Cellar Door : This is just the beginning.

William Fitzsimmons出生在一对盲人夫妻的家庭，他的父亲带领他进入了管弦乐的世界，而其母亲则将诸如James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan和Simon & Garfunkel的美妙民谣融入了Fitzsimmons的生活，受到良好的音乐熏陶下成长起来的Fitzsimmons精通了包括钢琴、小号、班卓琴(banjo)、曼陀林(mandolin)、口风琴(melodica)和四弦琴(ukulele)在内的多种乐器。

在正式开始音乐创作之前，Fitzsimmons一直努力于成为一名心理健康医生。在毕业前最后一学期，他用往年生日、假期和扫雪获得的积蓄购买了一套便宜的录音设备并由此诞生了他的首张专辑，在拿到日内瓦大学的硕士学位后Fitzsimmons停止了深造，全身心投入了创作和演奏音乐的世界，用音乐表达他渴望表达的感情和思考。Fitzsimmons独特的写作风格和技巧及对生动多彩旋律的使用和安排让人们常将他和其他盛名的美国独立民谣歌手如Iron & Wine，Sufjan Stevens和Elliott Smith联系在一起。

William Fitzsimmons的音乐作品的灵感主要来自于个人和家庭生活，前2张专辑Until When We Are Ghosts (2005)和Goodnight (2006)都完全由他自己创作录制于他在宾夕法尼亚匹兹堡的家中，08年的The Sparrow And The Crow为其第一张录音室录制专辑，在Itunes取得了民谣专辑榜单第一位，全部专辑榜单第56位的出色成绩。如果你是一位美剧迷，在ABC的”实习医生格雷(Grey’s Anatomy)“，”兄弟姐妹(Brothers & Sisters)“，MTV的”Ryan sheckler的生活(Life of Ryan)“，CW的“篮球兄弟(One Tree Hill)”，ABC Family的”哈拉联谊会(Greek)“，及Lifetime的“军嫂(Army Wives)”中，都能听到William Fitzsimmons清新宁静的吟唱。

William Fitzsimmons目前定居于伊利诺伊州的杰克逊维尔。

William Fitzsimmons is one of the oddest people you will ever meet. Born the youngest child of two blind parents, William was raised in the outskirts of the steel city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Due to the family’s inability to communicate through normal visual means, William’s childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. The house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories, and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands. When his father’s orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. By the completion of his youth and schooling, Fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills, and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.


Fitzsimmons’ path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. It was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled monies from past birthday’s, holidays, and snow shoveling outings, and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album). After finally achieving his goal of becoming a practicing therapist, William left, and returned again to his love of crafting and playing songs. He felt that is where he most belonged. Somewhere between a singing therapist, and a counselor who writes songs, is where Fitzsimmons endeavors to be. Using songs to address matters that he believes need to be addressed.


William draws from those early folks stylings of his mother’s music, and the embellished instrumentation of his father’s. He is often compared to contemporaries Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and the late Elliott Smith, not only for his unique style and skill in writing and proclivity to deal with substantive and evocative subject matter, but also for his use of organic and colorful melodies and arrangements. His first two records were completely self-produced and his new album, “The Sparrow And The Crow,” produced by Marshall Altman at Galt Line Studios in Los Angeles, is his first studio recorded work. While his lyricism deals often with darker undertones (his most recent album is said to have been written following his own divorce), a measure of hopefulness is always carefully blended in. Even with his short tenure as a songwriter, William has already received mention in noted publications such as Billboard, Paste Magazine, and Performing Songwriter Magazine, and his music has been featured on several television programs such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Army Wives.” [Myspace]