Vanessa Carlton "A Thousand Miles"

Budding artists usually make stops to radio stations to meet Program Directors and listeners; sometimes they even perform their newest song. In the case of 2002 breakout pop singer Vanessa Carlton, she paid a visit to the radio station where I worked, but security at Prudential Plaza wasn't letting her upstairs. The singer of "A Thousand Miles" decided to bring her dog with her to the radio station and our building had a no-animals policy at the time.

Amy Grant "Big Yellow Taxi"

Amy Grant asked for Joni Mitchell's permission to update the lyrics  in "Big Yellow Taxi" and Mitchell agreed (admission to the tree museum was hiked to $25 in Grant's version). Grant released the song in 1994. Grant's version preceded another more commercially-successful version from Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton in 2003.

Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton - "Big Yellow Taxi"

A few songs have made so many appearances on the Adult Contemporary Charts by numerous different artists.  One such tune is "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell, and then later by Amy Grant, followed by Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton.  Believe it or not, the latter version scored the highest chart position of any of the former versions.

Vanessa Carlton - "A Thousand Miles"

Vanessa Carlton's breakthrough hit "A Thousand Miles" announced her to the world back in 2002.  The song immediately shot to #1, yet her name is now on the dubious list of One-Hit-Wonders somewhere between Len and Anna Nalick.