Iconic SingerSongwriter, 71, Announces 2026 Festival Appearance 47 Years After Platinum Debut Jacqueline Burt CoteJanuary 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM 0 Photo by George Rose on Getty Images It's not very often that a musician's debut album goes platinum, but that's exactly what singersongwriter Rickie Lee Jones' selftitled debut record did in 1979. Not only that, but Jones went on to win the Best New Artist Grammy for that same album, which included the hit "Chuck E.'s in Love." Now, nearly half a century later, 71yearold Jones is still performing live, much to the delight of fans.
- - Iconic Singer-Songwriter, 71, Announces 2026 Festival Appearance 47 Years After Platinum Debut
Jacqueline Burt CoteJanuary 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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Photo by George Rose on Getty Images
It's not very often that a musician's debut album goes platinum, but that's exactly what singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones' self-titled debut record did in 1979. Not only that, but Jones went on to win the Best New Artist Grammy for that same album, which included the hit "Chuck E.'s in Love."
Now, nearly half a century later, 71-year-old Jones is still performing live, much to the delight of fans. In fact, as Miami New Times reported, she'll be joining the diverse lineup for this year's tenth anniversary edition of the popular GroundUp Music Festival at the Miami Beach Bandshell.
Held on Saturday, March 14, the festival will also feature headlining jazz fusion collective Snarky Puppy, the California-based producer Flying Lotus and singer Patrice Rushen (known for her 1982 hit "Forget Me Nots"). Also making appearances will be Julian Lage, Isaiah Sharkey, Arooj Aftab and others. Tickets are on sale now.
According to her official website, Jones has a series of other dates scheduled in the months leading up to the festival in locations from California to Hawaii. She'll also be heading to the U.K. in the spring.
Rickie Lee Jones' 'Chuck E.'s in Love' was written about a friend of Tom Waits
Chuck E. Weiss (a name fans of Tom Waits will remember from the song "I Wish I Was in New Orleans") was a real person, and a friend of Waits (the latter of whom Jones dated).
"Chuck Weiss was Tom Waits' sidekick for so many years that when I met him I could not tell them apart," Jones wrote in the Los AngelesTimes. As she explained, the success of "Chuck E.'s in Love" "catapulted" Weiss to "fame far above his mentor's," and "when 'Chuck E.'s in Love' passed from the heavens and faded into the 'I hate that song' desert, from which it still has not really recovered, he and I became estranged, and everyone fell away from everyone. Waits left, the brief Camelot of our street corner jive ended. I had made fiction of us, made heroes of very unheroic people. But I'm glad I did."
Plenty of fans are glad, too.
Related: Grammy-Winning Singer Says She Never Got Credit for Writing 'One of the Biggest Songs in Rock History'
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: January 08, 2026 at 03:09PM on Source: RON MAG
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