Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970), better known by the stage name Bonnie "Prince" Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music. After releasing material under his own name, he adopted the Bonnie "Prince" Billy name for the majority of his output since 1998.

"Palace Music" redirects here. For the racehorse, see Palace Music (horse).

Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Will Oldham, June 6, 2009
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Oldham
Also known asPalace Brothers
Palace Music
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Born (1970-01-21) January 21, 1970
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Genres
Years active1993–present
LabelsDrag City, Domino, Spunk
Associated actsDawn McCarthy, Boxhead Ensemble, The Cairo Gang, Mekons, Matt Sweeney, Mick Turner, Tortoise, Trembling Bells, Harem Scarem, The Picket Line, Alex Neilson, Björk, Slint, Silver Jews, Joan Shelley
Websitewww.bonnieprincebilly.com

Biography

Oldham was born on January 15, 1970, in Louisville, Kentucky.[2] He lived in Louisville until he graduated from the J. Graham Brown School in 1988, then briefly attended Brown University amidst his career in music and film.[3] He is married to the fabric artist Elsa Hansen.[4][5] They had a child together in 2018.[6]

Music

Oldham is known for his "do-it-yourself punk aesthetic and blunt honesty,"[7] and his music has been likened to Americana, folk, roots, country, punk, and indie rock. He has been called an "Appalachian post-punk solipsist",[7] with a voice that has been described as "a fragile sort-of warble frittering around haunted melodies in the American folk or country tradition."[7]

Oldham first performed and recorded under various permutations of the Palace name, including Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music, and simply Palace. Regarding the name changes during this period (1993–1997), Oldham said:

Well, I guess the idea is that when you have a name of a group or an artist, then you expect that the next record, if it has the same name, should be the same group of people playing on it. And I just thought we were making a different kind of record each time, with different people, and different themes, and different sounds. So I thought it was important to call it something different so that people would be aware of the differences.[8]

Will stated in a 1995 interview with KCRW that the name Palace Flophouse was inspired by reading John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Beginning in 1998, Oldham has primarily used the moniker Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, which draws inspiration from several sources:

Yeah, the name has so many different references that it could almost have a life of its own. Bonnie Prince Charlie has such a beautiful ring to it, and I was very conscious of appropriating that mellifluous sound. And I was also thinking about the name Nat King Cole. But it wasn't until later, and this may have been subconscious, that I remembered that Billy the Kid was William Bonney or Billy Bonney.[8]

He has explained that "the primary purpose of the pseudonym is to allow both the audience and the performer to have a relationship with the performer that is valid and unbreakable."[9]

Discography
Main article: Will Oldham discography

Studio albums

Response

Some of his albums, such as There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You (1993),[12] Viva Last Blues (1995),[13] and I See a Darkness (1999),[14][15][16] have appeared on greatest albums lists.

Johnny Cash recorded a version of "I See a Darkness" on his American Recordings disc, American III: Solitary Man (2000). Oldham provided backing vocals. Marianne Faithfull included Oldham's "A King at Night" on her 2003 Kissin Time tour. Steve Adey also covered "I See a Darkness" on his 2006 LP All Things Real. Mark Kozelek recorded a version of Oldham's "New Partner" on his 2008 disc, The Finally LP. Katatonia covered "Oh How I Enjoy the Light" on their 2001 EP Tonight's Music. In 2009 Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers recorded a cover version of "You Will Miss Me When I Burn". The release is a split single, backed with the Lanegan penned "Sunrise" featuring vocals by Oldham. In 2011, Deer Tick's cover of Oldham's song "Death to Everyone" appeared in an episode of Hell On Wheels. Cadaverous Condition covered "Black" on their to the Night Sky album (2006).

Film

Oldham began his acting career at age 17, when he portrayed a teen preacher in John Sayles's film about an Appalachian mining community, Matewan (1987). Oldham moved to Hollywood to pursue acting in the late 1980s,[17] and landed roles in a couple of films. However, he quickly became disillusioned with the film industry and quit in 1989.[18] He has since had several minor roles in independent films, such as Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Junebug (2005), and The Guatemalan Handshake (2006). Oldham took a lead role in Old Joy, which was featured at SXSW XX and opened at New York's Film Forum on September 20, 2006. During this time, he also played the role of a preacher in the "Horse Apples" special of WonderShowzen in series 2 of the show. In 2007, Oldham starred alongside Zach Galifianakis in the alternate music video for Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing".[19] In 2009, he was the narrator of "Madam and Little Boy", a documentary film about atomic weapons directed by Swedish artist Magnus Bärtås. In 2010, Oldham narrated Music Makes City a documentary about the formation of the Louisville Orchestra directed by Owsley Brown III and Jerome Hiler.[20] In 2010, Oldham had a small part in Jackass 3D as a gorilla trainer. He revealed that he had to write a theme song in the style of a Saturday morning cartoon show for filmmaker Lance Bangs' life to get the role.[21]

Filmography

Photography

Oldham shot the black-and-white cover photograph of Slint's 1991 album Spiderland, showing the band members treading water in the lake of an abandoned quarry.[22]

Oldham also featured as guest aesthetic designer for the North American literary magazine Zoetrope All Story (vol 11, no 1) in 2007. In a note contained in the issue, he jokes that it would be "really magnificent to imagine this issue as a cocktail party at which all of the contributors, word and image, are present. add a bowl of keys and some mushroom cookies and i am there."

References
  1. "Björk: Björk – The music from Drawing Restraint 9". Paste. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  2. Alan Licht (Ed.) (2012), Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Faber and Faber Ltd., London, pp. viii. ISBN 978-0-571-25814-7.
  3. Derek Walmsley (March 14, 2013). "Exclusive Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Interview". The Wire. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  4. "Watch Bonnie "Prince" Billy Cover Merle Haggard With His Dogs on Morning TV Show – Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  5. Pak, Minju (April 4, 2017). "Pop Culture Figures – Rendered in Embroidery". The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  6. "Episode 40: Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy ClifTones W/ JC Denison podcast".
  7. Baldwin, C. (March 28, 2002). "The Wanderer". Chico News & Review. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  8. Ashare, Matt (January 20, 2003). "Mystery Man: Palace Brother Will Oldham becomes Bonnie 'Prince' Billy". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  9. "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" (PDF). Foggy Notion. April 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  10. Knott, Alex. (April 30, 2012) Bonnie 'Prince' Billy announced new EP, book + reissue of 6 LP's | Music News. Frost Magazine. Retrieved on May 4, 2012.
  11. Kim, Michelle (September 10, 2019). "Bonnie "Prince" Billy Announces New Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  12. Irvin, Jim; Colin McLear (2003). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (3rd ed.). Canongate. p. 585. ISBN 1-84195-438-1.
  13. LeMay, Matt (November 17, 2003). "The Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  14. Irvin, Jim; Colin McLear (2003). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (3rd ed.). Canongate. p. 651. ISBN 1-84195-438-1.
  15. Bowers, William (November 17, 2003). "The Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  16. Dimery, Robert (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe. p. 854. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  17. Roberts, Randall (June 3, 2009). "Will Oldham's Trouble with Hollywood". Dallas Observer. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  18. Byck, Peter (February 4, 2006). "Oldham journeys back into acting". Scene. p. 5. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  19. The Kanye West/Will Oldham/Zach Galifianakis Collabo You Never Saw Coming. Wired, July 25, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
  20. Webster, Andy (September 17, 2010). "Louisville, Ky., as a Contemporary Music Hub". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  21. Will Oldham Discusses Jackass 3D, Working on 'Blueprints' for New Album Archived March 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Buzzgrinder.com (March 9, 2011). Retrieved on May 4, 2012.
  22. McCarthy, Shannon. "Slint Lyrics and Biography" Musicianguide.com. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
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