Citizen Cope

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Citizen Cope
File:Citizen Cope.jpg
Background information
Birth name Clarence Greenwood
Born (1968-05-20) May 20, 1968 (age 56)
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Origin Washington, D.C., United States
Genres Alternative rock, soul
Occupation(s) Songwriter, Producer, Performer
Instruments Guitar, Vocals
Years active 1991–present
Labels DreamWorks Records
Arista Records
RCA Records
Associated acts Basehead, Carlos Santana, Dido, Easy Star All-Stars
Website www.citizencope.com

Clarence Greenwood (stage name Citizen Cope) is an American songwriter, producer and performer.[1] His music is commonly described as a mix of blues, soul, folk, and rock. He has been touring professionally for ten years. Citizen Cope’s compositions have been recorded by artists as varied as Carlos Santana, Dido, Pharoahe Monch and Richie Havens. He currently records and produces for his own record label, Rainwater Recordings, which he founded in 2010 after deciding not to work with major labels any longer. He had previously been signed to Capitol, Arista, DreamWorks and RCA.[2]

Early life

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Clarence Greenwood spent parts of his childhood in Texas and Mississippi, ultimately ending up in Washington, D.C. where he was primarily raised.

Recording career

Clarence Greenwood was initially the DJ for Washington DC based hip hop group Basehead. He was signed to Capitol Records in 1997.[3] In 2000, Citizen Cope signed with DreamWorks and released a self-titled album in 2002. Rolling Stone wrote, "...Cope melds hip-hop with folk, soul and blues...and 'feels' this combination deeply....Cope's uncommon chords and harmonies combine delicate dissonance with unexpected flashes of beauty..." And the Washington Post called him "the city’s most soulful export since Marvin Gaye.”[4]

Shortly afterwards, Arista Records pursued the songwriter, prompting Cope to buy his way out of his DreamWorks contract. In 2004 he released The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, which he also produced. Upon hearing it, Vibe magazine called it “flawless throughout,” noting that Cope “makes music that feeds your soul…this is one of those CDs you hear at a friend’s house and rush out to buy.”[citation needed] Every Waking Moment followed in 2006 (also self-produced), and debuted at #69 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2010, Cope decided to found and run his own record label, Rainwater Recordings. The move allowed him to exert full creative control over his music and career, free from the marketing entreaties of the major record labels he previously had been signed to.[3] He released The Rainwater LP that year, producing the entire album. The Rainwater LP was critically acclaimed[by whom?] and newfound fan Ellen DeGeneres invited him to perform “Healing Hands” in April 2010.

“Let the Drummer Kick” from his 2002 album Citizen Cope went R.I.A.A. gold disc status. Citizen Cope released his latest album, One Lovely Day on July 17, 2012.[5]

File:Citizen Cope in Seattle WA in 2008.JPG
Citizen Cope in Seattle, Washington, in 2008

Songwriting and producing

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Citizen Cope's work has been recorded by a number of musicians. In 2002, Santana recorded Cope’s song, "Sideways," for their Shaman album. He performed "Sideways" in concert with Santana on Santana's 2003 European tour. Cope sang on and produced the track. Sheryl Crow asked to record the song with Citizen Cope in 2010 for her 100 Miles from Memphis album, and invited him to join her in concert on several occasions to perform it, including at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago on June 26, 2010. At the same festival, Eric Clapton brought Cope onstage to perform “Hands of the Saints” together. Corey Taylor also recorded a version of the song. Brett Dennen recorded a version of the song "Healing Hands" for The Voice Project Presents Home Recordings Volume 1 in 2012.

In 2008, he wrote and recorded "Burnin' Love" with Dido for her Safe Trip Home album. That same year, Richie Havens released his version of Cope's "Hurricane Waters" and the hip-hop artist Rhymefest recorded "Bullet," featuring Cope.

His work appeared in a number of soundtracks to films including 2006's Trust the Man and 2008's Ghost Town, 2006's Accepted, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Fracture. His "Bullet and a Target" appeared in 2006's The Sentinel, Alpha Dog as well as in the television show, Cold Case. Cope’s songs have also been included in television shows Scrubs, multiple episodes of One Tree Hill, multiple episodes of Entourage, So You Think You Can Dance and on the soundtrack to television show Smallville. "One Lovely Day" appeared in the film Battleship, released in May 2012.

Touring

Citizen Cope has toured throughout his career. He now headlines tours in arenas, clubs and major festivals alike. In 2002, he opened for Carlos Santana across Europe. In 2010, he was invited to be a part of Eric Clapton's U.S. Crossroads Guitar Festivals. In 2011, he opened for the Dave Matthews Band at the Dave Matthews Band Caravan stop in New York City's Governors Island.

In 2005, Citizen Cope performed the song "Simple Twist of Fate" at The Blood On The Tracks Project,[6] a concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bob Dylan's album Blood On The Tracks. The sold-out event took place at New York City's Merkin Concert Hall and was broadcast live on WFUV Radio. Other musicians on the concert included Joan Osborne, Jesse Harris, Vernon Reid, Chocolate Genius, Inc., Toshi Reagon, Alex de Grassi, Ollabelle, Jeffrey Gaines, Brandon Ross, Richard Barone, Tony Visconti, Joel Harrison, and Buddy Cage.

Personal life

Clarence Greenwood is in a relationship with singer/songwriter Alice Smith and they have one child.[7][8] He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and Brooklyn, New York.[9]

Use in other media

According to IMDB,[10]

  • "Salvation"
  • "Holdin' On"
    • Played during a scene in the 2005 film Prime.
  • "D'Artagnan's Theme"
    • Featured in 2010 Italian Film "Baciami Ancora" directed by Gabriele Muccino.
  • "If There's Love"
    • Featured in 2002 episode of TV series "Smallville".
  • "Brother Lee"
    • Featured in a commercial for ClickNET, a Romanian ISP.
    • Plays in trailer for the 2008 film What Just Happened?
  • "Pablo Picasso"
  • "Penitentiary"
    • Played in the Series Premiere in 2005 of the CBS TV Series Criminal Minds
  • "Son's Gonna Rise"
    • Featured in Pontiac commercial.
    • Featured in AXN Portugal commercial.
    • In the television series, One Tree Hill on May 10, 2005.
    • In a trailer for television series Sons of Anarchy in July 2009.
    • In an HBO/Cinemax commercial.
  • "Awe"
    • Featured in a 2007 episode of HBO's Entourage during the second part of the third season's (3B) episode "The Prince's Bride".

Discography

Other contributions

  • Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted (2002, World Café) - "If There's Love"
  • Vocals on "Karma Police" from the Easy Star All Stars album "Radiodread" a complete reggae/dub cover of Radiohead's "OK Computer".
  • Duet with Dido on "Burnin' Love" from her album "Safe Trip Home" (2008).
  • "Way Down In A Hole" - Tom Waits cover
  • Guest vocals on "The Grand Illusion (Circa 1973)" - Pharoahe Monch
  • Turntablism in "Let The Drummer Kick" by DJ JVC
  • "Muse" - G. Love & Special Sauce from the album "Love Saves The Day" (2015)

References

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External links

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