FUV Essentials

So many variables determine what makes an artist or band “essential” — longevity, impact, influence, history. On-air and online, we celebrate the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years. Let’s love these FUV Essential artists while they’re here, and honor those who have departed too soon.

Rickie Lee Jones

From the jaunty tilt of her scarlet beret to her languid drawl, Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee Jones in 2010 (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Courtney Marie Andrews: Five Essential Dolly Parton Songs

Dolly Parton is being honored this week as MusiCares' 2019 "Person of the Year" and Courtney Marie Andrews, a fan of the country music icon, weighs in with her "Five Essential Dolly Parton Songs."

Courtney Marie Andrews (photo by Laura E. Partain, PR)

Courtney Marie Andrews (photo by Laura E. Partain, PR)

Brandi Carlile

[February 2019 update: At this year's 61st annual Grammy awards, broadcast on Sunday, Feb

Brandi Carlile (photo by Laura Fedele, WFUV)

Dawes: Five Essential Warren Zevon Songs

On what would have been Warren Zevon's 72nd birthday on January 24, FUV asked one of his admirers, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, to weigh in with his "Five Essential Warren Zevon Songs."

Dawes (photo by Magdalena Wosinska, PR)

Warren Zevon

For his uncanny way with words, rambunctious wit, roller coaster rock 'n' roll intensity, complicated legacy, and the transformative way he finally taught all of us about the ephemeral magic of life, Warren Zevon is an FUV Essentials artist.

Warren Zevon in 1989 (AP Photo/Alan Greth)

Debuts

The exhilaration of a debut album is undeniable.

Essential debuts (collage of album covers by Laura Fedele, WFUV)

Jealous of the Birds: Five Essential Cat Power Songs

Jealous of the Birds' Naomi Hamilton's husky alto and voluptuous lyricism have raised inevitable comparisons to Cat Power. As it turns out, Hamilton is a big fan of Chan Marshall and explains why in her "Five Essential Cat Power Songs" for FUV Essentials.

Jealous of the Birds' Naomi Hamilton (photo courtesy of Big Hassle, PR)

Jealous of the Birds' Naomi Hamilton (photo courtesy of Big Hassle, PR)

Tom Waits

The terrain traveled by Tom Waits is riddled with dreamers and the schemers, fractured beauties, snake oil salesmen, two-bit crimi

Tom Waits (AP Photo via Marketwired)

Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner: Five Essential Björk Songs

"Discovering the music of Björk when I was a teenager changed the course of my life," writes Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak in her "Five Essential Björk Songs" for FUV Essentials — just in time for the Icelandic musician's 53rd birthday on November 21.