Sophie B. Hawkins

Sophie B. Hawkins burst out of New York in 1992 with "Damn! I Wish I Was Your Lover", a slinky, rhythm-heavy come-on that sounded like nothing else on the radio that year. Born in the city in 1964, she spent a year at the Manhattan School of Music as a percussionist before bailing out to chase her own songs, and you can hear the drummer in her: the grooves push and prowl while her voice goes for broke.

In 1993 she was up for the Grammy for Best New Artist, and her first two albums won her both hits and good notices, adding "Right Beside You" and "As I Lay Me Down" to the list. Then came a fight with Sony Music over her third album, Timbre, and rather than bend, she set up her own independent label, Trumpet Swan Productions, which has released her records ever since.

Away from the music she has been a steady supporter of animal rights and environmental causes, and of women in music and LGBTQ rights.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.