP, and in 2003 the album In the Honeycone, on Belmore Records.[18][19] The band's second album, 'Free Like a Bird', would eventually be self-released, initially as The Tulips and then as Caroline No.[20]

Caroline No!

Kennedy-McCracken has been recording as a solo artist under the moniker Caroline No since 2012.[20]

The Tren Brothers and Mick Turner

In 2009 Kennedy-McCracken collaborated with Mick Turner and Jim White of The Dirty Three on The Tren Brothers single "Sometimes". In 2013, she sang on Turner's acclaimed[21] solo album, Don't Tell the Driver.

Discography

Albums
The Plums
Deadstar
The Tulips
  • In the Honeycone (Belmore Records, 2003)

EPs
The Plums
  • Au Revoir Sex Kitten (Temptation, 1992)
  • Read All Over (Temptation, 1993)
  • Heavenly (Mushroom Records/White Label Records, 1995)
The Tulips

Singles
The Plums
Deadstar
  • "Going Down" (1996)
  • "She Loves She" (1996)
  • "Sister" (1996)
  • "Don't It Get You Down?" ( 1996)
  • "I've Got Something to Tell You" (1997)
  • "Run Baby Run" (1999)
  • "Deeper Water" (1999)
  • "Somewhere Over the Radio" (May 2000)

References
General
  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-865-08072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2014. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
Specific
  1. "'Help Me Jesus' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. "'Mick Turner: Don't Tell The Driver (Pitchfork Album Review)'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  3. "Caroline Kennedy-McCracken". RMIT Gallery. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  4. "'Artist website'". Caroline Kennedy-McCracken Artist Website. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  5. "'Artist page'". Face the Music. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  6. Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. McFarlane, Ian. 'Deadstar' entry. Archived from the original Archived 28 August 2004 at the Wayback Machine on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  7. Kennedy, Caroline (23 October 2005). "Pregnant Pause, Then as Good as It Gets". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  8. "'Been Good' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  9. "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  10. Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. McFarlane, Ian. 'The Plums' entry. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  11. "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 1997". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  12. "'Don't It Get You Down' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  13. "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 1999". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  14. "'Run Baby Run' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  15. "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  16. "'Deeper Water' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  17. "Deadstar – "Deeper Water"". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  18. Nimmervoll, Ed (17 May 2004). "Feature Album – 17/5/2004 The Tulips – In the Honeycone". HowlSpace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  19. "The Tulips". Deep End. ABC Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 28 April 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  20. "Caroline No Official Site". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  21. "Don't Tell the Driver". MetaCritic. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
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