Mary Lee Kortes - The Songs of Beulah Rowley (2023)

The last individual-artist album produced by Hal Willner, The Songs of Beulah Rowley is a concept album about a Depression-era singer/songwriter who rose to regional fame in the Midwest. Tragically, she died in a house fire while only in her twenties, but her compositions and diaries, stored in a wrought-iron piano bench, survived the blaze. The project came to Hal's attention in 2009. He said to me then: "I've never seen anything like this." Imagine how that felt, Hal Willner, who'd seen an awful lot, had never seen anything like my story and songs! It took us till 2016 to get it made. He always said to me, "Mary Lee, it doesn't matter when it comes out. It's a timeless album. I hope you agree!"

Described by Hal Willner as a timeless album, Mary Lee Kortes’ stunning concept album, The Songs of Beulah Rowley, is grounded in themes and emotions that are both universal and deeply personal.