Liz Phair

Liz Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist. She emerged from Chicago, Illinois with her debut album, Exile in Guyville, and became a critical success.

Phair was born Elizabeth Cl

Liz Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist. She emerged from Chicago, Illinois with her debut album, Exile in Guyville, and became a critical success.

Phair was born Elizabeth Clark Phair in New Haven, Connecticut, but was raised in a suburb of Chicago by her wealthy adoptive parents. She was a student of New Trier High School. After studying art history at Oberlin College in Ohio, Phair met guitarist Chris Brokaw (late of Come) and the pair moved to San Francisco for a brief period. After moving back to Chicago, Phair began writing songs and releasing homemade tapes under the name Girlysound, supporting herself by selling her drawings on the streets of Chicago. Soon, she was a part of the alternative music scene in Chicago and became friends with Urge Overkill, a popular band, as well as Brad Wood and John Henderson, head of Feel Good All Over, an independent label in Chicago. An attempt at re-recording the Girlysound tapes failed due to arguments between Henderson and Phair.