885 Greatest Songs By Women: #3, Kim Richey - Every River (1997)

Kim Richey has to be the least known of all the great female artists appearing on this countdown. In case you're not familiar with this fine singer-songwriter, she has a heavenly voice that perfectly suits the songs she composes. Quite often they're about the sadder side of love. 

Richey is considered a country artist, but because she lacks the sometimes off-putting twangy guitars and southern accent - she's from Ohio - listeners who don't favor country music may find her appealing. Her later efforts have almost no country in them at all.

On her second and most successful album, Bitter Sweet, Richey opens with "Every River." The rollicking beat and her tight electric band blend well with the lyrics to make a perfect song. For the uninitiated it's a great introduction to her long career. 

On "Every River" Richey reassures her lover that she'll always be there for him even if he has doubts after being spurned by a previous partner. When the day comes that I don't love you, Every star will fall out of the sky, And every mountain will tumble down, And every river run dry."
This cowrite with Angelo Petraglia and Tom Littlefield - which was never a single - received more commercial success when it was covered by Brooks and Dunn who took it to #12 on the country charts and #75 on the Hot 100. It was also covered by the mostly forgotten British Invasion band, The Searchers, and Irish folksinger Maura O'Connell.

Here is Richey playing "Every River" live in 2017 with a performance that closely resembles her record.

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