Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Maria McKee

Artist:Maria McKee
Song:Precious Time
Album:You Gotta Sin To Get Saved




Maria McKee is an excellent alt country singer songwriter who made her name with the 80s band Lone Justice and has carved out a significant fanbase in the roots rock market. She is an outstanding vocalist. She was born Aug. 17, 1964 in Los Angeles and is the half-sister of Love guitarist Bryan MacLean. They started performing together in Los Angeles clubs and with local music legend Top Jimmy. Maria met guitarist Ryan Hedgecock in the early 80s and they formed Lone Justice in 1982. Linda Ronstadt recommended them to Geffen Records but the two Lone Justice albums underperformed despite critical acclaim and Lone Justice split up in 1986. Maria remained with Geffen and released her solo debut in 1989. Her 1993 CD You Gotta Sin To Get Saved is probably her biggest seller to date but it doesn't look like Maria is country enough for the country market or mainstream enough for the pop market. But it is an excellent album with backup provided by The Jayhawks and their producer George Drakoulias. Though Maria writes a lot of her own songs, Precious Time was written by Gary Louris & Mark Olson of The Jayhawks. Maria's song If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags) appeared on the soundtrack of the hit film Pulp Fiction. But she wasn't getting anywhere at Geffen. So she took a hiatus after her 1996 album Life Is Sweet to get out of her Geffen contract. She is currently recording for the British label Cooking Vinyl and her latest CD Late December was released in Apr. 2007. I've been a Maria McKee fan since Lone Justice. She's worth checking out. Here's Maria McKee with The Jayhawks performing Precious Time on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

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