A Rare Linda Ronstadt Songwriting Credit: How “Try Me Again” with Andrew Gold Deepened Hasten Down the Wind
On “Try Me Again,” Linda Ronstadt stepped from interpreter to co-writer, letting a private kind...
Melody Era
A Quiet Top-Ten Bloom: Emmylou Harris’ Tennessee Rose Gave 1981’s Cimarron Its Softest Victory
In 1981, a modest country single bloomed into a top-ten reminder that Emmylou Harris could...
A Honky-Tonk Spark Reignited: Emmylou Harris and Tanya Tucker Turn Willie Nelson’s “Sister’s Coming Home” Into a 1979 Blue Kentucky Girl Standout
On Blue Kentucky Girl, Emmylou Harris found a bright, barroom pulse in Willie Nelson’s “Sister’s...
The Side-One Secret on Pendulum: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “(Wish I Could) Hideaway” and John Fogerty’s Hammond Organ Shadow
At the close of Pendulum’s first side, Creedence Clearwater Revival turned down the fire and...
The Credit That Changes the Song: David Cassidy, Richie Furay, and “Love in Bloom” on 1975’s The Higher They Climb
On Love in Bloom, David Cassidy stepped beyond the familiar glare of teen fame and...
A Family Song Came Home: Linda Ronstadt’s Los Laureles on Canciones de Mi Padre Became a 1987 Return to Her Roots
In Los Laureles, Linda Ronstadt did not simply visit mariachi tradition; she stepped back into...
A Star Singing About Escape: Neil Diamond’s 1977 Free Man in Paris Cover Turned Joni Mitchell’s Wit Into Self-Reflection
Neil Diamond’s 1977 reading of Joni Mitchell’s Free Man in Paris turns a sharp portrait...
The Overlooked 1982 Glow: Neil Diamond’s In Ensenada with Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager on Heartlight
In the polished glow of 1982, Neil Diamond found a quieter shoreline on In Ensenada,...
Before the Disco Years, Bee Gees’ In My Own Time Revealed a Stranger, Dreamier Band in 1967
Before the world learned to hear the Bee Gees through dance-floor shimmer, In My Own...
A Quiet Bee Gees Gem Hiding on Trafalgar: Why “Lion in Winter” Captures Barry and Robin Gibb at a Fragile 1971 Crossroads
Before the Bee Gees became a sound of glittering dance floors, “Lion in Winter” caught...
A Quiet Carol, A Deep Voice: Josh Turner’s “The First Nowell” on 2021’s King Size Manger Feels Like Christmas Remembered
On “The First Nowell”, Josh Turner lets an old carol breathe through a country baritone...
The Ryman Held Its Breath: Josh Turner’s “Silver Wings” Tribute to Merle Haggard on the 2007 Cracker Barrel Exclusive Live At The Ryman
On a historic Nashville stage, Josh Turner turned Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings” into a quiet...
One Train, Three Voices: Linda Ronstadt’s “The Blue Train” on 1995’s Feels Like Home with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris
On “The Blue Train,” departure becomes a three-part conversation: Linda Ronstadt leads the farewell, while...
When Two Voices Leaned Closer: Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor’s Warm Spark on I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine
On a 1982 album built around closeness, trust, and carefully chosen songs, Linda Ronstadt and...
The Hot Band Cut That Proved Emmylou Harris Could Roar: Emmylou Harris’ Tulsa Queen from 1977’s Luxury Liner
On Tulsa Queen, Emmylou Harris let the train rhythm carry more than motion—it carried the...
An Old Carter Promise Reborn: Emmylou Harris’s “Gold Watch and Chain” on 1980’s Roses in the Snow with Ricky Skaggs and Linda Ronstadt
On Roses in the Snow, Emmylou Harris made an old Carter Family pledge feel newly...
A Lullaby Near the Edge: Emmylou Harris’s Goodnight Old World from 2011’s Hard Bargain
In Goodnight Old World, Emmylou Harris turns late-career reflection into a small song of release,...
Before Nashville Fully Claimed Her, Emmylou Harris Made Billy Sherrill’s “Too Far Gone” Weep on 1975’s Pieces of the Sky
On her 1975 major-label arrival, Emmylou Harris turned Billy Sherrill’s country ballad into a study...
A Coal-Town Lament Reborn: John Fogerty’s 2009 Cover of John Prine’s Paradise on The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
In John Fogerty’s 2009 return to The Blue Ridge Rangers, “Paradise” became less a borrowed...
A Gentle Wish Broke Through: John Fogerty’s “Don’t You Wish It Was True” from Revival Reached No. 11 on Adult Alternative
In a season of louder comebacks, John Fogerty found power in an acoustic-driven wish that...
The Album Cut That Asked to Be Heard: David Cassidy’s “Warm My Soul” and the Soulful Turn of Rock Me Baby
On “Warm My Soul”, David Cassidy stepped away from the bright glare of teen-idol fame...
A Teen Idol Met Brill Building Soul: The Partridge Family’s 1973 “Oh, No, Not My Baby” on Bulletin Board
On Bulletin Board, David Cassidy turned a Goffin-King soul-pop classic into something more vulnerable than...
Before the Breakthrough, Linda Ronstadt’s Live Rescue Me on Her 1972 Self-Titled Album Revealed How Far Her Voice Could Go
In a live cover tucked into a 1972 album, Linda Ronstadt sounded like a young...
Behind That Velvet Calm, Linda Ronstadt Reimagined Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” on 1984’s Lush Life with Nelson Riddle
In Linda Ronstadt’s hands, Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” became less a costume of glamour than...
The 1968 B-Side Neil Diamond Fans Still Hunt For: Broad Old Woman (6 A.M. Insanity), the Flip of Two-Bit Manchild
On the far side of a 1968 single, Neil Diamond let a stranger, rougher voice...
The Forgotten Bee Gees Ballad That Proved Barry Gibb’s Falsetto Still Had Fire in 1987
On E.S.P., the Bee Gees were not simply returning to the charts; in “Live or...
A Road-Worn Salute Most Fans Missed: Josh Turner’s Previously Unreleased Live Cover of Waylon Jennings’ “America”
On a live album built from miles of American stages, Josh Turner’s cover of Waylon...
The Quiet Ache Linda Ronstadt Found in Warren Zevon’s “Hasten Down the Wind,” the Song That Named Her Grammy-Winning 1976 Album
Before it stood as the title of Linda Ronstadt’s Grammy-winning 1976 album, Hasten Down the...
The Quiet Risk That Worked: Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews on My Antonia from 2000’s Red Dirt Girl
On Red Dirt Girl, My Antonia became a meeting place: Emmylou Harris writing from memory’s...
A Bright 1977 Secret on Luxury Liner: Emmylou Harris’s I’ll Be Your San Antone Rose Still Deserves Its Turn
On Luxury Liner, Emmylou Harris turned Susanna Clark’s San Antonio daydream into a bright, restless...