Marshall Chapman Bio

Marshall Chapman is a multi-hyphenated American treasure. The singer-songwriter-author-actress was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 7, 1949. To date, she has released fourteen critically acclaimed albums. Her 2013 release, Blaze of Glory, was hailed a masterpiece. (Click here for NPR interview.) And the Associated Press proclaimed her most recent Songs I Can't Live Without (2020) "perhaps her best."

Chapman's songs have been recorded by everyone from Emmylou Harris and Joe Cocker to Irma Thomas and Jimmy Buffett. (Click here for complete list.)

In 2010, Chapman landed her first movie role, playing Gwyneth Paltrow's road manager inCountry Strong. During filming, her musicalGood Ol' Girls (adapted from the fiction of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, featuring songs by Matraca Berg and Marshall) opened off-Broadway. That fall, Chapman simultaneously released a book (They Came to Nashville) and CD (Big Lonesome).They Came to Nashvillewas nominated for the 2011 SIBA Book Award for nonfiction, and thePhiladelphia InquirernamedBig Lonesome"Best Country/Roots Album of 2010."

Of her three rockin' albums for Epic, the Al Kooper-producedJaded Virgin was voted Record of the Year (1978) byStereo Review. Her album,It's About Time… (Island, 1995), recorded live at the Tennessee State Prison for Women, drew rave reviews fromTime,USA Today and theVillage Voice.

Chapman's first book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller (St. Martin's Press) was a SIBA bestseller, 2004 SIBA Book Award finalist, and one of three finalists for the Southern Book Critics Circle Award.

Chapman continues to land film roles. InMississippi Grind(2015) she plays the blues-singing mother of a drifter-gambler played by Ryan Reynolds. InLovesong, which garnered glowing reviews at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, she plays the mother of the groom (Ryan Eggold) opposite Rosanna Arquette's mother of the bride. InNovitiate, which opened to rave reviews at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, she plays a nun who loses her mind.

Marshall is a contributing editor toGarden & Gun. She's also written forThe Oxford American, Nashville Arts Magazine, Southern Living,W,Performing Songwriter, andTheBob Edwards Show (Sirius/XM). "But music," she says, "is my first and last love."

Marshall is currently featured in "Outlaws & Armadillos: Country's Roaring '70s" at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville. The exhibit runs until Feb. 14, 2022.

Since Covid, Marshall has been livestreaming every Saturday at 1pm PT (4pm ET). Called "Perfect Imperfection," these livestreams are free on FaceBook at 'Marshall Chapman Music'."