Jewel was born in Payson, Utah, but spent most of her young life growing up in Homer, Alaska, living with her father. The home in which she grew up did not have indoor plumbing, but a simple outhouse instead. She and her father sometimes earned a living by singing in bars and taverns. It was from these experiences she learned to yodel, a quality demonstrated in many of her songs. Her father was a Mormon, but they stopped attending the church shortly before she turned eight. During high school, Jewel was known to spell her name "Jule," but she attributes this to simple playing with her name as teenagers are prone to do. |
