More than 60 years after first helping to break the glass ceiling by defining the sultry siren in the all-male rock and roll bastion, Ronnie Spector remained a role model for contemporary artists like the late Amy Winehouse

“I wish only to keep releasing songs people can relate to in some way.”

The arts will hold our hands through the darkness. These are the backstories of five artists who provided us with survival soundtracks for the year that never seemed to end.

“It’s definitely an acoustic guitar record. But topically it is just individual songs.”