Charlyn Marie Marshall, also known as Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. on 21 January 1972. After dropping out of high school, she started performing under the name Cat Power, while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. She soon moved to New York City, United States in 1992, then later opening for
Liz Phair in 1994, she met Steve Shelley of
Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of
Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's
Dear Sir and 1996's
Myra Lee.