Nov. 23: Alternative rock"s Alison Mosshart is 32 today.

Alison is best known as the lead vocalist and plays rhythm guitar, percussion and keyboards for the alternative rock bands The Kills and The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock outfit Discount which disbanded in 2000. She then co-founded The Kills with British guitarist Jamie Hince (formerly of Scarfo and Blyth Power) in 2000.

In The Kills, Mosshart is known by her stage name "VV."  In early 2009, she joined the supergroup The Dead Weather, formed by Jack White of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), along with Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita. In that band, her stage name is "Baby Ruthless."

The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records" Nashville headquarters on March 11, 2009. The band performed live for the first time at the event, immediately before releasing their debut single "Hang You from the Heavens."

The band"s second studio album, Sea of Cowards, was released first in Ireland on May 7, then on May 10 and 11 in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. The first single off the album was "Die by the Drop."

When The Raconteurs were performing in Memphis, Tenn., Jack White lost his voice and the band asked Alison Mosshart of The Kills - who were warming up at the time-  to fill in on some songs. She sang lead vocals on "Steady as She Goes" and "Salute Your Solution." White later asked her if she would record a 7-inch with him and Jack Lawrence. They met Dean Fertita at the studio and they ended up performing more than one song that night.

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Both Alison and Jack are heavily influenced by Captain Beefheart and have made several tributes to him in a few songs. The Dead Weather usually open their acts with an intro of "Sure Nuff "N" Yes I Do." On the track "Hussle and Cuss" the first line Alison sings is "knock on the door and the door knocks back," a clear reference to the Beefheart song "The Dust Blows Forth "n the Dust Blows Back."

Ultimately they decided to form a band with Mosshart as their lead singer, Lawrence on bass, Fertita on guitar and keyboard and White on drums.

The Dead Weather"s debut album, Horehound, was released on July 14, 2009 in North America, and July 13 in Europe. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Charts at #6 and the UK Album Charts at #14.

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