Few artists have had to stage a comeback like Lucinda Williams.
In January 2020, a tornado ripped through her home. We all know what happened in the weeks and months that followed. And if losing a home and a navigating a global pandemic wasn’t enough, in November of that year she suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of her body.
She had to learn to walk all over again, but when it was time to record her next album, she still couldn’t play her guitar. That made songwriting a challenge. “I’ve had to have another guitar player try to play the way I would play,” she told Classic Rock in a 2023 interview. “I think of melodies in my head a lot, but mostly it’s been lyrics. ”
Fortunately, Lucinda has always been able to write great lyrics.
Although the album ended up titled Stories from a Rock N Roll Heart, its thematic heart is arguably the album’s second track, “New York Comeback,” which features backing vocals by her friends Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa.
Bruce was recruited for the album by Jesse Malin, a mutual friend who co-wrote the track with Lucinda. Malin, Williams, and her husband Tom Overby were sitting around the table one day when Overby wistfully remarked, “Wouldn’t it be great to get Bruce on these songs?”
“You must realize that Jesse is the unofficial mayor of the music scene in New York City,” Lucinda remarked in the same interview. “He knows everybody. Jesse said, ‘I’ll get hold of Bruce,’ and he did it. It thrills me every time I hear Bruce’s voice on the record. I still can’t get over it.”
Tragedy and irony coincided barely a month after the release of “New York Comeback” when Malin suffered a stroke of his own, completely paralyzing him from the waist down. Lucinda stood by her friend, appearing on a benefit tribute album and at live benefit shows on his behalf.
Like Williams, Malin has staged his own New York comeback. Both artists are now walking and performing again, and as for their song: “New York Comeback” made it all the way to Number One on the American charts.
New York Comeback Recorded: 2022 Released: Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart (2023)
Never performed
© July 8, 2026