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Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall, born January 21, 1972, is an American singer-songwriter known by her stage name Cat Power. The name originated from her first band but became her solo stage identity. Born in Atlanta, she was raised across the southern United States and began performing in local bands in Atlanta during the early 1990s. After opening for Liz Phair in 1993, she collaborated with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, recording her first two albums, Dear Sir (1995) and Myra Lee (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996, she signed with Matador Records and released What Would the Community Think, her third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn. She gained critical recognition with Moon Pix (1998), recorded with members of Dirty Three, and The Covers Record (2000), a collection of cover songs with sparse arrangements. Following a brief hiatus, she released You Are Free (2003), featuring guest musicians Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder, and The Greatest (2006), which incorporated soul influences and was recorded with Memphis studio musicians.