John Linnell

Best known as one half of the duo They Might Be Giants, singer/songwriter/accordionist John Linnell was born June 12, 1959 in New York City; while growing up in Lincoln, MA, he befriended one John Flansburgh, and together they began writing songs. Linnell and Flansburgh went their separate ways after graduating high school, with the former joining the little-known Rhode Island new wave band the Mundanes; however, in 1981 both relocated to Brooklyn, NY, where they began writing and recording as They Might Be Giants. With their silly, catchy pop songs and wacky videos, the duo emerged as cult favorites in the wake of their self-titled 1986 LP, eventually signing to major label Elektra. Both also pursued solo projects, with Linnell releasing a pair of solo EPs, State Songs and Hall of Mayors, on TMBG's Hello Recording Club label; an expanded version of State Songs followed on the Zoë imprint in 1999, one year after he was named alongside luminaries including Leonardo DiCaprio and Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf as one of the world's Ten Most Beautiful People in an online poll sponsored by People magazine.