Mary Lee's Corvette
Encyclopedia
Mary Lee's Corvette is a New York
-based band
led by Michigan
-born singer-songwriter
Mary Lee Kortes. They have recorded five albums, notably 2002's song-for-song cover
of Bob Dylan
's Blood on the Tracks
, recorded live in New York.
Although Kortes was already writing songs and poetry when she moved to New York, she says she didn't expect a musical career to follow. However, she soon found work as a session singer, and her fourth completed song "Everywhere I Go" was recorded by Christian artist Amy Grant
for her 1985 album Unguarded
. Kortes later began recording her own songs and released her first EP, Mary Lee's Corvette, in 1997, produced by her husband Eric Ambel
.
Rolling Stone
critic David Fricke
wrote that "the bright bite in Mary Lee Kortes' voice [has] the high-mountain sunshine of Dolly Parton, with a sweet-iron undercoat of Chrissie Hynde." MLC's work has also been championed by British radio presenter Bob Harris
and Jim Bessman of Billboard Magazine, among others.
MLC's breakthrough recording was of a live performance of the classic Dylan album Blood on the Tracks. The album attracted attention from many quarters, not least Dylan himself, for whom MLC later opened in New York.
Kortes says of the title of the latest MLC album, Love, Loss & Lunacy: "If you don't love something, you can't lose it. When you lose something you love, it makes you crazy. And if you're crazy enough, you can fall back in love."
Mary Lee has been greatly involved with "Feel the Music", a non-profit music and healing organization. She runs songwriting workshops and leads seminars for this organization.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
led by Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
-born singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Mary Lee Kortes. They have recorded five albums, notably 2002's song-for-song cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's Blood on the Tracks
Blood on the Tracks
Blood on the Tracks is Bob Dylan's 15th studio album, released by Columbia Records in January 1975. The album marked Dylan's return to Columbia after a two-album stint with Asylum Records....
, recorded live in New York.
Although Kortes was already writing songs and poetry when she moved to New York, she says she didn't expect a musical career to follow. However, she soon found work as a session singer, and her fourth completed song "Everywhere I Go" was recorded by Christian artist Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
for her 1985 album Unguarded
Unguarded
Unguarded is the ninth album by Christian music singer Amy Grant, released in 1985 on A&M Records. It is Amy's first album released by A&M....
. Kortes later began recording her own songs and released her first EP, Mary Lee's Corvette, in 1997, produced by her husband Eric Ambel
Eric Ambel
Eric Ambel is a New York City-based guitarist and record producer, originally from Batavia, Illinois. He has worked with a wide range of artists including Steve Earle, the Yayhoos, Del Lords, The Bottle Rockets, Joan Jett, Mojo Nixon, Blood Oranges, Blue Mountain, Freedy Johnston and Mary Lee's...
.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
critic David Fricke
David Fricke
David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
wrote that "the bright bite in Mary Lee Kortes' voice [has] the high-mountain sunshine of Dolly Parton, with a sweet-iron undercoat of Chrissie Hynde." MLC's work has also been championed by British radio presenter Bob Harris
Bob Harris (radio)
Robert Brinley Joseph "Bob" Harris, OBE , known as "Whispering" Bob Harris, is British radio host who currently works for BBC Radio 2, presenting music two nights a week...
and Jim Bessman of Billboard Magazine, among others.
MLC's breakthrough recording was of a live performance of the classic Dylan album Blood on the Tracks. The album attracted attention from many quarters, not least Dylan himself, for whom MLC later opened in New York.
Kortes says of the title of the latest MLC album, Love, Loss & Lunacy: "If you don't love something, you can't lose it. When you lose something you love, it makes you crazy. And if you're crazy enough, you can fall back in love."
Mary Lee has been greatly involved with "Feel the Music", a non-profit music and healing organization. She runs songwriting workshops and leads seminars for this organization.
Discography
- Mary Lee's Corvette (1997)
- True Lovers of Adventure (1999)
- Blood on the Tracks (2002)
- 700 Miles (2003)
- Love, Loss & Lunacy (2006)