Vonda Shepard

Born in New York in 1963 and raised in California, Vonda Shepard developed an early, central relationship with the piano and songwriting, working in a style that blends pop, soul and acoustic rock with a strong emphasis on melody and voice. After beginning as a backing vocalist, she emerged in 1987 with the duet "Can’t We Try" with Dan Hill, then released the album Vonda Shepard in 1989. She followed with The Radical Light in 1992 and It’s Good, Eve in 1996, which established mature, direct songwriting often centered on the piano. Between 1997 and 2002, Vonda Shepard occupied a distinctive role in the TV series Ally McBeal, portraying a fictionalized version of herself and contributing songs including "Searchin’ My Soul", which became the show’s theme; this period produced several albums tied to the series, notably Songs from Ally McBeal (1998) and Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal (1999). At the same time she continued her solo discography with By 7:30 (1999), Chinatown (2002), From the Sun (2008), Solo (2011), Rookie (2015) and Red Light, Green Light (2022), maintaining a style between American pop, soulful ballads and spare folk-rock.