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Cover of Essence by Lucinda Williams — Cover: Essence

Song · Lucinda Williams

“Essence” by Lucinda Williams

From the album Essence (2001)

“Essence” by Lucinda Williams appears on 20 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 2001 on the album Essence. Its best result is #23 on the WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #24 indie & aaa song of 2001, #322 indie & aaa song of all time and #311 of the '00s.

20countdowns

7stations

#23best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

2001–2025years charted

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Essence (Album Version)

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"Essence" is the title track and first single from Lucinda Williams' sixth album, released in 2001, and she wrote every word and note of it. It's the sound of desire as an addiction: a chunky, ominous guitar riff, a slow and steady groove that never lets up, and Williams' voice low, breathy and more than a little dangerous.

The chorus opens the windows a bit, with Gary Louris singing high harmony and lifting her up as she digs in and refuses to give up on the object of her obsession. Spin heard echoes of the Divinyls and Concrete Blonde in the mid-tempo menace, and it earned Williams a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2002.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2001	23	93XRT Chicago, IL	WXRT Listener Poll: Top 30 Songs of 2001	30

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2001	1480	WFPK	WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time	2000
2004	863	WXPN	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004)	885
2007	500	WTMD	WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time	897
2009	63	WYEP	WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade	913
2009	159	WYEP	WYEP 913 Essential Songs	913
2009	460	WXPN	WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009)	885
2012	254	WYEP	WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown	500
2013	353	WXPN	WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013)	885
2016	177	WYEP	WYEP 913 Countdown 2016	913
2019	211	WYEP	WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019	1017
2019	211	WYEP	WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019	1099
2020	640	WXPN	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time	2020
2022	694	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s	907
2023	320	WYEP	WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023	1229
2023	699	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time	909
2024	671	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century	1055
2024	526	WXPN	WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024)	885
2025	815	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century	909
2025	171	WYEP	WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far)	714

Charting alongside it in 2001

Best songs of 2001 →

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