"All the songs I wrote that were successful were written when I was in a contented state of mind," said Orbison of his more woeful ballads.

“Jesse” emerged from those efforts. When Janis Ian started writing the song, she imagined it to be about a woman awaiting the return of a Vietnam veteran. She eventually moved on from that idea. The ...

Thirty years after its release, the second album from Irish alternative rockers the Cranberries has lost none of its power.