Singer, composer and pianist Norah Jones was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in New York City on March 30, 1979. Her parents were New York concert promoter Sue Jones and internationally famous Bengali sitar player Ravi Shankar.

After her parents separated in 1986, Jones lived with her mother in Grapevine, Texas where she took piano lessons, played alto saxophone in the high school band, sang in church and spent her summers at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. In both 1996 and 1997 she won the DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award for Best Jazz Vocalist, and also was awarded the prize for Best Original Composition in 1996. After high school Norah attended the University of North Texas where she majored in piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers.

In 1999 Jones left Texas and relocated to New York City for she found early success in a band she started with Jesse Harris that made several popular records. In February 2002 Jones’ first full-length solo recording on the Blue Note label was released. The album, “Come Away With Me,” was praised for its blend of acoustic pop with soul and jazz. Debuting at No. 139, it reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Magazine 200. The single Don’t Know Why hit the top spot on the Adult Top 40 and number thirty on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. At the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003, Jones was nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won five.

Twenty-four years and eight albums later, Norah Jones’ career is still going strong. She has appeared on a number of collaborative projects with other musicians and has appeared on television and in the movies.

Here is a link to one of her best-known pieces:

"DON'T KNOW WHY"