Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. His primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, bass, drums and harmonica. Smith had a distinctive vocal style characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery" and use of multi-tracking to create vocal harmonies. Although Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and died in Los Angeles, California, he resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity.

After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994 with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars. In 1997 he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery", included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1997.

Smith battled with depression, alcoholism and drug addiction for years, and these topics often appeared in his lyrics. At age 34, he died from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted. At the time of his death, Smith was working on his sixth studio album, From a Basement on the Hill, which was released posthumously on October 19, 2004.

Elliott Smith , (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was born Steven Paul Smith on August 6, 1969 in Omaha , Nebraska . His mother, Bunny Smith, was an elementary school teacher and his father, Gary Smith, was a University of Nebraska medical student at the time. His parents divorced about a year later, and Steven went to live near Dallas , Texas , with his mother and stepfather. Smith learned to play both the piano and guitar as a child and wr