Cher was itching for a hit. The year was 1998, nearly a decade since her last Top 10 single, “Just Like Jesse James.” The Goddess of Pop was no stranger to comebacks, though — she famously made them ...

In the spring of 1999, this recent Pacific Northwest transplant was craving the energy of a 24-hour city like Chicago, where I grew up. Thus, when a work trip took me to New York, I was overjoyed. I ...