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)
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.
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)
[February 2019 update: At this year's 61st annual Grammy awards, broadcast on Sunday, Feb
Brandi Carlile (photo by Laura Fedele, WFUV)
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)
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)
"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.
Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack (photo by Shervin Lainez, PR)