Based on the novel and songs by Jim Fusilli, former Wall Street Journal rock critic, the album transforms a fictional songwriter’s lost catalog into a living musical world
What began as a mystery novel has evolved into a fully realized musical world. The Lost Songs of Katy Shayne, out today, is produced by Blue Élan Records founder Kirk Pasich and Colin Devlin (The Devlins), bringing to life the music from Jim Fusilli’s (author, songwriter and longtime Rock & Pop Critic for The Wall Street Journal) acclaimed novel A Song for Katy Shayne. The result is a vivid, fully formed collection performed by Suzanna Spring and the Black Canyon City Band.
Click here to listen now/get the album.
Pasich’s connection to the project runs deep, rooted in both books and music. “A fair number of years ago, I co-owned The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles. During that time, I discovered and became a fan of the novels by Jim Fusilli,” says Pasich. “Fast forward to April 2025. I picked up Jim’s new novel, A Song for Katy Shayne, and was instantly captivated. It’s a haunting blend of mystery and music.” As the story unfolded—centered on a retired music critic investigating the life and death of a long-lost singer-songwriter—Pasich found himself wondering whether the lyrics woven throughout the novel actually existed. They did. Written decades earlier by Fusilli himself during his days as a Greenwich Village songwriter, the songs became the foundation for an album imagined as Katy Shayne’s lost recordings, spanning smoky folk clubs and the expansive sound of her later, mythical Black Canyon City Band years.
For Fusilli, hearing those songs reborn was both surreal and deeply moving. “Until I listened to the playback of what became the album The Lost Songs of Katy Shayne, I’d never heard the compositions you’ll discover here sung by anyone but me,” he reflects. “Two of the songs were written when I was in college 50 years ago. Another was inspired by my then-infant daughter when she was learning to walk.” Guided by Pasich and Devlin, Fusilli says the band “found new colors and possibilities in the music,” making the songs their own while honoring their emotional core. “I’d included these compositions in my novel to bring me closer to my character… In that way, when I wrote about her, I was writing about me.”
Sung with haunting grace by Suzanna Spring, The Lost Songs of Katy Shayne blurs the line between fiction and autobiography, past and present. “Katy would’ve been so proud of this album,” Fusilli concludes. “As am I. Thanks to all—and you, the listener—for bringing my songs, and Katy, back to life.”
The Lost Songs of Katy Shayne is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling—on the page and in song—and to the magical place where music and literature intertwine.
Praise for A Song For Katy Shayne
“A richly detailed mystery that pulls you into a vivid, fascinating world.” -Deadly Pleasures Magazine Best of 2025
“A music critic, the former profession of the author, looks into the recordings of a wanna' be singer-songwriter who apparently committed suicide in the early seventies, uncovering some double dealing connected to some Nashville cats. Fusilli fully develops his sleuth and victim as he gives us a tour of the music biz's bad and beautiful. -The Hard Word “Top Ten Crime Novels and Thrillers of 2025”
Fusilli's writing talents, shaped by his many years as rock-and-pop critic for the Wall Street Journal, shine through on every page…richly authentic atmospherics… A Song for Katy Shayne is a must-read for anyone who appreciates vintage music and a unique story well-told."- David Freed, Pulitzer Prize-winning former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and author of the best-selling Cordell Logan mystery series
ABOUT JIM FUSILLI
Jim Fusilli is the author of ten novels, includingA Song for Katy Shayne,The Price You Pay,The Mayor of Polk Street, andNarrows Gate, and the host and executive producer of the popular podcastWriters at Work.A Song for Katy Shayne is the source of the music featured on the albumThe Lost Songs of Katy Shayne, with songs Fusilli originally wrote and performed in Greenwich Village clubs in the late 1980s, the period in which the novel is set. A former Rock & Pop Critic forThe Wall Street Journal, Fusilli is a multiple Edgar and Macavity Award nominee whose novels includeClosing Time,A Well-Known Secret,Tribeca Blues, andHard, Hard City, named Novel of the Year byMystery Ink magazine. He is also the editor of the 2023 anthologyBrutal & Strange: Stories Based on the Songs of Elvis Costello. Jim lives in New Haven, Connecticut with his wife Diane. More at www.jimfusilli.com.