20 Photos of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star in the 1990s

Since the release of Mazzy Star’s debut album She Hangs Brightly, Hope Sandoval has defined the sound and style of California psychedelic dream pop. The world took notice when the breakthrough single “Fade Into You” (from sophomore album So Tonight That I Might See) hit the airwaves and MTV heavy rotation.

Sandoval was born June 24, 1966 in Los Angeles, California to Mexican-American parents and raised in east Los Angeles. She attended Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, but struggled socially and academically, and was placed in special education classes. She began to forgo her classes, instead staying home and listening to records. “It’s just like anybody else—some people, most people don’t wanna go to school. They just don’t want to,” Sandoval recalled. “I was just somebody who got away with it… There wasn’t really anyone watching.” She eventually dropped out of high school.

Sandoval took an interest in music at an early age, and, at age 13, was particularly influenced by the Rolling Stones. In 1986, she formed the folk music duo Going Home with Sylvia Gomez and sent a demo tape to David Roback. He contacted the duo and suggested that he would “play guitar for you guys.” The material recorded by Gomez, Sandoval and Roback has yet to be released.

Sandoval performed with the band Opal in the late 1980s alongside David Roback and long-time Roback collaborator Kendra Smith. After Smith’s abrupt departure during a tour of the UK (hurling her guitar to the floor at the Hammersmith gig), Sandoval took over lead vocals. At the end of the tour, Roback and Sandoval began writing together and formed the alternative rock band Mazzy Star.

The first Mazzy Star album, She Hangs Brightly, was released in 1990. While not a commercial success, this album did establish Mazzy Star as a band with a unique sound. The band had a surprise breakthrough hit single released in October 1993. “Fade into You”—from the band’s second album So Tonight That I Might See—was recorded one year before it became a success.

Here, below are some beautiful photos of Hope Sandoval in the 1990s: