Jewel is quite an impressive singer/songwriter. Her career has yielded a number of hits, from “Foolish Games” to “Hands” to “Who Will Save Your Soul”. Outside of her songwriting prowess, her unique vocal style is what initially attracted many longtime fans. She can sound girlish and sweet as well as deep and powerful; and she incorporated yodeling into many of her live performances and recorded tracks. That ability to yodel actually comes from her upbringing on a potato farm in Homer, Alaska.
In an interview with AARP for their recent print issue, the 50-year-old Grammy-nominated singer talked about how her upbringing in “hillbilly” culture molded the way she sings and even writes music. Specifically, Jewel said that traditional yodeling taught her about “vocal control and precision.”
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“At a gala for my Crystal Bridges exhibit in the Ozarks [this year], I sang ‘Over the Rainbow’ and ended with a cappella yodeling,” Jewel said. “It was full circle. I wanted to honor the region and say, ‘Look what we hillbillies can do!’”
Jewel continues to incorporate yodeling into her music. The 1997 song “Chime Bells” features her yodeling skills quite prominently. According to the singer, she sang and yodeled with her father in Alaska for years before she broke into folk-pop. She also said that her aunts would “sing and write their own songs” and even taught themselves how to play the guitar.
Jewel Said That Yodeling Saved Her Life Once
Outside of her recent chat with AARP, Jewel said that being able to yodel once “saved her life.” In an interview with Fox News Digital back in 2016, the singer said that her ability to yodel helped her out when she was being bullied by her classmates.
“When I would go to the meadows, my dad would yodel so we can come back home,” said Jewel. “But it did actually save my life in Hawaii once. I was getting beaten up pretty bad there because I was one of the only white kids in a local school. When they found out I could yodel, they stopped beating me up and instead had me yodel every day.”
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Jewel is currently on a North American tour with fellow singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge. Her latest studio release was the 2022 album Freewheelin’ Woman and a recent EP this year, The Portal: A Meditative Journey.
Photo by Dana Trippe, courtesy of Shorefire media
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