Born November 12, 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Died in Athens, Georgia on December 25th, 2009.
Vic Chesnutt was a singer-songwriter living in Athens, Georgia. A car crash at age 18 left him partly paralyzed, and he performed in a wheelchair.
A regular of the 40 Watt Club scene, he was spotted by
Michael Stipe who produced his first two albums.
In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album [m120021], the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including
Garbage,
Smashing Pumpkins,
Madonna,
R.E.M. and
Live.
A prolific songwriter, Chesnutt worked with
Lambchop,
Widespread Panic (as
Brute),
Elf Power as well as
Bill Frisell,
Guy Picciotto and members of
A Silver Mt. Zion.
On December 25, 2009, Chesnutt died from an overdose of muscle relaxants that had left him in a coma in an Athens hospital.