Editing Michael Penn

{{short description|American musician (born 1958)}}
{{other people|Michael Penn}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michael Penn 
| image = Michael Penn performing in 2007.jpg
| alt = Penn playing guitar
| caption = Penn in 2007
| birth_name = Michael Daniel Penn
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|8|1}}
| birth_place = [[Greenwich Village]], [[New York City, New York]], U.S.
| relatives = [[Sean Penn]] (brother) [[Chris Penn]] (brother)
| occupation = {{hlist|Musician|singer|composer}}
| module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background = person
| genre = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock|Alternative pop]]|rock}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Guitar|piano|bass|vocals}}
| years_active = 1989–present
| label = {{hlist|[[RCA]]|Sony|[[Mimeograph]]}}
| past_member_of = [[Doll Congress]]
| spouse            = {{marriage|[[Aimee Mann]]|1997}}}}
| website = {{URL|michaelpenn.com}}
}}
'''Michael Daniel Penn''' (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer, and composer. His 1989 single "[[No Myth]]" was a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries.

==Early life==
Penn was born in the [[Greenwich Village]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]]. He is the first son of actor and director [[Leo Penn]] and actress [[Eileen Ryan]], and the brother of actors [[Sean Penn]] and [[Chris Penn]]. He is of [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian-Jewish]] (paternal) and [[Irish people|Irish]]–[[Italian people|Italian]] (maternal) descent. Penn began playing music in junior high school and attended [[Santa Monica High School]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lockey |first=Bill |date=1990-07-19 |title=A Mighty Penn : Michael Penn proves his refreshing combination of style and substance is 'No Myth.' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-19-vl-231-story.html |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career==
Prior to the release of his 1989 debut album ''[[March (Michael Penn album)|March]]'', Penn was a member of the Los Angeles band [[Doll Congress]]. Penn was one of two musical guests as a solo artist on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on the October 24, 1987 episode, with his brother Sean hosting. Penn had also appeared as an [[Extra (actor)|extra]] on a few television series, including ''[[St. Elsewhere]]''.

''March'', particularly the first single, "[[No Myth]]", brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990 [[MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist]]. Penn's follow-up albums ''[[Free-for-All (Michael Penn album)|Free-for-All]]'' (1992), ''Resigned'' (1997), ''MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident'' (2000), ''Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947'' (2005) and ''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea'' (2007) were not able to match the commercial success of ''March'', although critics continued to praise his songcraft.

Penn's second album, ''Free-for-All'', was praised by critics but was not as commercially successful as his debut. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called it "stunning"<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/25/michaelpenn/index.html ''No. 4 and counting Critically acclaimed, commercially snubbed, Michael Penn tries again''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217205844/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/25/michaelpenn/index.html |date=February 17, 2008 }}, CNN Interactive</ref> and ''CMJ'' wrote that the album "exhausts any doubts" about whether ''March'' was a fluke.<ref>[http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=17981 ''Michael Penn: Free-For-All''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211074838/http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=17981 |date=February 11, 2008 }}, ''CMJ Review''</ref>

Penn collaborated with surrealist animators [[The Brothers Quay]] on "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)", which was shown on [[MTV]] as well as in film festivals around the country.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

He has worked extensively creating original music for film. He [[film scores|scored]] [[Paul Thomas Anderson]]'s films ''[[Hard Eight (film)|Hard Eight]]'' (1996) and ''[[Boogie Nights]]'' (1997); he also appears in the latter in a [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] role as a recording engineer. During the editing of the film, Anderson directed a music video with Penn for "[[Try (Michael Penn song)|Try]]" from ''Resigned'', which was filmed in one long shot (the video can be found on the ''Boogie Nights'' DVD). Other films scored by Penn include [[Alan Cumming]]'s first two directorial efforts, ''[[The Anniversary Party]]'' and ''[[Suffering Man's Charity]]'';<ref>Glucksman, Mary. [http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/spring2006/columns/in_focus.php Five new films in postproduction], ''Filmmaker Magazine''. Spring 2006.</ref> ''[[American Teen (film)|American Teen]]'', ''[[Sunshine Cleaning]]'';<ref>[https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800345208 Michael Penn Filmography], ''Yahoo! Movies''.</ref> the documentary ''[[The Comedians of Comedy]]''; and ''[[The Last Kiss (2006 film)|The Last Kiss]]''. In 2003, he was nominated for a DVDX Award for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie for ''[[Melvin Goes to Dinner]]''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/DVD_Exclusive_Awards/2003-2 DVD Exclusive Awards: 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204083135/http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/DVD_Exclusive_Awards/2003-2 |date=February 4, 2009 }}, IMDb.com</ref>

Penn has produced recordings for [[Aimee Mann]], [[The Wallflowers]] and [[Liz Phair]].

In August 2005, Penn released ''[[Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947]]'' on his own Mimeograph Records label. Its songs are set against the background of post-[[World War II]] Los Angeles; Penn said he chose the year because of several notable events that took place then, including the passage of the [[National Security Act of 1947|National Security Act]] and the invention of the [[transistor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toolshed-media.com/appfiles/files/206/MPPR50405.pdf|title=Michael Penn's Much Anticipated ''Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947'' in Stores August 2; press release|date=2005-05-04|access-date=2015-11-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128143159/http://www.toolshed-media.com/appfiles/files/206/MPPR50405.pdf|archive-date=November 28, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The album was [[reissue]]d by [[Legacy Recordings]] in April 2007 with bonus tracks from a [[KCRW]] session.<ref>[http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb050907michael_penn Michael Penn], ''[[Morning Becomes Eclectic]]'', [[KCRW]]. 2005-10-07.</ref>

The reissue came in conjunction with Legacy's release of ''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection'', a compilation that includes several alternate versions and previously unreleased songs. Penn said his goal in compiling, ordering tracks for and producing ''Palms and Runes'' was to "make it feel like an album" in its own right.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}

In late 2009, Penn composed the music for the film ''[[That Evening Sun]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thateveningsun.com/ |title=ThatEveningSun |website=Thateveningsun.com|access-date=2012-01-30}}</ref> In 2012, Penn began work as the composer for the HBO TV show ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.michaelpenn.com/?page_id=141|title=Film Scores|date=April 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414220350/http://www.michaelpenn.com/?page_id=141|access-date=June 7, 2021|archive-date=April 14, 2012}}</ref> In January 2013, the ''Girls Vol. 1'' soundtrack was released on [[iTunes]]. The album contained a new song by Michael Penn titled "On Your Way", which was featured in the finale of Season 1.

He also joined the crew of [[Showtime (TV channel)|Showtime]]'s ''[[Masters of Sex]]'' in 2013 as series composer. The show's pilot episode was initially set to be scored by [[Thomas Newman]], but this did not come to fruition and Penn scored both the pilot and the rest of the series.

In 2018, he joined ''[[Good Girls (TV series)|Good Girls]]'' on NBC and ''[[Here and Now (2018 TV series)|Here and Now]]'' on HBO as a composer. In 2020, Penn released a new single, "A Revival". It was his first non-soundtrack work in 15 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/a-revival-michael-penn-album-interview/|title=Michael Penn Returns To Singer Songwriter Mode For "A Revival"|date=November 5, 2020|website=Americansongwriter.com|access-date=June 7, 2021}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
{{BLP sources section|date=February 2011}}
Penn met fellow singer-songwriter [[Aimee Mann]], and during the recording of her album ''[[I'm with Stupid (album)|I'm with Stupid]]'' (to which Penn contributed), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their subsequent marriage on December 29, 1997. Together with manager [[Michael Hausman]] they formed [[United Musicians]], an independent music collective founded on "the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created and that this ownership is the basis for artistic strength and true independence."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unitedmusicians.wordpress.com/|title=Home Page|website=Unitedmusicians.wordpress.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-16}}</ref> Penn and Mann live in Los Angeles.

His niece is actress [[Dylan Penn]].

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Billboard 200|US]]<br /><ref name=billboard200>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/310852/michael-penn/chart?f=305|title=Billboard > Artists / Michael Penn > Chart History > Billboard 200|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br /><ref name=aus/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Michael+Penn&titel=March&cat=a|title=Michael Penn – March (album)|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[March (Michael Penn album)|March]]''
| 1989
| 31 || 50 || 27
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Free-for-All (Michael Penn album)|Free-for-All]]''
| 1992
| 160 || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Resigned (album)|Resigned]]''
| 1997
| — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| ''MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident''
| 2000
| — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947]]''
| 2005
| — || — || —
|}

===Compilation albums===
*''Cinemascope'' (collection of film score tracks) (2005)
*''Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection'' (2007)

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Title
!colspan="5"| Chart positions
!rowspan="2"| Album
|-
!scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%"|[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br><ref name=hot100>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/310852/michael-penn/chart?f=379|title=Billboard > Artists / Michael Penn > Chart History > The Hot 100|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=2016-03-11}} N.B. "This & That" is erroneously listed as "This".</ref>
!scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%"|[[Alternative Songs|US<br />Mod.<br />Rock]]<br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/310852/michael-penn/chart?f=377|title=Billboard > Artists / Michael Penn > Chart History > Alternative Songs|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>
!scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%"|[[ARIA Charts|AUS]]<br><ref name=aus>Australian ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA Chart]]) peaks:
*Top 50 peaks: {{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Michael+Penn|title=Michael Penn in Australian Charts|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=2016-03-11}}
*Top 100 peaks: {{cite Ryan|page=215}}</ref>
!scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%"|[[Ultratop|BEL<br>(FL)]]<br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/3ee4/Michael-Penn-No-Myth|title=Ultratop > Michael Penn – No Myth|language=nl|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>
!scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%"|[[Dutch Single Top 100|NLD]]<br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Michael+Penn|title=Discografie Michael Penn|language=nl|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>
|- 
| 1989
| "[[No Myth]]"
| style="text-align:center;"| 13
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 24
| style="text-align:center;"| 46
| style="text-align:center;"| 48
|rowspan="3"| ''March''
|- 
|rowspan="2"| 1990
| "This & That"
| style="text-align:center;"| 53
| style="text-align:center;"| 10
| style="text-align:center;"| 86
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 74
|- 
| "Brave New World"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 20
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|- 
|rowspan="2"| 1992
| "Seen the Doctor"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|rowspan="2"| ''Free-for-All''
|- 
| "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 14
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|- 
|rowspan="3"| 1997
| "[[Try (Michael Penn song)|Try]]"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|rowspan="3"| ''Resigned''
|- 
| "Me Around"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|- 
| "Out of My Hands"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|- 
| 2000
| "Lucky One"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|| ''MP4''
|- 
| 2020
| "A Revival"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|}

===With Gabriele Morgan and Doll Congress/Doll Congress===
* ''Buried Treasure'' (5-song EP) (1981)
* ''Doll Congress'' 12" (1983)
* "Give Up Your Ghost" (sung by Morgan) and "I Will Be Around" (sung by Penn) appear on the soundtrack to ''[[Welcome to 18]]'' (1986)

===Appearances===
*"Retribution" (guitar solo) on [[Randell Kirsch]], LuAnn Olson and [[Chris Hickey (singer-songwriter)|Chris Hickey]]'s ''Show of Hands'' (1989)
*"Body and Soul?" (backing vocals) on [[Thelonious Monster]]'s ''[[Beautiful Mess (Thelonious Monster album)|Beautiful Mess]]'' (1992)
*"Weeds" on the [[tribute album]] ''[[Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams]]'' (1993)
*"It's Not Safe" (guitar, solo guitar) on [[Aimee Mann]]'s ''[[I'm with Stupid (album)|I'm With Stupid]]'' (1995)
*"Christmastime" with Aimee Mann on ''[[Just Say Noël]]'' (1996)
*"[[Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love]]" with [[Mark Mothersbaugh]] on [[The Moog Cookbook]]'s ''[[Ye Olde Space Bande]]'' (1997)<ref>Paul Myers. "In The Kitsch-en With The Moog Cookbook." ''Electronic Musician.'' '''14:3''' (March 1998). p. 78.</ref>
*"Macy Day Parade" on ''[[Godzilla: The Album]]'' (1998)
*"Reason to Believe" with Aimee Mann on ''[[Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska]]'' (2000)
*"Wise Up" (produced) on Aimee Mann's ''[[Bachelor No. 2]]'' (2000)
* "How Am I Different", "Susan" (backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000)
* "Red Vines" (slide guitar) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000)
*"Satellite" (guitar feedback, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000)
*"Driving Sideways" (electric guitar, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000)
*"Susan" (guitar) on Aimee Mann's ''Bachelor No. 2'' (2000)
* Co-produced [[The Wallflowers]]' ''[[Breach (The Wallflowers album)|(Breach)]]'' (2000)
*"Two of Us" with Aimee Mann on ''[[I Am Sam]]'' (2001)
*"It's Sweet", "Little Digger" (produced, recorded by, guitar, bass) on [[Liz Phair]]'s [[Liz Phair (album)|self-titled fourth album]] (2003)
*"Red Light Fever", "Take A Look", "Friend of Mine" (produced, recorded by, guitar) on ''Liz Phair'' (2003)

===Film scores===
*''Tales From The Vienna Woods'' (1993)
*''[[Hard Eight (film)|Hard Eight]]'' (originally titled ''Sydney''), with [[Jon Brion]] (1996)
*''[[Boogie Nights]]'' (1997)
*''[[The Anniversary Party]]'' (2001)
*''[[Melvin Goes to Dinner]]'' (2003)
*''[[The Comedians of Comedy]]'' (2005)
*''[[The Last Kiss (2006 film)|The Last Kiss]]'' (2006)
*''[[Suffering Man's Charity]]'' (2007)
*''[[American Teen (film)|American Teen]]'' (2008)
*''[[Sunshine Cleaning]]'' (2008)
*''[[That Evening Sun (film)|That Evening Sun]]'' (2009)
*''[[Bollywood Hero]]'' (2009)
*''[[Solitary Man (film)|Solitary Man]]'' (2010)
*''[[Carrie Pilby (film)|Carrie Pilby]]'' (2016)
*''[[Boundaries (2018 film)|Boundaries]]'' (2017)
*''[[Hollywood Stargirl]]'' (2022)
*''[[Fairyland (film)|Fairyland]]'' (2023)
*''[[I Love You Forever]]'' (2024)

== Filmography ==
* ''[[St. Elsewhere]]'' (Lab technician, as an extra) (1985)
*''Boogie Nights'' (Nick, an engineer) (1997)

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{official website}}
*[http://www.onbunkerhill.com Bunker Hill] fan site
*[http://www.unitedmusicians.com/ United Musicians]
*[https://www.myspace.com/michaelpenn MySpace page]
*[http://www.discogs.com/artist/Michael+Penn Discogs page]
*{{IMDb name|5304}}
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5126|label=Michael Penn}}
{{MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Michael}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Aimee Mann]]
[[Category:American film score composers]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Record producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American rock bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American male bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock singers]]
[[Category:American rock songwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from California]]
[[Category:Musicians from Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:American alternative rock musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Manhattan]]
[[Category:People from Greenwich Village]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Guitarists from California]]
[[Category:Guitarists from New York City]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Record producers from California]]
[[Category:American male film score composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:RCA Records artists]]
[[Category:Penn family (show business)|Michael]]