Pop singer/songwriter Michelle Lewis was born to saxophonist Morty Lewis and his wife, a professional session singer; Michelle herself followed the latter route as a child, performing on commercials and landing regular appearances on the children's television program Sesame Street. Upon graduating from Columbia University as a psychology major, Lewis (with her uncle's help) got a job as a production coordinator for the GRP jazz label. From there, she got involved with the New York jam band scene that spawned the Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler, among others; she also wrote dance-pop numbers for such acts as Camille, the Todd Terry Project, Eternal, Deni Hines, and Amy Grant. A desire to pursue more personal material led Lewis to begin work on the material that became her debut album, Little Leviathan; released in 1998, the record was produced by Steve Fisk (Geraldine Fibbers, Joan Osborne, Beat Happening, Screaming Trees). ~ Steve Huey