Mary Lee's Corvette

Mary Lee Kortes initially pictured a future editing books after leaving Whitefish, MT, behind for Manhattan in the mid-'80s. Music had remained a pastime from early childhood onward, yet she achieved guitar mastery during her teenage years. Regional performances throughout the West and Midwest stayed recreational rather than career-defining, until songwriting opened the door. Amy Grant cut Kortes' "Everywhere I Go" for the 1985 album Unguarded, sending it to the top of the adult contemporary charts. Kortes later appeared on Freedy Johnston's 1997 release Never Home and on Jewel's Joy: A Holiday Collection.

An expanding audience led her to form Mary Lee's Corvette. A two-song self-titled demo surfaced in 1997 and drew immediate press attention; one local station hailed the project as "the 21st Century version of Hal David, Burt Bacharach, and Dionne Warwick wrapped up in one svelte package." Two years afterward, the band issued True Lovers of Adventure, again winning quick radio support. Regular New York City shows followed, steadily raising her profile.

In mid-2001 the group—now featuring Andy York on guitar, Rod Hohl on acoustic guitar, Diego Voglino on drums, Brad Albetta on bass, and Andy Burton on piano and organ—took the stage at Arlene's Grocery for a "classic albums nights" event. As a devoted Bob Dylan admirer, Kortes prepared a complete performance of Blood on the Tracks. Nerves nearly stopped her, yet the set proved spellbinding. The sound engineer had recorded the evening, and the results surfaced in August 2002 as Blood on the Tracks: Recorded Live at Arlene Grocery. The experience spurred eight new compositions that became the studio album 700 Miles, released in April 2003 and paired with U.S. dates supporting Joe Jackson.