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She was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist for the alternative rock band the Cranberries. One of the most recognizable voices in rock in the 1990s, she was known for her lilting mezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, emphasized use of keening, and strong Limerick accent.
O'Riordan was born in County Limerick, Ireland, to a Catholic working-class family. She began to perform as a soloist in her church choir before leaving secondary school to join the Cranberries in 1990.
Recognised for her unique voice, she quickly achieved worldwide fame. During her lifetime, she released seven studio albums with the Cranberries, including four number-one albums. Over the years, she contributed to the release of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993), No Need to Argue (1994), To the Faithful Departed (1996), Bury the Hatchet (1999) and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001) before taking a six-year hiatus starting in 2003.
O'Riordan's first solo album, Are You Listening?, was released in May 2007 and was followed up by No Baggage in August 2009. She reunited with the Cranberries the same year. The band released Roses (2012) and went on a world tour. She appeared as a judge on RTÉ's The Voice of Ireland during the 2013-14 season.
In April 2014, O'Riordan joined and began recording new material with the trio D.A.R.K. Throughout her life, she had to overcome personal challenges. O'Riordan struggled with depression and the pressure of her own success, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015. She subsequently released her last album with the group, Something Else (2017).
O'Riordan died in January 2018. The following year, the Cranberries released the Grammy-nominated album In the End (2019), featuring her final vocal recordings, and subsequently disbanded.
With the Cranberries, O'Riordan sold more than 40 million albums worldwide during her lifetime; that total increased to almost 50 million albums worldwide as of 2019, excluding her solo albums.
In the US, she was awarded fourteen Platinum album certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and in Canada, ten Platinum certifications. In the UK, she received five Platinum certifications. She was honoured with the Ivor Novello International Achievement award, and in the months following her death, she was named The Top Female Artist of All Time on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.
More information: Cranberries
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was born on 6 September 1971 in Ballybricken, County Limerick, the youngest of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Her father, Terence Patrick "Terry" O'Riordan (1937-2011), worked as a farm labourer until a motorbike accident in 1968 left him brain damaged. Her mother, Eileen, was a school caterer.
O'Riordan was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family, and was named by her mother in reference to the Lady of the Seven Dolours. She grew up in the neighboring Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
O'Riordan attended Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ school in Limerick. School principal Aedín Ní Bhriain said in the Limerick Post about O'Riordan's first day at Laurel Hill Coláiste at the age of twelve that she stood up in front of classmates and announced: my name is Dolores O'Riordan and I'm going to be a rock star, then she stood on her chair and she sang Tra la la la la, Triangles.
When she had reached the age of sixteen, O'Riordan had started listening to the Smiths, the Cure, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, which constituted her primary musical influences. She had also been influenced by the Kinks, Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and New Order.
O'Riordan was a mezzo-soprano, with a vocal range from B 2 to C 6. She did not sing much in the 5th octave but rather in a range of vocal comfort. She was familiar with the vocal belting of '90s alternative rock and was also devoted to her love of falsetto. Her voice was rather light without applying an uncomfortable weight, and she characteristically deployed a soft projection when she sang the lowest notes.
O'Riordan died on 15 January 2018 in Mayfair, London.
O'Riordan has been referred to as one of the most distinctive voices in alternative rock history. Through her impact on the music industry, she has been described as one of the most recognisable voices in pop culture.
O'Riordan also brought an inimitable and unique voice to the 1990s' music scene and to rock music. She is considered an icon of Irish pop and a 1990s rock icon, characterised by a wide spectrum of vocals resources.
More information: The Guardian
We need to be challenged
and that we're getting up and doing
something with our lives.
Dolores O'Riordan
