or Contact: Lisa Diamond Stein/DMS at 212-727-1802
or 239-415-8936.
MARK HAEFELI PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
JAMES TAYLOR
LAUNCHES NEW ALBUM, OCTOBER ROAD
FIRST NEW JAMES TAYLOR ALBUM SINCE 1997'S GRAMMY-WINNING HOURGLASS.
James Taylor’s daughter, Sally Taylor, sings backing vocals on two tracks --
"My Traveling Star" and "Baby Buffalo."
JAMES
TAYLOR CELEBRATES THE RELEASE OF HIS EAGERLY AWAITED NEW ALBUM,
OCTOBER ROAD, WITH AN IN-STORE APPEARANCE.
EPK INCLUDES:
Exclusive interview with
James Taylor; Making of "October Road" -- Highlights;
In-store promotion -- JT signing autographs and meeting fans; and album cover art.
DETAILS:
Columbia Records
has released October Road -- the first new James Taylor studio album
since 1997's Hourglass, which won that year's Grammy award for "Best
Pop Album". The album also includes, for the first time on a commercial
release, James Taylor's newly-recorded version of the seasonal classic
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," which was released to select
radio stations across the country in November 2001.
October Road reunites Taylor with producer Russ Titelman, who worked with the artist on Gorilla (1975) and In the Pocket (1976). Appearing on the album's title track are guitar legend Ry Cooder and saxophonist Michael Brecker. (James Taylor won the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony for "Don't Let Me Be Lonely," a track from Brecker's Nearness Of You: The Ballad Book collection.) JT's daughter, Sally Taylor, sings backing vocals on two tracks -- "My Traveling Star" and "Baby Buffalo."
All of the songs on October Road -- with the exception of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," which was written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin for the 1944 Vincente Minnelli-directed film "Meet Me In St. Louis" starring Judy Garland, and "September Grass," which was written by songwriter John I. Sheldon (who contributes "guitar harmonics" to the track) -- were written for the album by James Taylor.
October Road will also be available in a special limited edition package containing a bonus disk featuring three previously released tracks that have never appeared on a James Taylor album: "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," the Grammy winning James Taylor and Michael Brecker recording from Nearness of You (2001); the James Taylor-arranged "Benjamin" from the Mark O'Connor/Edgar Meyer/Yo-Yo Ma Best Classical Crossover Grammy winning Appalachian Journey (2000); and "Sailing To Philadelphia," performed by James Taylor and Mark Knopfler, the title track from Knopfler's second solo album (2000). The October Road bonus package also includes a CD extra track featuring interviews with James Taylor and Russ Titelman and behind-the-scenes in-the-studio footage shot during the recording of the album.
Over the course of his career, James Taylor has earned 40 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards for a timeless catalog running from 1970's Sweet Baby James to 1997's Hourglass to 1998's platinum-selling Live At The Beacon Theatre DVD/VHS release. Taylor's first Greatest Hits album earned him the RIAA's elite Diamond Award, given for sales in excess of 10 million units in the United States. For his extraordinary achievements, James Taylor was honored with the 1998 Century Award, Billboard magazine's highest accolade, bestowed for distinguished creative achievement. The year 2000 saw Taylor's induction into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the prestigious Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
