Editing Tori Amos (section)

===1979–1989: Career beginnings and Y Kant Tori Read===
By the time she was 17, Amos had a stock of homemade demo tapes that her father regularly sent out to record companies and producers.{{r|Doyle (1998)}} Producer [[Narada Michael Walden]] responded favorably: he and Amos cut some tracks together, but none were released.{{r|Doyle (1998)}} Eventually, [[Atlantic Records]] responded to one of the tapes, and, when [[A&R]] man [[Jason Flom]] flew to Baltimore to audition her in person, the label was convinced and signed her.{{sfn|Collins|Speace|1995|p=5}}

In 1984, Amos moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career{{r|Doyle (1998)}} after several years performing on the piano bar circuit in the [[Washington, D.C.]] area.

In 1986, Amos formed a musical group called [[Y Kant Tori Read]], named for her difficulty with [[sight-reading]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallechinsky |first1=David |author-link1=David Wallechinsky |last2=Wallace |first2=Amy |author-link2=Amy Wallace |title=The New Book of Lists |title-link=The New Book of Lists |date=2005 |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-1-84195-719-7}}{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Y Kant Tori Read Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio &... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/y-kant-tori-read-mn0000684755 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> In addition to Amos, the group was composed of [[Steve Caton]] (who would later play guitars on all of her albums until 1999), drummer [[Matt Sorum]], bass player Brad Cobb and, for a short time, keyboardist Jim Tauber. The band went through several iterations of songwriting and recording; Amos has said interference from record executives caused the band to lose its musical edge and direction during this time. Finally, in July 1988, the band's eponymous debut album, ''[[Y Kant Tori Read (album)|Y Kant Tori Read]]'', was released. Although its producer, [[Joe Chiccarelli]], stated that Amos was very happy with the album at the time,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bouwman |first=Kimbel |title=Interview with Joe Chiccarelli |date=June 14, 2010 |work=[[HitQuarters]] |url=http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Joe_Chiccarelli_Interview.html |access-date=August 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524214231/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Joe_Chiccarelli_Interview.html |archive-date=May 24, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Amos has since criticized it, once remarking: "The only good thing about that album is my ankle high boots."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnott |first=Christopher |title=Tori on Tour: Amos Exodus |date=June 9, 1994 |newspaper=[[New Haven Advocate]] |location=New Haven, Connecticut |via=Yessaid.com |url=http://www.yessaid.com/int/1994-06-09_New_Haven_Advocate.html |access-date=August 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160826134054/http://www.yessaid.com/int/1994-06-09_New_Haven_Advocate.html |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the album's commercial failure and the group's subsequent disbanding, Amos began working with other artists (including [[Stan Ridgway]], [[Sandra Bernhard]], and [[Al Stewart]]) as a backup vocalist. She also recorded a song called "Distant Storm" (which she did not write), which was used in the film ''[[China O'Brien]].'' In the credits, the song is attributed to a band called Tess Makes Good.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tori Amos—The Music #1 |website=The Dent |url=http://thedent.com/music1.html |access-date=August 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160826134601/http://thedent.com/music1.html |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>  Amos recorded the vocals for the song in 1988, for $150; she was unaware for several years that the song had actually been heard in a film.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.yessaid.com/lyrics/unreleased-distantstorm.html | title=Tori Amos - Distant Storm }}</ref>  Other than the appearance in the film itself, "Distant Storm" has never been commercially issued in any format.