Cordelia's Dad was founded in 1987 by Amherst College students Tim Eriksen (bass, vocals), Peter Irvine (drums), Tom King (guitar).

Although all three had previous experiences with traditional American music their initial sound was closer to that of alternative rock bands like Dinosaur Jr. and accordingly they recorded their first, eponymous album at Fort Apache Studios in Boston.

Eriksen switched to guitar and their third regular album, Comet (1995) continued the conversion toward an acoustic sound, with only a single song, the closer "Jersey City", being played with rock instruments.

Spine would become their most critically acclaimed album, but also the last for four years, as band members moved away from their Western Massachusetts home base.

The album What It Is, while released in 2002, contained music recorded during two sessions in 1997–98, and the band remained in hiatus until Eriksen and Irvine moved back to Massachusetts, and to celebrate their 20th anniversary, decided to reunite for local shows, playing both acoustic and electric sets.