Vonda Shepard

“Ain’t it funny how you’re walkin’ through life/and it turns on a dime?” sings Vonda Shepard in “The Wildest Times Of The World”one of four original songs she performs, alongside her versions of ten classic pop tunes, on the much-anticipated new album, Songs From Ally McBeal Featuring Vonda Shepard (550 Music/Sony Music Soundtrax).

The line summarizes the songwriter-performer’s own destiny, from her ups and downs in the music biz to her ongoing troubadour role on Fox’s smash TV series. As the magnetic blonde who sings in the bar frequented by Ally and her attorney colleaguesand whose soaring vocals accompany some of the show’s most powerful momentsShepard in some ways represents the title character’s soul.

It’s no wonder, then, that her song “Searchin’ My Soul” is the theme song of the seriesand zoomed up the pop charts. “The music does tend to pull Ally to a different place,” Shepard acknowledges of her soulful, piano-based compositions. “It takes her further into herself, and helps give you a sense of the depth of her character.”

Shepard’s own character was forged in a chaotic, creative environment. Born in New York and raised in Southern California, she and her three sisters shared a bohemian upbringing. But their struggling mime/actor/writer dad and professional mom instilled in them a love of the arts and a yen for the spiritual quest. Vonda started piano lessons at age six and began writing her own songs shortly thereafter.

Her parents split up when she was ten, and the four girls continued living with their father, who encouraged Vonda’s musical pursuits. At age 14, she performed her first gig as a singer-songwriter; by 18, she had several years on the club circuit under her belt and was shopping material for a record deal. She toured with Rickie Lee Jones as a backing vocalist and keyboardist when she was all of 20.

Reprise Records, which had been courting her gingerly for several years, signed Vonda Shepard in 1987. Her self-titled debut album appeared in 1989 and spawned the hit “Don’t Cry, Ilene.” She took her time recording the follow-up, The Radical Light (1992), which boasts “Searchin’ My Soul” and another song, “Wake Up the House,” that garnered some radio play. Unfortunately, changes at the label led to Vonda’s departure shortly after the album’s release.

A period of reassessment, writing and intimate gigs for her loyal fans followed, as well as a touring stint as backing vocalist for legendary singer-songwriter Jackson Browne.

Shepard eventually struck a deal with the independent label VesperAlley, leading to the release (in 1996) of the acclaimed It’s Good, Eve. Showcasing the singer’s most mature work yetincluding Ally’s “The Wildest Times of the World” and “Maryland”It’s Good, Eve established Vonda as a worthy heir to the singer-songwriter tradition shaped by artists like Browne (who sang on the album), Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones.

Even so, the record’s relative obscurity meant Shepard was still on the club circuit, playing regularly at tiny venues like Hollywood’s Genghis Cohen Cafe. “When I start to get overwhelmed with everything that’s happened with Ally,” she relates, “I think back to a year and a half ago, when I was playing in a club for 35 people and saying, “Where is my audience?’”

Shepard had no way of knowing that one regular attendee of her performances and a avid fan of her albumswas Emmy-winning producer/writer David E. Kelley, the creator of Ally McBeal. When Kelley met and became involved with actress Michelle Pfeiffer, a longtime friend and fan of Shepard’s whom he later married, they were stunned to find this mutual enthusiasm. In early 1997, after she performed at Bill-board Live in Los Angeles, Shepard was approached by Kelley, who asked if she’d like to contribute music to his new series.

Though ecstatic at the opportunity, Shepard scarcely imagined that she was hitching her wagon to a supernova. “When I started, I had no idea Ally would be what it’s become,” she avers. “But I knew David was a brilliant, respected writer. A lot of people are intimidated by him, but he and I have this mutual respect and regard.”

Her role as Ally McBeal’s muse has led many viewers to wonder how much this emotive performer has in common with the protagonist of the series, a neurotic, earnest lawyer who endures various professional and romantic misadventures.

“I’m like her in that I’m a ’90s career woman who works hard and still struggles with the messages instilled in her during childhood,” Shepard reflects. “There’s the desire to get married and have kids someday, but questioning that at the same time. Women my age, even if we’re feminists and liberals, we still have these voices that pull at us. And forget all the other stuffyou don’t want to end up alone.”

At the same time, Shepard adds, her personal style is a far cry from Ally’s tailored image. “Being on-camera has been a learning process,” she admits. “I’m more of a human, natural kind of writer, not someone who has every hair in place, so having makeup people fussing around me all the time is challenging. But on the other hand, the character I play is myself, and singing and playing and writing is what I live for.”

In addition to performing her own materialwhich often inspires episode titles and other elements of AllyShepard has performed cover versions of various pop classics oldies to order. “It feels like karaoke night on the set sometimes,” she notes with a smile. “It’s really a challenge, I must say. I’ll get a call two nights or a night before to record three or four songs in one day. I think all those years of working toward this prepared me for the taskthank goodness!”

Rather than stifled by her heavy schedule, Shepard insists, she’s been stimulated. “It’s a great test of your ability to trust your instincts,” she points out. “If you have too much time, you’ll become lazy or second-guess yourself.” She adds that she’s sometimes taken Kelley’s requests in unexpected directions.

“He’s chosen some humorous songs, like ‘This Guy’s In Love With You,’ which I had to make into my own thing,” she recalls. “I brought it back to David, and he said, ‘God, Vonda, this was supposed to be a jokebut it’s so beautiful!’”

In addition to Shepard’s “Searchin’ My Soul,” “The Wildest Times of the World,” “Maryland” and the new “Will You Marry Me?”, Songs From Ally McBeal features her takes on such classic songs as “Walk Away Renee,” “It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song),” “I Only Want to Be with You,” “You Belong To Me” andfrom the infamous “dancing baby” episodethe B.J. Thomas favorite “Hooked on a Feeling.”

“Will You Marry Me?” is one of a batch of songs Shepard wrote during a recent, intensive burst of creativity in New York. “It was going to be on my next solo album,” she reports, “but David wanted a song for next season that would be good for radio.” “Will You Marry Me?” represents a slightly more offbeat direction for Shepard. “It’s a quirky song,” she ventures, “and I wanted the music to capture the oddities of the lyric.”

Shepard promises both more sonic adventure and more It’s Good, Eve-type balladry on her next album, but she’s content, for the time being, to devote herself to Ally. “I feel very much that things have happened the way they’re supposed to,” she muses. “It’s a lesson in perseverance. One of the messages I like to send out to people is not to quitthat’s the main feeling I have about my success. I’m just thankful every day.”