Elliott Smith, the prodigiously gifted singer-songwriter whose fragile, flaying songcraft earned him an intensely devoted following in his short lifetime, died six years ago today at 34. The cause was two apparently self-inflicted knife wounds to the chest, though the L.A. county coroner did not conclusively rule his death a suicide.
Smith’s legacy of seven studio albums, two of them posthumous, is equal to or bigger than many of his gone-too-soon compatriots (Gram Parsons, Nick Drake, Tim and Jeff Buckley). Still, it’s hard not to think about the work — and the life — that his friends, fans and family still miss.
Watch a home-made recording of “Between the Bars,” from his 1997 watershed Either/Or below, and share your favorite memories of Smith, whether it’s his bizarro-world appearance preceding Celine Dion on the Oscars stage to perform Good Will Hunting’s “Miss Misery,” or hearing “Waltz #2″ or “Angeles” on a dive-bar jukebox or dorm-room stereo for the first time:
More from EW’s Music Mix:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ iTunes Original sessions available now
Michael Buble tops the albums chart again; ‘New Moon’ soundtrack sees strong early sales
Ben Gibbard acts! Watch the Death Cab for Cutie frontman earn his SAG card
Lily Allen abducts Elton John—in her video dreams
Regina Spektor at Radio City Music Hall: Concert review
Comments (1-15) of 17 Add your comment
Favorite Elliott moment: hearing his cover of George Harrison’s ‘Long Long Long’. Or, when he called Quasi his favorite band.
i absolutely adored smith.
thanks for writing this, ew.
I don’t mean this in any cheesy way whatsoever, I simply can’t think of a better way to say state this simple truth:
Elliott Smith lives on every time I put one of his discs in my player, or seek out my Elliott Smith playlist on my iPod.
He was a singular talent, and although I mourn the loss of whatever music he might have made, my heart really goes out to his family and close friends– the people who surely feel his absence every single day.
Unfortunately, I didn’t discover Elliott Smith until after he was gone. But I’ll never forget listening to “Either/Or” for the first time, my jaw dropping at the beauty, heartbreak, anger, and hope pouring almost viscerally out of the speakers.
On a related note, Elliott Smith and “Either/Or” demonstrate perfectly why the internet will never compare to a brick-and-mortar record store. I doubt I would have discovered Elliott Smith if he hadn’t been recommended by one of the clerks at my favorite local, indie record store. I went back every couple of weeks and picked up a new Elliott Smith album until I had them all. Listening to 30 second samples on iTunes would never have given me the same impression as taking a chance on an entire album because it was recommended by that clerk, whose tastes in music I knew and whose opinion I trusted!
funny you should mention waltz #2 because that is the first smith song i heard. i was studying in my room at michigan state university when i heard that distinct drum intro.
Despite his popularity, Elliott Smith is one of those artists that I feel never really got his due. I love all of his albums, but feel that his best music was still ahead of him. I mourn the man just as much as the music we’ll never get to hear from him.
Bah. Already six years. Feels like just yesterday he was still messing up Angeles in front of 40 kids. Hah. Boy I sure do miss Elliott. His music guided me and still finds just the way to tell me something new each day. I’ve been wait for this day to kick back some shots of Johnnie Walker red and blare his lifetime accomplishments. My most fond memory is listening, recieting, and almost living his lyrics and using his hope to get clean from my personal addiction. So hears to you ellliot. Thank you for everything. Thank you so much.
xo.
I was teaching myself how to play “Needle In The Hay” when I learned of Elliott Smith’s death. It was a somber moment that still resonates with me now. Check out my tribute to him at AudioADD.net
R.I.P. Elliott… you’re missed greatly as a phenomenal musician as well as a great person…
Elliott’s music still shakes me, always will. I am eternally grateful to him for all that he gave.
Can’t believe it’s been only 6 years, it feels so much longer than that. My older brother introduced me to Elliott when I was 12. I was lucky enough to see him perform live in 2000, I remember he looked my direction. That was the first image that came to my mind when I first heard the terrible news.
I miss you soo much Elliott and not a day goes by without you on my mind XO
Elliott Smith died one day before I turned ten. I can’t say I was shaken or anything… I was ten, you know? And now it’s one day before I turn sixteen, and I miss him. I remember playing Waltz #2 with some friends out in a grain silo, so the guitar would echo around and we could drum on the walls… I still can’t believe he’s gone.
thank you for writing this -
Elliott has altered me in ways that I can never accurately voice, in ways that you can’t understand until you are able to listen to him – he was so beautiful in every way. We miss you, dear friend. You will never be forgotten.
Seeing him for the first time, without knowing who he was, playing to 10 people in my college town record store. A friend broke me out of class. He became one of my few heroes.
The first ES song I heard was Happiness. It was sent to me by an old boyfriend turned friend. He’d sent me many songs over the years, and I’d listen to them while balancing the checkbook, doing the dishes, whatever. But this time, I closed my eyes, put my face against the speaker, and just breathed the music in. And then again. And then again.
Driving in the Portland rain on an early fall afternoon in the late ’90s listening to Roman Candle.
The horror of overhearing someone in a computer lab say “Elliott Smith killed himself” on a cold Chicago day in October, ‘03.