Mary Lee's Corvette

American band

Mary Lee's Corvette is an American band led by Michigan born singer songwriter Mary Lee Kortes. The group has recorded five albums, four of which have landed on Billboard magazine's year end "best of" lists and primarily feature songs written or co written by Kortes. The band's third album, Blood on the Tracks (2003), was a cover album of Bob Dylan's 1975 album of the same name.

Mary Lee's Corvette was founded in New York City by singer songwriter Mary Lee Kortes with fellow band members including Andy York (guitar) and Joe Chiofalo (accordion). She has also written songs recorded by other artists; including "Everywhere I Go" which was recorded by Christian artist Amy Grant for her first A&M Records album Unguarded. MLC released their first album with the Montclair, New Jersey based record company Ripe & Ready on January 21, 1997. In 1998, MLC released the single "Lick the Sunshine" with Wild Pitch Records as a preview of music for the band's second album. In his review in Billboard, music critic Chuck Taylor wrote that the song was a "subtle, insistent invitation to shed the inhibitions of sudden mutual allure that is as magnetic as it is elemental. Billboard critic Michael Paoletta listed it as one of the best albums of 1999. In 2002, MLC recorded a cover album of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, recorded live at Arlene's Grocery. In his review of the album 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 fourth album 700 Miles was released in 2003 and included mainly songs written or co written by Kortes with the exception of a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "No Place To Fall". The band toured the United Kingdom as well as the United States for performances of this album's music. A concept album about a Depression era singer and songwriter, the record was produced by Hal Willner, his last individual artist album. The album has been called "quite simply, spectacular" by The Alternate Root and is set for UK and European release in 2024.