She Didn’t Just Cover Chuck Berry: Emmylou Harris Turned (You Never Can Tell) C’est La Vie into a Luxury Liner Country Hit
On Luxury Liner, Emmylou Harris found the country road hidden inside Chuck Berry’s wry rock-and-roll...
Melody Era
She Put Chuck Berry in Overdrive: Emmylou Harris’s “C’est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)” on Luxury Liner
On Luxury Liner, Emmylou Harris took Chuck Berry’s teenage tale of chance and turned it...
Three Voices, One Appalachian Memory: Emmylou Harris’s “Gold Watch and Chain” With Ricky Skaggs and Linda Ronstadt
On Roses in the Snow, Emmylou Harris turned an old Carter Family treasure into a...
After Creedence Went Quiet, John Fogerty Reached Back to Jimmie Rodgers’ ‘California Blues (Blue Yodel #4)’ on The Blue Ridge Rangers
In 1973, John Fogerty turned away from rock stardom and toward an older American sound,...
When 1967 Came Roaring Back: John Fogerty’s ‘Summer of Love’ on Revival Saluted Cream, Hendrix, and the Guitar Age
On Summer of Love, John Fogerty did not simply remember 1967; he plugged into the...
Before the Posters Took Over, The Partridge Family’s “You Don’t Have to Tell Me” on 1971’s Sound Magazine Showed David Cassidy Taking Command
On Sound Magazine, a television pop album briefly turns into a spotlight, and David Cassidy...
The Comeback Promise Hidden in David Cassidy’s “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,” the John Wetton Co-Write from 1992’s Didn’t You Used to Be…
In “I’ll Never Stop Loving You”, David Cassidy sounded less like a former idol chasing...
The River She Made Her Own: Linda Ronstadt Reimagined Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers to Cross on Prisoner in Disguise
On Prisoner in Disguise, Linda Ronstadt turned Jimmy Cliff’s weary prayer into a wide-open confession...
The Quiet Song Fans Missed: Linda Ronstadt’s Colorado on 1973’s Don’t Cry Now
Before the great radio triumphs arrived, Linda Ronstadt found a quieter kind of country-rock grace...
When Hope Sounded Weathered: Neil Diamond’s 1981 “On the Way to the Sky” Rose as a Billboard Hot 100 Title Track
Neil Diamond turned upward motion into something human on “On the Way to the Sky,”...
The Question Sounds Different in Three Voices: Bee Gees’ 1995 Will You Love Me Tomorrow for Tapestry Revisited
In their 1995 studio cover for Tapestry Revisited, the Bee Gees turned a famous question...
A Ballpark Went Quiet: Josh Turner’s God Bless America at Cincinnati’s 2015 MLB All-Star Game
In a summer ballpark built for cheers, Josh Turner turned God Bless America into a...
That Voice Still Had Fire: Linda Ronstadt’s Ruler of My Heart Was the Hidden Soul Prize of 1998’s We Ran
On We Ran, Linda Ronstadt turned a New Orleans soul classic into a late-career reminder...
When Emmylou Harris Took “The Maker” Onstage, Spyboy Turned the Wrecking Ball Sound Into a Living Pulse
On Spyboy, Emmylou Harris did not simply revisit the atmosphere of Wrecking Ball; she let...
A Soft Harmony Changes Everything: Emmylou Harris’s “Green Rolling Hills” with Fayssoux Starling
Emmylou Harris turned “Green Rolling Hills” into a hushed roots conversation, where Fayssoux Starling’s harmony...
No Words, Just Fogerty’s Bite: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Side o’ the Road” and the Rare Guitar Flash on Willy and the Poor Boys
On “Side o’ the Road”, Creedence Clearwater Revival briefly stepped away from the story song...
The Cover That Changed the Temperature: David Cassidy Recast Pilot’s “January” on His 1976 RCA Album Home Is Where the Heart Is
On Home Is Where the Heart Is, David Cassidy turned Pilot’s bright pop hit January...
A Joy She Carried Home: Linda Ronstadt’s “Y Andale” Made Canciones de Mi Padre Feel Like Family History in Full Voice
With “Y Andale”, Linda Ronstadt did not simply visit mariachi tradition — she stepped back...
When the Future Turned Inward: Neil Diamond’s The Story of My Life on 1986’s Headed for the Future
On a record pointed toward tomorrow, Neil Diamond tucked in a song that seemed to...
The Odd Little Stage Moment That Made Neil Diamond’s “Soggy Pretzels” Feel Alive at the Greek Theatre in 1972
On Hot August Night, “Soggy Pretzels” is the small crooked grin between Neil Diamond’s grand...
Before Disco Took Over, Bee Gees’ South Dakota Morning Revealed Their 1973 Los Angeles Country-Rock Detour
Before the dance-floor years, Bee Gees carried their harmonies into a Los Angeles country-rock morning,...
The Last Beat Before the Bee Gees Changed Course: “Paper Mache, Cabbages and Kings” and Geoff Bridgford’s 1972 Exit
Before the famous reinventions, Bee Gees let a strange little 1972 song mark the final...
The Quiet Heat Behind Josh Turner’s “I Just Wanna Kiss You” on His 2024 Kenny Greenberg-Produced Album
In Josh Turner’s “I Just Wanna Kiss You,” romance is not dressed up as spectacle;...
That Old Ache Finds New Voices: Josh Turner and Runaway June Revive Jim Lauderdale’s You Don’t Seem to Miss Me
A country lament built on restraint finds fresh air when Josh Turner’s low baritone meets...
The Ache She Refused to Force: Linda Ronstadt’s Sweeping 1993 “Anyone Who Had a Heart” on Winter Light
In Linda Ronstadt’s 1993 reading, a Bacharach classic becomes less a plea for sympathy than...
A Song Her Father Carried: Linda Ronstadt’s Tú Sólo Tú and the 1987 Return Behind Canciones de Mi Padre
In Tú Sólo Tú, Linda Ronstadt let a classic ranchera become something larger than interpretation:...
A Quiet Texas Voice Comes Forward: Emmylou Harris, Susanna Clark, and I’ll Be Your San Antone Rose on 1977’s Luxury Liner
On Luxury Liner, Emmylou Harris gave Susanna Clark‘s songwriting a clear, graceful place in the...
The Gram Parsons Echo That Made Emmylou Harris’s Hot Burrito #2 on 1981’s Evangeline Cut So Deep
On Evangeline, Emmylou Harris turned Hot Burrito #2 from a Flying Burrito Brothers surge into...
The Quiet Voice That Deepened the Wound: Emmylou Harris on Trio’s 1987 “Telling Me Lies”
On Trio’s “Telling Me Lies,” Emmylou Harris does not seize the spotlight; she steadies the...
The Quiet Last Word: Emmylou Harris’s “If You Were a Bluebird” Made Bluebird Feel Complete
As the final breath of Bluebird, Emmylou Harris turned “If You Were a Bluebird” into...