She & Him Artistfacts

2006-
Zooey DeschanelVocals, piano
M. WardGuitar, production
Although best known as an actress, Zooey Deschanel had been singing on screen for years before the duo formed, including a memorable turn in the 2003 holiday favorite Elf. Music came even earlier: she wrote her first song at age 8, accompanying herself on piano. For a long time, songwriting remained a private pursuit, something she did for herself rather than an audience.

That changed when a filmmaker invited Deschanel and M. Ward to record a duet of Richard and Linda Thompson's "When I Get To The Border" for the 2007 film The Go-Getter (Ward was composing the soundtrack). The session clicked. "It was such a fruitful, creative experience," Deschanel told CBS News.

Afterward, she sent Ward demos of her original songs. He was impressed. "Just amazing, simple songs and an amazing voice," Ward said. "And that's the ingredients to every song I've ever loved."
That exchange became the starting point for She & Him, with Deschanel's songwriting providing the emotional core and Ward supplying the musical architecture. Their sound leans deliberately backward, drawing inspiration from 1960s girl-group pop, Phil Spector's productions, and classic AM-radio songwriting, a shared obsession that helped cement their partnership.
The name She & Him is exactly what it sounds like. "She" is Zooey Deschanel; "Him" is M. Ward. No aliases, no hidden mythology, just a literal band name.

"We were looking for something sort of anonymous," Deschanel told The Today Show. "It suggests what it is, but I like that it's modest. I feel like that's an underrated virtue. It's modest and it's kind of anonymous, which I liked, because it reminds me of my own ideas about why music should be played, which is not to be a star. That was never my intention."
Many of the songs on their first album, Volume One, had been sitting in Deschanel's notebooks and home demos for years before She & Him existed. They give the album the feel of a carefully opened time capsule rather than a debut written to order.
On those early records, M. Ward played most of the instruments himself, stacking guitars, keyboards, and percussion with a deliberately lo-fi, human touch.
She & Him became Christmas staples when their holiday albums, A Very She & Him Christmas and Christmas Party, earned lasting seasonal airplay without leaning on novelty or parody.
Touring has always been selective, shaped partly by Deschanel's acting commitments and partly by choice. Covers are another hallmark: songs by a wide variety of artists ranging from Roger Miller to Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and even The Smiths appear in their catalog. In 2022, they recorded a full Brian Wilson tribute album.
Their 2008 song "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" went viral 17 years later on TikTok. The nostalgic post-breakup lament soundtracked hundreds of thousands of videos, driving a surge of streams and Shazams and sending the track onto the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. Many of their new fans weren't even born when the song was recorded.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Killing In The NameRage Against the Machine

The most intense song we know that deploys a cowbell is "Killing In The Name," the most popular song by Rage Against The Machine. Their drummer kept a cowbell on his kit and used it in some of their recordings.

VenusShocking Blue

The original "Venus" was a #1 hit for the Dutch band Shocking Blue. Listen to the first line and you'll hear a muffed word: "goddess" was sung as "goddness."

Rapper's DelightThe Sugarhill Gang

The first rap song to make the Hot 100 was "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang in 1979. At the time, many considered rap a fad that would soon pass.

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and UnderstandingElvis Costello

"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was written by Nick Lowe in 1974. The original version with his group Brinsley Schwarz was kind of somber, but Elvis Costello made it a classic with his 1978 uptempo take.

Up-Up and AwayThe 5th Dimension

Jimmy Webb was inspired to write The 5th Dimension song "Up-Up and Away" after seeing a hot-air balloon his friend flew on promotions for the Southern California radio station KMEN.

All Around The WorldLisa Stansfield

"All Around The World" by Lisa Stansfield has a sultry spoken intro inspired by Barry White. He was honored by the homage, and in 1992 joined Stansfield to record a duet version of the song.