Showing posts with label Suzanne Vega. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suzanne Vega. Show all posts

Friday, September 16, 2022

Top 100 Modern Folk Songs: 1980-2022

Modern Folk Songs, 1980-2022:

Top 100 Songs

Songs on this list fall under various banners including folk, folk-rock, modern folk, alt-country, and Americana. Most genre lists at Dave’s Music Database are created by aggregating best-of lists from multiple sources. In this case, it was difficult to find lists focused on modern folk. As such, this list was compiled by pulling together any acts from 1980 forward who appeared on any best-of folk or folk rock song lists and folk/Americana album lists. Those applicable songs were then listed in order of overall ranking on Dave’s Music Database.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” (1988)
2. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2003)
3. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (2012)
4. Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah” (1994)
5. Passenger “Let Her Go” (2012)
6. Suzanne Vega “Luka” (1987)
7. Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” (1995)
8. Shawn Colvin “Sunny Came Home” (1996)
9. Mumford & Sons “I Will Wait” (2012)
10. k.d. lang “Constant Craving” (1992)

11. Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” (2013)
12. Grateful Dead “Touch of Grey” (1987)
13. Leonard Cohen “Hallelujah” (1984)
14. Indigo Girls “Closer to Fine” (1989)
15. Neil Young “Harvest Moon” (1992)
16. Jeff Buckley “Last Goodbye” (1994)
17. Tracy Chapman “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” (1988)
18. Mumford & Sons “Little Lion Man” (2009)
19. Ray LaMontagne “You Are the Best Thing” (2008)
20. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as The Swell Season “Falling Slowly” (2007)

21. Brandi Carlile “The Joke” (2017)
22. The Soggy Bottom Boys “Man of Constant Sorrow” (2001)
23. Bruce Springsteen “Atlantic City” (1982)
24. The Lumineers “Ophelia” (2016)
25. Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard “Pancho and Lefty” (1983)
26. Leonard Cohen “You Want It Darker” (2016)
27. Shawn Colvin “I Don’t Know Why” (1992)
28. The Lumineers “Stubborn Love” (2012)
29. Mumford & Sons “Believe” (2015)
30. Chris Stapleton “Tennessee Whiskey” (2015)

31. Bob Dylan “Things Have Changed” (2000)
32. Mumford & Sons “Guiding Light” (2018)
33. Bruce Cockburn “If I Had a Rocket Launcher” (1984)
34. Mumford & Sons “The Cave” (2009)
35. Beck “Lost Cause” (2002)
36. Tracy Chapman “Crossroads” (1989)
37. Indigo Girls “Galileo” (1992)
38. Tracy Chapman “Baby Can I Hold You” (1988)
39. Brandi Carlile “The Story (I Was Made for You)” (2007)
40. Loreena McKennitt “The Mummer’s Dance” (1997)

41. Kacey Musgraves “Justified” (2021)
42. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit “If We Were Vampires” (2017)
43. The Lumineers “Gloria” (2019)
44. Chris Stapleton “Broken Halos” (2017)
45. Bon Iver “Holocene” (2011)
46. Bruce Cockburn “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” (1984)
47. The Head and the Heart “All We Ever Knew” (2016)
48. Suzanne Vega & Joe Jackson “Left of Center” (1986)
49. Kacey Musgraves “Rainbow” (2018)
50. Indigo Girls “Power of Two” (1994)

51. Fleet Foxes “White Winter Hymnal” (2008)
52. Bright Eyes “First Day of My Life” (2005)
53. Bruce Springsteen “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (1995)
54. The Highwomen “Crowded Table” (2019)
55. Kacey Musgraves “Space Cowboy” (2018)
56. Lucinda Williams “Righteously” (2003)
57. Bon Iver “Skinny Love” (2007)
58. Indigo Girls “Hammer and a Nail” (1990)
59. Tracy Chapman “Telling Stories (There Is Friction in the Space Between)” (2000)
60. Bruce Springsteen “Devils & Dust” (2005)

61. The Avett Brothers “Ain’t No Man” (2016)
62. Chris Stapleton “Starting Over” (2020)
63. The Head and the Heart “Missed Connection” (2019)
64. The Lumineers “Life in the City” (2019)
65. Sharon Van Etten “Seventeen” (2019)
66. Mumford & Sons “The Wolf” (2015)
67. Neko Case, k.d. lang, & Laura Veirs “Atomic Number” (2016)
68. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Please Read the Letter” (2007)
69. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” (2007)
70. Sufjan Stevens “Chicago” (2005)

71. Bob Dylan “Everything Is Broken” (1989)
72. Leonard Cohen “Everybody Knows” (1988)
73. Bruce Springsteen “We Shall Overcome” (1998)
74. Suzanne Vega “Solitude Standing” (1987)
75. Bob Dylan “Mississippi” (2001)
76. Suzanne Vega “Tom’s Diner” (1987)
77. Sturgill Simpson “In Bloom” (2016)
78. Neko Case “Hold on Hold On” (2006)
79. The Head and the Heart “Lost in My Mind” (2011)
80. Neil Young “Philadelphia” (1994)

81. Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs “Beg, Steal or Borrow” (2010)
82. Shawn Colvin “Steady On” (1989)
83. Brandi Carlile “Right on Time” (2021)
84. Tracy Chapman “All That You Have Is Your Soul” (1989)
85. Indigo Girls “Get Together” (1987)
86. Bob Dylan “Dignity” (1994)
87. Shawn Colvin “Round of Blues” (1992)
88. Shawn Colvin “Diamond in the Rough” (1989)
89. The Avett Brothers “Kick Drum Heart” (2009)
90. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues” (2011)

91. The Lumineers “Cleopatra” (2016)
92. Mumford & Sons “Lover of the Light” (2012)
93. Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen “Like I Used To” (2021)
94. The Head and the Heart “Rhythm & Blues” (2016)
95. Willie Nelson “City of New Orleans” (1984)
96. Ray LaMontagne “Strong Enough” (2020)
97. Neko Case “Last Lion of Albion” (2018)
98. Jason Isbell “24 Frames’ (2015)
99. Josh Ritter “Getting Ready to Get Down” (2015)
100. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Can’t Let Go” (2021)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 9/11/2022; last updated 9/16/2022.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 31, 1999

Lilith Fair: Top 100 Songs

Lilith Fair:

Top 100 Songs

Lilith Fair wasn’t exactly a genre, but a celebration of female artists in the late 1990s. Discouraged by radio programmers and concert promoters who didn’t think it was commercially viable to have two female artists perform back to back, Sarah McLachlan launched the Lilith Fair festival in the summer of 1997. The concept was to feature only female artists or female-led bands. More than 30 dates featured over 70 performers. The festival was successful enough to spawn follow-ups in 1998 and 1999.

The initial list was generated by taking all those artists who performed from 1997 to 1999 and ranking their songs. This included songs by 10,000 Maniacs and ‘Til Tuesday even though they weren’t performers because their lead singers, Natalie Merchant and Aimee Mann respectively, were performers at Lilith Fair.

I also ceated a definition of the Lilith Fair genre that disqualified some of the performers from this list. I decided to focus on artists who broke between 1985 and 1999. That excluded Lilith Fair performers such as the Pretenders and Pat Benatar who emerged in 1979. I did make exceptions for artists like Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams whose careers began prior to 1985 but reached their artistic and commercial peaks in the “Lilith Fair era.”

I also decided to limit the list to artists who fit more into an alternative-rock or folk-rock vibe. That excluded rap and R&B performers at Lilith Fair such as Missy Elliott and Erykah Badu. In addition, acts generally considered country, such as the Dixie Chicks or Mary Chapin Carpenter, were excised from the list. Again, however, this is subjective as I decided to keep k.d. lang in the mix since she was a traditional country artists but found an audience in the early ‘90s along the lines of other Lilith Fair artists.

I also added artists such as the Cranberies, Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette, and No Doubt, that met my criteria but weren’t actually performers at Lilith Fair.

Finally, I imposed one last restriction. I decided not to feature more than four songs by any artist since some acts, like Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette, threatened to overwhelm the list and keep lesser-known artists from appearin on the lists.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

Spotify Podcast

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode Lilith Fair: The 25th Anniversary which references songs on this list. Premiered September 6, 2022.

Spotify Playlist

You can listen here to a Lilith Fair Spotify playlist that includes the songs below and more.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990)
2. No Doubt “Don’t Speak” (1996)
3. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)
4. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” (1995)
5. Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” (1988)
6. Alanis Morissette “Ironic” (1995)
7. Sheryl Crow “All I Wanna Do” (1993)

DMDB Top 2%:

8. Alannah Myles “Black Velvet” (1989)
9. The Cranberries “Zombie” (1994)
10. Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories “Stay (I Missed You)” (1994)

11. Jewel “You Were Meant for Me” (1995)
12. Suzanne Vega “Luka” (1987)
13. Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” (1995)
14. Shawn Colvin “Sunny Came Home” (1996)
15. 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up?” (1992)
16. Joan Osborne “One of Us” (1995)
17. Sixpence None the Richer “Kiss Me” (1997)
18. Sarah McLachlan “Building a Mystery” (1997)
19. k.d. lang “Constant Craving” (1992)
20. Alanis Morissette “You Learn” (1995)

21. Jewel “Foolish Games” (1995)
22. The Cardigans “Lovefool” (1996)
23. The Breeders “Cannonball” (1993)

DMDB Top 5%:

24. The Cranberries “Linger” (1993)
25. Elastica “Connection” (1994)
26. Macy Gray “I Try” (1999)
27. Bonnie Raitt “Something to Talk About” (1991)
28. Divinyls “I Touch Myself” (1991)
29. Alanis Morissette “Head Over Feet” (1995)
30. Indigo Girls “Closer to Fine” (1989)

31. Dido “Thank You” (1999)
32. Hole “Doll Parts” (1994)
33. Meredith Brooks “Bitch” (1997)
34. Sinéad O’Connor “Mandinka” (1987)
35. Bonnie Raitt “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (1991)
36. Paula Cole “I Don’t Want to Wait” (1996)
37. Tori Amos “Silent All These Years” (1991)
38. Veruca Salt “Seether” (1994)
39. Sarah McLachlan “Angel” (1997)
40. The Sugarcubes “Birthday” (1987)

41. Sheryl Crow “If It Makes You Happy” (1996)
42. Suzanne Vega with DNA “Tom’s Diner” (remix, 1990)
43. Jewel “Who Will Save Your Soul?” (1995)
44. No Doubt “Just a Girl” (1995)
45. Mazzy Star “Fade into You” (1993)
46. Garbage “Only Happy When It Rains” (1995)
47. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians “What I Am” (1988)
48. Sheryl Crow “My Favorite Mistake” (1998)
49. The Cranberries “Dreams” (1992)
50. Tori Amos “Cornflake Girl” (1994)

51. PJ Harvey “Down by the Water” (1995)
52. ‘Til Tuesday “Voices Carry” (1985)
53. Portishead “Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)” (1994)
54. Bonnie Raitt “Love Sneakin’ Up on You” (1994)
55. Sheryl Crow “Strong Enough” (1993)
56. Fiona Apple “Criminal” (1996)
57. K’s Choice “Not an Addict” (1996)
58. Bonnie Raitt “Nick of Time” (1989)
59. Paula Cole “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” (1996)
60. Tori Amos “Me and a Gun” (1991)

61. 10,000 Maniacs “Like the Weather” (1987)
62. Tracy Chapman “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” (1988)
63. Sarah McLachlan “I Will Remember You” (1995)
64. Hole “Violet” (1994)
65. Concrete Blonde “Joey” (1990)
66. Tori Amos “God” (1994)
67. Billie Myers “Kiss the Rain” (1997)
68. Melissa Etheridge “I’m the Only One” (1993)
69. Loreena McKennitt “The Mummer’s Dance” (1997)
70. Garbage “Stupid Girl” (1995)

71. Hole “Malibu” (1998)
72. Sinéad O’Connor “Troy” (1987)
73. Sarah McLachlan “Possession” (1993)
74. Melissa Etheridge “Bring Me Some Water” (1988)
75. Merril Bainbridge “Mouth” (1994)
76. Tracy Bonham “Mother Mother” (1996)
77. Melissa Etheridge “Come to My Window” (1993)
78. Cowboy Junkies “Sweet Jane” (1988)
79. Sinéad O’Connor “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (1990)
80. 10,000 Maniacs “These Are Days” (1992)

DMDB Top 10%:

81. Sophie B. Hawkins “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover” (1992)
82. Shawn Colvin “I Don’t Know Why” (1992)
83. Heather Nova “Walk This World” (1995)
84. Natalie Merchant “Wonder” (1995)
85. No Doubt “Spiderwebs” (1995)
86. Tasmin Archer “Sleeping Satellite” (1992)
87. Letters to Cleo “Here and Now” (1995)
88. Indigo Girls “Galileo” (1992)
89. Toni Childs “Don’t Walk Away” (1988)
90. Dido “Here with Me” (1999)

91. Luscious Jackson “Naked Eye” (1996)
92. Tracy Chapman “Crossroads” (1989)
93. Lone Justice “Ways to Be Wicked” (1985)
94. Natalie Merchant “Carnival” (1995)
95. Suzanne Vega with Joe Jackson “Left of Center” (1986)
96. Michelle Shocked “Anchorage” (1988)
97. The Sundays “Here’s Where the Story Ends” (1990)
98. Alana Davis “32 Flavors” (1997)
99. Aimee Mann “Save Me” (1999)
100. Belly “Feed the Tree” (1993)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 6/24/2022; last updated 1/12/2025.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lilith Fair: Top 50 Albums

Lilith Fair:

The Top 50 Albums

Lilith Fair wasn’t exactly a genre, but a celebration of female artists in the late 1990s. Discouraged by radio programmers and concert promoters who didn’t think it was commercially viable to have two female artists perform back to back, Sarah McLachlan launched the Lilith Fair festival in the summer of 1997. The concept was to feature only female artists or female-led bands. More than 30 dates featured over 70 performers. The festival was successful enough to spawn follow-ups in 1998 and 1999.

This list was generated by taking all those artists who performed (including groups like 10000 Maniacs who didn’t perform, but front woman Natalie Merchant did) from 1997 to 1999 and ranking their albums. It should be noted that albums by 10,000 Maniacs and ‘Til Tuesday have been included in this list even though they weren’t performers.

Some performers were excluded from this list. Lilith Fair embraced a wide swath of genres but this list is focused on artists who fall into the alternative rock/folk rock vein. As such, acts more typically defined as R&B, rap, country, or pop were excluded. However, artists who did not perform at Lilith Fair (Alanis Morissette, Melissa Etheridge, etc.) have been included because they fit the alternative rock/folk rock label. They are noted with an asterisk (*).

An effort was also made to define the “Lilith Fair” genre as covering a certain era, specifically from the mid-‘80s to the late ‘90s. That means songs before 1985 and after 1999 were excluded. Similarly, artists (such as the Pretenders or Pat Benatar) who performed at Lilith Fair but emerged prior to 1985 have been excluded.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

1. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995) *
2. Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (1988)
3. Sinéad O’Connor I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990)
4. Tori Amos Little Earthquakes (1992) *
5. Liz Phair Exile in Guyville (1993)
6. Sheryl Crow Tuesday Night Music Club (1993)
7. No Doubt Tragic Kingdom (1995) *
8. Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
9. Bonnie Raitt Nick of Time (1989)
10. Dido No Angel (1999)

11. Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993)
12. Jewel Pieces of You (1995)
13. Indigo Girls Indigo Girls (1989)
14. Emmylou Harris Wrecking Ball (1995)
15. Sarah McLachlan Surfacing (1997)
16. The Cranberries No Need to Argue (1994) *
17. Garbage Garbage (1995) *
18. Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow (1996)
19. k.d. lang Ingénue (1992) *
20. Melissa Etheridge Yes I Am (1993) *

21. Tori Amos Under the Pink (1994) *
22. Mary Chapin Carpenter Come on, Come On (1992)
23. Sheryl Crow The Globe Sessions (1998)
24. Bonnie Raitt Luck of the Draw (1991)
25. Suzanne Vega Solitude Standing (1987)
26. Lucinda Williams Lucinda Williams (1988)
27. Melissa Etheridge Melissa Etheridge (1988) *
28. Shawn Colvin A Few Small Repairs (1996)
29. Tori Amos Boys for Pele (1996)
30. Fiona Apple Tidal (1996)

31. The Cranberries Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We? (1993) *
32. 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe (1987)
33. Bonnie Raitt Longing in Their Hearts (1994)
34. The Breeders Last Splash (1993) *
35. Alanis Morissette Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998) *
36. Joan Osborne Relish (1995)
37. Paula Cole This Fire (1996)
38. Cowboy Junkies The Trinity Session (1988)
39. Tori Amos From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998) *
40. Tracy Chapman New Beginning (1995)

41. Natalie Merchant Tigerlily (1995)
42. Fiona Apple When the Pawn… (1999)
43. Sinéad O’Connor The Lion and the Cobra (1987)
44. Shawn Colvin Steady On (1989)
45. Tracy Chapman Crossroads (1989)
46. Aimee Mann Whatever (1993)
47. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (1988) *
48. Lone Justice Lone Justice (1985)
49. Toni Childs Union (1988) *
50. Indigo Girls Strange Fire (1987)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 12/2/2024.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, February 20, 1993

Shawn Colvin charted with “I Don’t Know Why”

I Don’t Know Why

Shawn Colvin

Writer(s): Shawn Colvin (see lyrics here)

First Charted: February 20, 1993

Peak: 16 AC, 62 UK, 59 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.3 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin was born in South Dakota in 1956 and grew up in Carbondale, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada. She started playing guitar at age 10 and had her first official paid gig while in college at Southern Illinois University. She moved to New York City in 1980 and became part of the Greenwich Village folk scene, participating in off-Broadway shows and providing backup vocals to Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” in 1987.

She got a late start on her own recording career, not releasing her debut album until 1989’s Steady On. It won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She had her greatest commercial success in her forties with the 1997 top-ten hit “Sunny Came Home” won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year.

Her first commercially-available recordings, however, date back to 1988. While not released until 1995, her Live ‘88 collection featured early versions of many of the songs which would appear on Steady On. However, that album also featured “I Don’t Know Why,” the first song she ever wrote. AMG A studio recording of it showed up on 1992’s Fat City and was was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal.

“I Don’t Know Why” could be seen as a conventional love song, but lines such as “I don’t know why the sky is so blue” and “I don’t know where but there will be a place for you” could also be interpreted as a lullaby. Other lines such as “I would lay down my life for you” and “I don’t know why but somewhere dreams come true” also evoke thoughts of a parent’s love for a child. Regardless of the interpretation, the song is an underrated expression of love that deserved a greater audience than its #16 peak on the adult contemporary charts.

Resources:

Related Links:

First posted 8/4/2022; last updated 9/22/2022.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, July 16, 1990

Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” remix released

Tom’s Diner

Suzanne Vega with DNA

Writer(s): Suzanne Vega O,R, Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye R (see lyrics here)

Released: June 1987 O; July 16, 1990 R

First Charted: July 16, 1987 O; July 28, 1990 R

Peak: 32 CO, 58 UK, 3 DF O; 5 BB, 4 CB, 10 GR, 8 RR, 7 MR, 2 UK, 13 CN, 8 AU, 7 DF R (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 1.10 world (includes US + UK) R

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 5.0 O, 52.66 R video, 38.2 O, 173.04 R streaming

Codes: O original, R remix

Awards: O

Click on award for more details.

Awards: R

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Suzanne Vega was born in 1959 in California but grew up in New York. She attended the High School of the Performing Arts and started playing small clubs at Greenwich Village while studying at Barnard College. She released her self-titled debut in 1985. It didn’t gain a lot of attention in the United States, although it reached #11 in the UK and charted with the singles “Marlene on the Wall” (#21) and “Small Blue Thing” (#65). She gained more attention with the track “Left of Center” (#32 UK) from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack the next year.

On her second album, 1987’s Solitude Standing, Vega “moved from coffee-house folk singing to exotic and unpredictable musical experimentations.” SS The album reached #2 in the UK and #11 in the United States, largely on the strength of “Luka,” (#3 BB) Vega’s first Billboard Hot 100 entry. It was significant because, as author Toby Creswell said, “Vega almost single-handedly started her own female folk boom.” TC

The only other chart entry from the album in the U.S. was the title cut, which stalled at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, one of the highlights on the album was “Tom’s Diner,” which was featured as both an a capella and instrumental version. Vega wrote the song in the early ‘80s about the real-life New York coffee shop Tom’s Restaurant, which would later be famously featured as the hangout for the gang in TV’s hit ‘90s sitcom Seinfeld. TB

At the time, the a capella version was a minor hit on the UK charts, peaking at #58. However, the song was not done. Three years later, the British producers known as DNA remixed the cappella version with a dance beat from Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’.” They sent it to clubs without her permission but instead of suing for copyright infringement, A&M arranged to release the remix after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation. It “infected listeners with its hypnotic groove and innocent charm.” CS It became a club hit and gave Vega another top-five hit in 1990.

Resources:

Related Links:

First posted 1/31/2025.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, May 23, 1987

Suzanne Vega “Luka” charted

Luka

Suzanne Vega

Writer(s): -- (see lyrics here)

First Charted: May 23, 1987

Peak: 3 US, 4 CB, 3 RR, 3 AC, 15 AR, 1 CO, 23 UK, 5 CN, 21 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 85.73 video, 87.45 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The ‘80s and ‘90s saw the rise of female singers rooted in folk and alternative rock such as Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, the Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, and Sarah McLachlan. They were all preceded, however, by Suzanne Vega who gained a following first at college radio, but eventually on the pop charts. As author Toby Creswell said, “Vega almost single-handedly started her own female folk boom.” TC

Vega was born in 1959 in California but grew up in New York. She attended the High School of the Performing Arts and started playing small clubs at Greenwich Village while studying at Barnard College. She released her self-titled debut in 1985. It didn’t gain a lot of attention in the United States, although it reached #11 in the UK and generated a #21 hit with the song “Marlene on the Wall.” She gained more attention with the track “Left of Center” from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack the next year.

On her second album, 1987’s Solitude Standing, Vega “moved from coffee-house folk singing to exotic and unpredictable musical experimentations.” SS The album reached #2 in the UK and #11 in the United States, largely on the strength of her top-5 hit “Luka.” The song, which was actually written before her debut album, SF was nominated for Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. It featured backing vocals by Shawn Colvin, another folk/alternative rock female singer who would rise to acclaim and commercial success in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The song is about a boy who is abused and forbidden to talk about it. Vega based the song on a real boy named Luka who she would see playing with other children in front of her building. He really did live upstairs from her and she met him one day in the elevator. SF She said, “I didn’t know much about him, but he just seemed set apart from these other children…In the song, the boy Luka is an abused child – in real life I don’t think he was. I think he was just different.” WK She revealed years later that the song was also inspired by her own abusive experiences with her stepfather. WK

The song was nominated for Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. It featured backing vocals by Shawn Colvin, another folk/alternative rock female singer who would rise to acclaim and commercial success in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Resources:

Related Links:

First posted 8/8/2022; last updated 1/18/2025.

 
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, April 1, 1987

Suzanne Vega Solitude Standing released

Solitude Standing

Suzanne Vega

Released: April 1, 1987

Peak: 11 US, 2 UK, 5 CN, 7 AU, 12 DF

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.3 UK, 5.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: folk rock

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.

  1. Tom’s Diner (a cappella version) (6/87, 32 CO, 58 UK, 3 DF) *
  2. Luka (5/21/87, 3 BB, 4 CB, 2 GR, 3 RR, 3 AC, 15 AR, 1 CO, 23 UK, 5 CN, 21 AU, 1 DF)
  3. Ironbound/Fancy Poultry (9 DF)
  4. In the Eye (28 DF)
  5. Night Vision (35 DF)
  6. Solitude Standing (8/87, 94 BB, 43 AR, 20 CO, 91 AU, 15 DF)
  7. Calypso (35 DF)
  8. Language (25 DF)
  9. Gypsy (4/87, 40 CO)
  10. Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser’s Song)
  11. Tom’s Diner (Reprise) (instrumental) (17 DF)

* In 1990, DNA remixed the song and it became a hit. (7/16/90, 5 BB, 4 CB, 10 GR, 8 RR, 7 MR, 2 UK, 13 CN, 8 AU, 14 DF)

Total Running Time: 44:20

Rating:

4.173 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About Suzanne Vega

Folk-rock singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega was born in 1959 in Santa Monica, California. She said, “I knew I wanted to be a folk singer from the time I was 16.” CS While attending Barnard College, she started performing at small venues in Greenwich Village. After she graduated in 1982, she “devoted herself to the local folk arena.” CS In 1984 she landed a recording contract with A&M Records after being turned down by them twice. CS

The next year she released her self-titled debut album “centered on meditative acoustic guitar.” TM She “wowed the critics with her literate, unguarded songwriting and naked delivery, compared by many to her earliest influences Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell.” CS It sold half a million copies in the U.S. and UK.

The Second Album

Vega struggled to follow-up the surprise success of her debut. She ended up “reaching back to songs she had written over the previous decade and putting together an eclectic sophomore effort Solitude Standing.” CS The album launched her into the mainstream. The album reached #11 in the United States and achieved five million in sales worldwide. “While continuing a focus on Vega’s acoustic guitar, the music of her second album is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements.” WK

Its Impact

The album emerged at a time when vulnerability was out, replaced by dazzling guitar solos [and] punishing bass grooves.” CS “Hair metal, corporate rock, and slick pop rule the airwaves and hip-hop and alternative rock were threatening on the horizon.” CS

Solitude Standing marked “Vega as a harbinger of change in the American music scene.” CS It became “a bedrock album that created a market for independent women in a male-dominated music industry.” CS Record companies “infiltrated every coffee house in Greenwich Village and beyond in search of soulful, introspective songwriters with pent-up emotions ready to be spilled onto vinyl.” CS Within two years, “a host of female songbirds – including Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell, the Indigo Girls, and Sinéad O’Connor – released albums on major labels.” CS

They were part of a first wave that would lead to success for early ‘90s artists including Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, and Alanis Morissette. “Within a decade dozens of female acts (ranging from acoustic singer-songwriters to women-led and all-female bands) crowded the airwaves and concert halls, enough o spawn a successful women-oriented touring festival in 1997 called Lilith Fair.” CS

As Vega said, “Acoustic music had gone from the public scene…but not from people’s lives. People will always plat it because all you need is a guitar.” CS London Guardian said, “Suzanne Vega fills the current bill in much the same way as Joni Mitchell…did in pervious times.” CS

“Luka”

The album owed the brunt of its initial success to Luka, a top-five hit that told a “disquieting story of a city kid’s attempt to deal with a volatile (and seemingly violent) home situation. Vega focuses not on the details of the kid’s plight but on his awkwardness.” TM She revealed years later that it was inspired by her own abusive experiences with her stepfather. WK

The song “sparked nationwide discussion about the domestic abuse of children. One reason it touched a nerve is its undeniable catchiness. Vega goes for exuberant refrains cushioned by cooing background vocals – if there ever was an effective counterbalance to a bleak and disturbing scene, this runaway musical optimism is it.” TM

“Tom’s Diner”

The album spawned another surprise hit three years later when the British producers known as DNA remixed her a cappella version of Tom’s Diner from Solitude Standing with a dance beat from Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’.” They sent it to clubs without her permission but instead of suing for copyright infringement, A&M arranged to release the remix after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation. It “infected listeners with its hypnotic groove and innocent charm.” CS It became a club hit and gave Vega another top-five hit in 1990.

Other Songs

“’Luka’ is but one highlight of the entrancing Solitude Standing.” TM The album “presents Vega using color and shades and shadowy orchestrations. The album ranges from pure pop to almost ambient meditations, and every track resonates differently.” TM

“The title tune alternates between a steady rock pulse and ethereal free-falling passages that seem borne from a daydream. Calypso is a gorgeously liquid homage to undersea explorers, while Ironbound/Fancy Poultry floats effortlessly between 3/4 and 4/4 time to sketch a Newark street scene.” TM

Resources:

Related DMDB Links:

First posted 12/3/2024.

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)