Tori Amos was one of several female singer/songwriters who combined the stark lyrical attack of alternative rock with a distinctly '70s musical approach. Her music falls between the orchestrated meditations of Kate Bush and the stripped-down poetics of Joni Mitchell. In addition to reviving the singer/songwriter traditions of the '70s, Amos revived the piano as a rock & roll instrument. With her 1992 album Little Earthquakes, Amos built a dedicated following that continued to expand with her second album, Under the Pink.

Born in North Carolina but raised in Maryland, Tori Amos was the daughter of a methodist preacher. By the age of four, she was singing and playing piano in the church choir; she began writing her own songs shortly afterward. Amos won a scholarship to Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory based on her instrumental prowess. While she was studying at Peabody, she became infatuated by rock & roll, particularly the music of Led Zeppelin. She began writing pop ballads and performing in local bars. Amos moved to Los Angeles in her late teens to become a pop singer.

The harrowing "Me and a Gun" was an autobiographical song, telling the tale of a rape. It gained positive reviews throughout the media, and both the EP and the concerts sold well. Little Earthquakes, Amos' first album as a singer/songwriter, was released in late 1991 and sold well in both the U.S. and the U.K. Delivered in early 1994, Under the Pink, the full-length follow-up to Little Earthquakes, was a bigger hit, selling over a million copies. Two years later, Amos delivered her third album, Boys for Pele, her most ambitious and difficult record to date. The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. Amos spent much of 1997 working on her fourth album, from the choirgirl hotel, which was released in the spring of 1998. The two disc To Venus and Back followed in 1999.

Tori's latest album, "Strange Little Girls," is filled completely with covers, specifically ones originally sung by men. Tori adds a feminine voice to these songs, making each one a wonderful song, all over again.