Most people who know Juliette Lewis know her from her acting credits. You might not know that she had a music career at all. The multi-talented Lewis is recognizable from acting roles in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Cape Fear, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
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But she has always considered herself a musician before an actress. Though her acting career has received the spotlight, Lewis has steadily pursued music alongside it. In 2003, she founded the band Juliette & The Licks, for which she supplied lead vocals. They released two albums and one EP before breaking up in 2009. Their most successful singles included “Hot Kiss,” “Inside The Cage,” and “You’re Speaking My Language.”
Since the band’s breakup, Lewis has been a solo artist. Though she gives most of her attention to singing — alone more often than not — she has also turned to songwriting on more than one occasion. Several of her ventures have turned into collaborations with other artists. One of the most notable was her 2005 project “Spitfire” with The Prodigy, which featured on the soundtrack for House of Wax.
Check out these songs you might not know Juliette Lewis wrote for other artists.
1. “Stickup” — Karma Fields & MORTEN ft. Juliette Lewis, 2015
Written by Karma Fields, Morten Breum, and Juliette Lewis
In 2015, Lewis teamed up with Danish DJ MORTEN and mysterious AI musician Karma Fields. The result was “Stickup,” an electronic dance track with a heavy beat. The track went largely unnoticed by mainstream music entities but featured on Monstercat’s 2016 New Age/Dark Age EP.
Lewis’s collaboration included providing lead vocals, though she received credit only as a featured artist. Nevertheless, she made her mark on the song, even drawing a reference between her name and the characters of Romeo & Juliet.
My name is Juliette
I don’t care what they say
I didn’t kill Romeo
I had the wickedest dream last night
I was walking through a dark hall
And I open up this door
And there were all these men playing poker
They had no time for me
Their eyes were looking down at their numbers
2. Spitfire — The Prodigy ft. Juliette Lewis, 2005
Written by Liam Howlett & Juliette Lewis
“Spitfire” was written for the 2005 horror film House of Wax. Lewis worked with Liam Howlett of the British band The Prodigy and provided backup vocals on the song. The track was moderately successful and was released as a single on The Prodigy’s album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. Though it didn’t enter the top 100 on the UK Singles Chart (it peaked at No. 107), “Spitfire” climbed to the top of the UK dance charts.
Howlett said he had not originally had Lewis in mind for the collaboration. The Prodigy rarely collaborates with other artists, and Howlett does not enjoy group projects. However, he was impressed by Lewis’ creativity and vocal strength. Lewis, meanwhile, called the experience “amazingly creative.”
“If I was in World War Two, they’d call me (Spit) fire
Fire
Fire
Fire
‘Cause you know that I can”
Photo by David Wolff – Patrick/Redferns
