A Few Small Repairs
Encyclopedia
A Few Small Repairs is Shawn Colvin
's fourth album. It was released on October 1, 1996.
A Few Small Repairs is a concept album
about divorce
, as Shawn Colvin's marriage was ending. At the time of the album's release, she had relocated to Austin, Texas
. The biggest single off the album was "Sunny Came Home
", which was released in 1997. The cover of this album is a picture of a three-eyed woman with a lit match, presumably Sunny. The song peaked on the Billboard Top 100 at number 7, and topped the Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, and Top 40 Adult Recurrents charts the same year.
Another notable song off the album was "Nothin' On Me", which peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart. The song was also used on Suddenly Susan
as its theme song from 1997 to 2000. Colvin appeared on the show in the second season episode Ready ... aim ... Fong!. She performed the song on the show.
Grammy success came to Colvin two years after the release of A Few Small Repairs. In the 1997 Grammy Awards
, she was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for "Get Out of This House" and Best Pop Album for A Few Small Repairs. At the next year's Grammy Awards
, Colvin was nominated for Song of the Year
and Record of the Year
for "Sunny Came Home". She won both awards (Leventhal also won Song of the Year). As Colvin started her speech after winning Song of the Year, rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard
stormed the stage protesting his loss of an award that same night, saying, "...I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children..." leading him to be escorted off stage. Colvin continued speaking, remarking, "I'm really confused now!"
Overall, A Few Small Repairs made it to number 39 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The painting on the album's cover is by Julie Speed, one of Colvin's friends.
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
's fourth album. It was released on October 1, 1996.
A Few Small Repairs is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, as Shawn Colvin's marriage was ending. At the time of the album's release, she had relocated to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The biggest single off the album was "Sunny Came Home
Sunny Came Home
"Sunny Came Home" is a folk-rock song by American musician Shawn Colvin. It is the theme song to her 1996 concept album A Few Small Repairs, and quickly became a hit when it was released as a CD single on June 24, 1997.-About the single:...
", which was released in 1997. The cover of this album is a picture of a three-eyed woman with a lit match, presumably Sunny. The song peaked on the Billboard Top 100 at number 7, and topped the Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, and Top 40 Adult Recurrents charts the same year.
Another notable song off the album was "Nothin' On Me", which peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart. The song was also used on Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...
as its theme song from 1997 to 2000. Colvin appeared on the show in the second season episode Ready ... aim ... Fong!. She performed the song on the show.
Grammy success came to Colvin two years after the release of A Few Small Repairs. In the 1997 Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 1997
The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
, she was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for "Get Out of This House" and Best Pop Album for A Few Small Repairs. At the next year's Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 1998
The 40th Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and R...
, Colvin was nominated for Song of the Year
Song of the Year
Song of the Year may refer to:* Dove Award for Song of the Year* Grammis Song of the Year* Grammy Award for Song of the Year* Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year* Singing News Fan Awards for Song of the Year...
and Record of the Year
Record Of The Year
Record of the Year may refer to:*Grammy Award for Record of the Year*The Record of the Year, a British award based on public polling...
for "Sunny Came Home". She won both awards (Leventhal also won Song of the Year). As Colvin started her speech after winning Song of the Year, rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
stormed the stage protesting his loss of an award that same night, saying, "...I don't know how you all see it, but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children..." leading him to be escorted off stage. Colvin continued speaking, remarking, "I'm really confused now!"
Overall, A Few Small Repairs made it to number 39 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The painting on the album's cover is by Julie Speed, one of Colvin's friends.
Track listing
Personnel
- Shawn Colvin – guitar, vocals
- John Leventhal – electric guitars, acoustic guitars
- Michael Rhodes – bass
- Shawn Pelton – drums