August 22, 1963 brought the birth of Myra Ellen Amos to a Methodist minister and a homemaker in Newton, North Carolina. At 4, she was singing and performing in the church choir and by 5 became a prodigy when she was invited to study piano at the prestigious Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where she was to be trained as a classical concert pianist. In 1980, at age 17, she wrote a song with her brother Michael for the then World Series bound Orioles, called Baltimore, which was released (under her real name, Ellen Amos), as her first single on the MEA record label (named for her initials). After graduating from her Rockville, Maryland high school in 1981, Tori followed her heart to Los Angeles. In time, she became the lead singer of a hard-rock band called Y Kant Tori Read, a name Tori came up with, which referred to her days at the Peabody conservatory, where she could play songs after hearing them once, but wasn't very good at reading and playing from sheet music. They landed a contract with Atlantic in 1987, but their debut album was, commercially and critically, a failure. Tori went low-profile for a while after this unheralded release, although she did make appearances on albums by Al Stewart, Canadian songwriter Ferron, and Stan Ridgway. Nevertheless, the headstrong girl began writing her own, piano-based songs and eventually, a tape of her music found its way to Atlantic Records co-chairman, Doug Morris.

Though not oblivious to Tori's talent, Morris decided that her present sound would not be embraced by the average American consumer. He suggested instead that she'd get better reception in the UK. So off to London in February 1991 went Tori, playing small scale gigs around the capital and eventually landing herself a solo deal. Her acclaimed debut album, Little Earthquakes, was released in January 1992, featuring the moving singles Silent All These Years and Crucify, as well as the disturbing a capella Me And A Gun, which recounts her rape by an armed 'fan' when she drove him home after one of her concerts. The song became an unofficial anthem for rape prevention groups across the nation. Later that year, Tori released her Crucify EP, which features a version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. Much of the following year was spent writing and recording a second album. The result, Under The Pink, released to rave reviews in 1994, includes a guest appearance from Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) on Past The Mission, and was recorded in his home. The first single lifted from it, Cornflake Girl, reached number 4 in the UK charts, and Tori was heralded in the press as part of a new wave of intelligent, literate female songwriters. Tori is among contributors to the June 15, '99 released album, No Boundaries, made up of rare and unreleased recordings, to benefit the refugees of Kosovo. In the summer of '99, Tori joined forces with Alanis Morissette for the 5? Weeks Tour, which ran 26 shows, kicking off in the NCR Arena in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and ending up at the Irvine Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California.