Something To Hold in the Forest at Night: Kirsty MacColl and "Us Amazonians"

Kirsty MacColl, an English singer-songwriter who recorded many pop hits in the 1990s, and made notable appearances on other hits, is the performer of our random tune. Married to producer Steve Lillywhite, MacColl sang backup vocals on the recordings of many of the artists that he produced. She died in 2000 in a tragic accident in Cozumel, Mexico. While diving in an area restricted for swimming only, she was hit by a speedboat that had strayed into the area - she died saving her son who was in the boat's path. She is highly esteemed by musicians and friends who have survived her. Billy Bragg always includes extra verses she wrote in covering his song A New England, a memorial bench has been placed in her honor at the southern entrance to Soho Square in London, and she is always heard during the holidays on her guest vocal in The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, which has been voted as the fan favorite Christmas song on the VH1 video channel. This song, Us Amazonians, can be found on her 2000 album Tropical Brainstorm.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.