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Judy Collins is an all-time American performer, songwriter, and, frankly, storyteller. She’s regal, like United States royalty; one could curl up next to a giant fireplace and hear Collins recount story after story, casually dropping friends’ names like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, not to mention countless other writers, directors, and producers.

But Collins, who has a new live album, Live At Town Hall, NYC, released on August 27, is not from any blue blood lineage, per se. Her father, who was blind from the age of four, was a singer, songwriter, and radio host. He was a hardworking man who taught his daughter the value of sweat equity and laying a good, solid foundation.

Perhaps the songwriter’s biggest hit is her recording of “Send In the Clowns.” Penned by famed stage lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, Collins’ rendition went on to earn her a Grammy nomination (and win for Sondheim) and, in many ways, is credited with putting the song (and Sondheim) on the map. Here, we catch up with Collins to go behind the song of “Send In the Clowns,” which charted for 27 weeks and appeared on Collins’ 1975 album, Judith.

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In 2012, if you turned to anyone on your left or right and asked, “Have you heard the new song, ‘Thrift Shop’?” It’s likely one or both would have emphatically said, “Yes! It’s great!” The song was a giant, ubiquitous hit, winning multiple Grammy Awards and on February 2, 2013, in its sixteenth week, “Thrift Shop” hit No.1 on Billboard.

“Thrift Shop,” which came out nine years ago today, on August 27, 2012, was a definite smash. It was written by Seattle’s Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and features the deep voice of Michael “Wanz” Wansley, a longtime veteran of the Emerald City music scene. While they didn’t know each other before, they’re in the history books now permanently together.

Wanz, who is today a regular at Seattle Mariners games, singing the National Anthem, remembers the day he went in to record the track’s hook. From call to completion, it took maybe three hours. Since then, those three hours have gone on to generate billions of streams and likely millions of dollars.

We caught up with Wanz to talk about “Thrift Shop,” the accompanying lavish music video, and how the world flipped upside down for him in 2012.

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Chris Ballew, frontman for the Seattle-born band, The Presidents of the United States of America, remembers the super-tornado that sprung from his band’s self-titled 1995 album and its smash, worldwide hit, “Peaches.” It was in 1996 some 25 years ago when “Peaches” really took over the airwaves, playing seemingly every 30 minutes on commercial rock stations around the country (and, likely, globally, too).

“Peaches,” which hit No. 1 in Iceland and reached the top 20 in a handful of other countries, peaked at No. 29 on Billboard and No. 8 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. In the mind of many teenagers at the time, though, it was surely a domestic No. 1 hit. The song, itself, is cartoonish, fun: Peaches come from a can, Ballew sings. They were put there by a man. In a factory downtown”

But the story behind the hit is both drug-filled (in a good way) and full of coincidence. Here, we catch up with Ballew to learn the origins of the song and how it changed his life dramatically. Ballew, who recently put out a new solo project, I Am Not Me, under his own name is a true dynamo of creativity.

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Yes, Damian Lillard is a six-time NBA all-star and six-time All-NBA selection. Yes, he came from a small college to burst on the scene in the world’s top basketball league and become a perennial MVP candidate. He’s a superstar with commercials on every channel for products like sports drinks, shoes, and streaming services.

But Lillard is also a world-class musician and emcee. Candidly, this is not a case of a famous athlete leaning on his celebrity to sell a few records, boost YouTube views, or try to make a pseudo name for himself in another area of entertainment. Instead, Lillard’s is a story of hard work—“brick by brick,” as he says.

Perhaps more than his ability to shoot the basketball or spit a verse, Lillard’s ability to work hard, to “check every box” and not skip steps is what’s most admirable and world-class about him. The “D” in his first name assuredly stands for “Dedication.” More than a game or a song, it’s what he excels at.

We caught up with Lillard—aka Dame D.O.L.L.A.—to ask him about his new record, Different On Levels The Lord Allowed, out Friday, Aug. 20, with features from Snoop and Lil Wayne. We also talked about his origins in music growing up in Oakland, his legendary work ethic, his close-knit musical family, his community, and where he first learned a love for language.

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Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Julien Baker, has already done a great deal in her life. At 25 years old, she’s released three LPs, three EPs, a number of singles and earned great praise and recognition for these works. But, for Baker, it’s what she doesn’t know, what she hasn’t yet done that seems to fuel her more and more.

With her latest release in February, Little Oblivions, Baker pushed her own creative boundaries, recording the LP over a longer period of time and with more musicians and soundscapes at her disposal. For much of her earlier career, Baker made songs with a more restricted scope, often performing live solo with just a loop pedal.

As part of Baker’s push toward sonic exploration, she is poised to soon release her next album, a five-song remix EP featuring reworked tracks from Little Oblivions. For the debut release from the work, Baker sought Helios frontman, Keith Kenniff, to offer his ambient and electronic expertise. The result is a new contemplative reimagination of Baker’s already thoughtful track, “Bloodshot,” which is out today (Aug. 10).

We caught up with Baker and Kenniff to talk about their collaborative relationship, how the newly remixed song evolved in the process, and much more.

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Quick: imagine the Seinfeld theme music in your head. It’s easy, isn’t it? Immediately that almost silly slap bass pops into your brain and walks down. You probably then see the exterior of Jerry’s apartment, or picture the characters from the famed television show sitting in a booth at Monk’s Diner. But whatever you imagine, that theme song is indelible.

We caught up with the theme’s writer, Jonathan Wolff, who is a longtime veteran of Hollywood. Wolff, who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old and began a career that would blossom to so much TV and film work that it’s nearly impossible to keep track. Some shows include Who’s the Boss? and Married… with Children.

Here, Wolff talks about the origins of the Seinfeld theme, how Larry David wouldn’t let it die, what it was like showing Jerry the original seed of the idea and much more. Fans of the show and of Wolff’s work, can now own Wolff’s newly released, Seinfeld Soundtrack album, which the musician released on July 2.

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There’s a great deal about the famed band, Counting Crows, that remains iconic since their 1993 debut LP release, August And Everything After. And perhaps at the top of that list is the band’s first commercial single, “Mr. Jones.” To say the track was everywhere in the mid-‘90s would be an understatement. Radio stations from rock to top 40 played the cut seemingly every hour, or more often.

“Mr. Jones,” and its ubiquitous music video, then kicked off a series of hits from Counting Crows, including “A Long December,” “Omaha,” “Rain King” and “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby.” But even to this day, maybe no song is as memorable or as important to the Bay Area-born group. With frontman, Adam Duritz, singing with his emotional, vulnerable, jostling voice as he sported his trademark floppy hair, the band rose to immense fame.

Counting Crows, which has a new EP out this summer called, Butter Miracle Suite One, remains an important group both for those who grew up with the band in the ‘90s and for new fans. American Songwriter caught up with Duritz to talk to him about the single that set everything off—“Mr. Jones”—and how it changed his life.

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