In the meticulous “fortress” of music copyright, Joni Mitchell was the ultimate “gatekeeper.” For over 25 years, the folk legend had maintained a “monastic” policy: her catalog was “off-limits” for…

In the “hierarchical” world of music, a signature song is a fortress. For thirty years, the 1974 hit Poetry Man was the “impenetrable” domain of Phoebe Snow—a folk-jazz “incantation” defined…

In the “stagnant” history of traditional music discovery, fame was a “glacial” process—a “marathon” of radio tours and “back-room” negotiations. But in September 2015, the “tectonic” plates of the industry…

In the “monarchy” of Nashville, Vince Gill is the undisputed “High Priest” of the tenor. With 22 Grammys and a vocal technique so “surgical” it is often studied as a…

In the “neon-soaked” history of the 1980s, few anthems “captured” the spirit of teenage defiance like Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.” It was a “monolith” of pop-rock rebellion—a song that “shattered” the…

In the “surgical” world of chart-topping ballads, “Home” was Michael Bublé’s “immortal” signature—a 2005 “jazz-pop” masterpiece “exhumed” from the loneliness of an Italian tour. For years, it was “defined” by…