Paula Cole

Last year, Paula Cole celebrated the 20th anniversary of her breakthrough album This Fire, which gave listeners the enduring hits Where Have All the

Cowboys Gone? and I Don’t Want to Wait. Ahead of her new album Ballads (out Aug. 11), which sees Cole singing songs written or popularized by Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Bobbie Gentry and others, the singer/songwriter shares a playlist of favorite classic recordings and contemporary interpretations with USA TODAY.