In the early Eighties, these New Wave Southern boys reanimated the Beatles as magnolia-scented power pop, setting the table for R.E.M. The original dB's haven't recorded in 30 years, but Peter Holsapple and fellow hook maven Chris Stamey remain masters of stately jangle, and their writing now has a reflective depth that makes for music that's wise ("She Won't Drive in the Rain Anymore"), as well as crafty.

Click to listen to The dB's 'Falling Off The Sky':

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• Album Premiere: The dB's 'Falling Off The Sky'

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.