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Beck music biography continued...

in Los Angeles, California, both of Beck's parents were in the music industry and Beck himself dropped out of school in the tenth grade to pursue a similar career. He moved to Europe and then to New York City, but eventually returned to Los Angeles where he was discovered playing in a club by the founders of Bong Load Custom Records and signed to the fledgling label. "Loser", a collaboration between hip hop producer Carl Stephenson and Beck, created a sensation when radio host Chris Douridas played the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic, the flagship music program from Santa Monica College radio station KCRW. That exposure and a subsequent live performance on the show July 23, 1993, led to a bidding war among labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records, which offered him the least amount of money, but the greatest amount of creative freedom. Beck's major-label debut, Mellow Gold, was released in March 1994, and Geffen also reissued "Loser" on a national level. Instantly labeled an anthem for the so-called slacker generation, the song was a massive hit, climbing into the Top Ten and hitting number one on Billboard's modern rock chart. Mellow Gold was a big success, climbing into the Top 20 and eventually going platinum.



Beck would go on to record several hit albums that would make him a mainstay in the alternative and independent rock scenes. Two of Beck's most popular and acclaimed recordings were Odelay (1996) and Sea Change (2002). Odelay was awarded Album of the Year by American magazine Rolling Stone and by UK publications NME and Mojo. Odelay also received a Grammy nomination for Best Album. Critics have called Beck "One of the most inventive and eclectic figures to emerge from the '90s alternative revolution...Drawing upon a kaleidoscope of influences -- pop, folk, psychedelia, hip-hop, country, blues, R&B, funk, indie rock, noise rock, experimental rock, jazz, lounge, and Brazilian music" to create an awesome and eclectic body of work that would forever endear him to fans of the unpredictable and innovative.