American alternative rock singer-songwriter Natalie Anne Merchant was born on October 26, 1963. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums.
It was also on this date in 1993, 10,000 Maniacs released their live album, MTV Unplugged. To date it has sold over 3 million copies. Between the recording and release of this album, Merchant announced that she was leaving the group, citing a lack of creative control over the music she wrote with the band. She has since released nine studio albums as a successful solo artist.
Today we wish Natalie Merchant a very happy 60th birthday and share the unplugged version video of “These Are Days” as today’s ear X-tacy.
