Jenny Bruce

Jenny Bruce (also known as Ghoste) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She has shared the stage with John Oates,[1] Sophie B. Hawkins, Vanessa Carlton, and Avril Lavigne, among others. Her songs have been featured in The Ghost Whisperer, Six Degrees, King of the Hill, Meet My Folks, Dawson's Creek,[2][3] among others. In 2001 her song, Amsterdam, won first place for Best Pop Song, in The Billboard Songwriting Contest.

Jenny Bruce
Born (1966-11-14) November 14, 1966
New York City, U.S.
Other namesGhoste
Occupations
  • Singer
  • Songwriter
  • Musician
  • French Literature Translator
Years active1988–present
Spouse
Bernard Adnet
​
(m. 1991)​
Children2
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • Piano
  • Guitar
Labels
Websitejennybruce.com ghostenyc.com

Early life and education

Jenny Bruce was born in New York, New York (November 14, 1966) to parents Duncan and Tamara (née Kahan) Bruce. Her father, Duncan Archibald Bruce, was an author[4] and her mother was a writer.

Bruce taught herself to play the piano at age five when she wrote her first song,[5] and later taught herself to play the guitar in her early twenties. She attended the all-girls Chapin School in New York, New York from grades 1-12. During high school she became the class pianist and also performed in musical theater.

She attended Barnard College in New York, New York and completed her junior year in Paris, as part of Columbia University’s Reid Hall program where she also began working as a jazz singer and waitress at The Hollywood Savoy. She joined the band, SAY which received radio airplay and had a local following. In 1990, Bruce returned to New York and finished her senior year at Barnard College, and holds a bachelor's degree in European History and a minor in French Translation. Bruce is fluent in French and English.

Music career

During her junior year in college in 1987, while studying abroad in Paris, Bruce began performing in nightclubs and restaurants. She joined the French band, SAY which garnered airplay and had a local following.[6] Upon returning to New York, New York, she began performing in clubs and festivals and started writing songs for her first album titled, Jenny Bruce.[7]

1990s

Bruce released her debut, self-titled album, Jenny Bruce in 1997. Tracks, "Music to My Ears", was featured in Dawson's Creek.

2000s

Bruce created a local following in New York and performed at clubs and festivals as well as opening concerts for Sophie B. Hawkins, Gavin Degraw, and Avril Lavigne, among others.[8] She garnered a following and continued writing songs and released four more albums.

In 2001, she released, Soul on Fire and she was approached by a Los Angeles publishing company to license her songs in film and television which successfully placed many of her songs in major network television shows.[9]

In 2006, Bruce released, Left of July.

2010s

Bruce took a break from her music career beginning in 2005 citing, 

“It's such a long story.  To sum it up, I didn't write for myself for over a decade.  I Bottled everything up and  locked it up in a jar.  Especially the feelings of loss after my mother died.  That loss broke my heart and hurt so much that I kind of shut down.  Thing is, I became a mother around the same time. It was a very confusing period in my life.  These songs are little life rafts that I wrote to pull myself up and out of a numbing sea"[10][11]

Bruce released, Firefly in a Jar in 2015.

2020s

In January, 2020, Bruce released the album, Ghoste.

Awards

In 2001, Bruce won 1st place for Best Pop Song in the Billboard International Songwriting Contest. She was invited to perform and accept her award at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe where she was awarded an arch top guitar.[12]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020Deep WaterCCVM Best New Song Scholarship[13]Won
2002Make It RightSongwriters Hall of Fame Award[14]Won
2001AmsterdamBillboard Songwriting Contest[15]Won

Songs in Film & Television
Year Production Title Role Network
2011 Childrens Hospital Restless Heart Writer, Performer Adult Swim
2009 All My Children Room In My Heart Writer, Performer ABC
All My Children Cross My Heart Writer, Performer ABC
All My Children Home Writer, Performer ABC
2008 All My Children Running Writer, Performer ABC
2007 Six Degrees Cross My Heart Writer, Performer ABC
Six Degrees Saint Cloud Writer, Performer ABC
Six Degrees Alive and Wide Awake Writer, Performer ABC
2005 Ghost Whisperer Home Writer, Performer CBS
2003 King of the Hill Home Writer, Performer Fox TV
Meet My Folks Music To My Ears Writer, Performer NBC
Meet My Folks Amen Writer, Performer NBC
Jake 2.0 Anybody Out There Writer, Performer UPN
Jake 2.0 Music To My Ears Writer, Performer UPN
2002 Glory Days (2002 TV series) Music To My Ears Writer, Performer The WB
2000 Dawson's Creek Music To My Ears Writer, Performer The WB
1999 30 Days (1999 film) Freddy Writer, Performer Film
1999 30 Days (1999 film) Uptown Writer, Performer Film
1995 Sex and the Other Man Captive Heart Writer, Performer Film

Discography
  • 1997 - Jenny Bruce
  • 2001 - Soul on Fire
  • 2006 - Left of July
  • 2015 - Firefly in a Jar[16]
  • 2020 - Ghoste

References
  1. "25th Anniversary Songwriters Circle". The New York Songwriters Circle. October 3, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  2. "Jenny Bruce Album Review". Musical Discoveries. September 30, 2000. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  3. "IMDB Jenny Bruce Album". IMDB. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  4. "The Mark of the Scots - Duncan A. Bruce". Simon and Schuster. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  5. "Ghoste Chats New Single Haunted - by Rebecca Haslam". This Is The Latest. October 31, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  6. "Jenny Bruce Interview". Women Rock. July 4, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  7. "CMJ Music Festival Schedule". CMJ. November 4, 1998. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  8. "People That Matter - Jenny Bruce by Alexandra Juryte". Revolution Three Sixty. January 17, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  9. "Women in Music - In partnership with the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and New York Women in Film and Television". Women in Music. April 16, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  10. "Featured Artist by Richie Frieman". Pens Eye View. March 27, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  11. "Exclusive Complicated Hearts by Jenny Bruce". Songwriting Magazine. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  12. "Exclusive Interview with Singer-Songwriter GHOSTE by Bryna Kramer". Talk Nerdy With Us. December 17, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  13. "CCVM Best New Song Scholarship & Winner List - February 20, 2020 - By Cari Cole". CCVM. February 21, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  14. "Hall of Fame Artists - Great American Songwriting Contest". Great American song. 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  15. "Jenny Bruce Celebrates Earth Day with Anybody Out There by Lindsay Borders". AXS. April 5, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  16. "Jenny Bruce - Firefly in a Jar". Paste Magazine. May 23, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
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