Elliott Smith

This soft-spoken cult performer was catapulted into the spotlight after the success of "Good Will Hunting" (1997), a film to which he had contributed the Oscar-nominated ballad "Miss Misery." Texas native Elliott Smith spent several years as a singer-songwriter in the indie scene in and around Portland, OR. In 1991, he was one of the original founding members of the now-defunct band Heatmiser. As a solo artist, Smith had gained a small but loyal following and he recorded three indie albums marked by intricate melodies written over unorthodox chord changes. Lyrically, his music addressed such dark subject matter as drug addiction, troubled relationships and loneliness--though Smith often distanced himself from the label of confessional songwriter. Director Gus Van Sant used several of the singer's recordings as background for the underdog drama "Good Will Hunting." While "Miss Misery," a haunting, low-key ballad about making errors and seeking redemption, was composed for the film, five other songs written and sung by Smith were incorporated into the final cut. Several critics favorably compared Smith's music to that of Simon & Garfunkel's songs used in 1967's "The Graduate." But unlike that pop duo, Smith received the recognition of the Academy. Pushing his profile higher, he signed a recording contract with DreamWorks which released his album "XO" in the summer of 1998, named one of the year's top 20 albums by Spin magazine. The following year, his cover of the Beatles' "Because" was included on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film "American Beauty." His album "Figure 8," was issued in 2000; partly recorded at London's Abbey Road studios, it was reminiscent of The Beatles and The Beach Boys' most serious works. Smith had begun writing songs for his sixth solo release, "From a Basement on the Hill," a planned double album, but Smith passed away in 2003 before he could complete his work on the album.