July 5

Today goes out to songwriter's songwriter Marc Cohn. Cohn's most famous for his song "Walking in Memphis", from his self-titled debut.
If you want to hear that song and its origins, the Iso Tank blog has already done a great job of recounting the Walking in Memphis story, plus they've got a primo recording that starts up as soon as you click onto the page, so adjust your volume first...
The song propelled his album to Platinum status; two more singles made some ripples, but got lost in the noise of 'Memphis'. (If you want to pop the question but don't like making speeches, just play "True Companion" so she hears the words, and then show her the ring in the middle of the second verse.)

He released a greatest hits in 2006, even though, besides "Memphis", he only made the charts three more times.

In 2005, after a Denver, Colorado performance, he was shot in the head when someone attempted to carjack him. Apparently, it hit him in the writer's block; he was released from the hospital the next day with no significant injuries, and he would end up returning to the recording studio for the first time in ten years, releasing an album in 2007. Here's a TV appearence of him performing one of those songs, called "Live Out the String" (because "Driving in Denver" would have been, y'know, repetitive.)


In 2010, he's releasing his latest album, which happens to be a covers album. In fact, it's all songs released in 1970, which is a pivotal year of inspiration for him. I admit, he picked a lot of winners for his setlist: Cat Stevens, Wings, Badfinger, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder... Basically, he sang his own mixtape, and we all win. If you're reading this before the album release, and you want a sample, join his mailing list and you'll get a free download of his John Lennon cover "Look at Me".