Time magazine dubbed renowned singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones "The Duchess Of Coolsville" in 1979, just after her self-titled debut was released. By 1991, she'd scored two Grammys and had hits and albums on Billboard's Pop, Modern Rock and Contemporary Jazz charts. The Duchess' upcoming album, Balm In Gilead (Fantasy), features new songs written over the last two decades.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Jones' recording career, which started with the hit "Chuck E.'s In Love." The 10-song Balm In Gilead offers fans an opportunity to reconnect with Jones, who influenced generations of songwriters and remains one of popular music's most respected artists, by serving up tracks conceived at different points in her life.

Jones said, "This record is unique because most of it was written over the last 20 years... Some were just written recently, most were finished recently but started a long time ago." The song "Wild Girl," for example, she started writing just before her 1989 release Flying Cowboys.

Balm In Gilead is set for release Nov. 3 and it is packed with guests such as Ben Harper, Alison Krauss, Vic Chesnutt and Victoria Williams. In the meantime, Jones has tour dates in the eastern U.S. throughout October with more dates to be announced soon.

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