Vonda Shepard

Vonda Shepard

Vonda Shepard is a rock singer and musician from New York, United States. She plays piano, guitar and bass, and begins playing piano from an early age after her family moves to California when she is still young.

Early life and family

Shepard is born in 1963 in New York. Her father, Richmond Shepard, is a mime and improv actor. Her mother leaves the family when Shepard is ten, and her father raises Shepard and her three sisters — Rosetta, Luana and Brianna — on his own.

Career

Before launching a solo career, Shepard works for many years as a backing singer. She later receives her own recording contract. Her first chart appearance comes in 1987 with a duet with Dan Hill, “Can’t We Try”.

She releases her first self-titled album in 1989. The album includes “Don’t Cry Ilene”, a piano-led song with jazz and R&B elements that becomes her only charting single from that record, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart and remaining on the chart for 12 weeks.

Ally McBeal

After her third album, Shepard is chosen to appear in the television series Ally McBeal after being noticed by the show’s creator, David E. Kelley. She appears regularly as a resident performer at the bar where the characters gather after work. Her songs in the programme are mainly covers of older material with lyrics that reflect events in the title character’s life. While involved with the series, she records two full soundtrack albums and appears on two other Ally McBeal compilations.

Later work and personal life

After Ally McBeal, Shepard releases two more studio albums and a live album. She is married to music producer Mitchell Froom, and they have a son, Jack Froom, born in 2006.