FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2015
Johnny Boyd’s Someday Dreams of You scheduled for release on February 12, 2016
No one exemplifies modern-day crooning better than Johnny Boyd: smooth, romantic vocals; matinee idol charisma; classic gentleman’s style; and dynamic, irreverent performances. But it’s his fresh, emotive, all-original contributions to the Great American Songbook that will be his legacy.
Boyd, a prolific songwriter, is renowned for his unique ability to seamlessly blend jazz, swing, pop, country, gospel and rock, bringing back the nostalgic charisma of a bygone era. His repertoire features original and favored songs in the classic Great American Songbook style, ranging from torch-filled ballads to raucous rock ’n’ roll.
NPR aptly stated, “If Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash had a love child, it would be Johnny Boyd.” The Washington Post heralded Boyd as “romantic,” The New York Daily News touted him as “smooth,” and the San Francisco Bay Guardian lauded him “sophisticated and fun.” Indeed, Johnny Boyd is all of this and more.
Boyd’s musical training started in the Phoenix Boys Choir, and his passion for music and the arts deepened as a thespian in high school. In 1998, after performing tirelessly for five years in San Francisco Bay Area nightclubs and dance halls, Boyd was signed to a major-label recording contract with Time Bomb Recordings/BMG. Today, with hundreds of thousands of records sold and more than 2,000 live performances to his credit – including engagements with celebrated artists Rosemary Clooney, Lionel Hampton, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra – Boyd is preparing to depart for the next leg of his creative journey.
With his highly anticipated upcoming release, Someday Dreams of You, Boyd introduces a whole new generation of listeners to the Great American Songbook and his classic crooning style. The eleven-song release is Boyd’s seventh studio album and his first solo album in over three years. The album was co-produced by Boyd and acclaimed industry veteran Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus), and unlike other Great American Songbook collections, Boyd’s new album has a twist.
“I wanted to create an updated Great American Songbook album,” Boyd explains. “The wonderful thing about GAS compositions is their timelessness – they are rich with real human feelings such as love, loss, joy, hope, reflection, etc. These things don’t change over time. People still experience them today. Why not write brand new songs in the classic Great American Songbook style that express these timeless emotions?
“For me, it’s important to create music that successfully blends the old with the new. I’m not interested in providing a history lesson or recreating something that has been done really well in the past. I live in the world today. The challenge for this new album was to take the timeless styles and sounds from classic mid-century recordings I adore and fold them into the way we live today – to create new songs and update old favorites that complement each other in a fresh way. I think we accomplished this.”
In addition to the new release, Boyd is busy touring the United States promoting “Cocktails with the Crooners,” a live music production currently being developed into a streaming webisode series. Each webisode will capture Boyd and other modern-day troubadours singing and swinging in an intimate living-room party setting – untreated, un-manipulated and very “in the moment.” Viewers will be introduced firsthand to classic new music, creative cocktails, and vintage fashion in a way that reveals more about this iconic lifestyle. It’s a fun, but sophisticated, cocktail party that every grown-up would love to attend.
And if all of this wasn’t enough, Boyd is also curating an exhibit and a book of photographs entitled BellyWarmers (expected for release in 2016) that will feature his incredible vintage 1940s necktie collection (8,000+ pieces and counting). “Vintage neckties are wearable art,” Boyd explains. “The ties are very wide. It’s like wearing a little painting on my chest every time I put one on. The beautiful colors and bold designs make me feel timeless, which is also what I try to do with my music.”
RELEASE INFORMATION:
ALBUM NAME: Someday Dreams of You
LABEL: Cliffdive Records
STREET DATE: February 12, 2016
TRACKS (* denotes new composition):
1. You Found A Way (To Rescue Me)* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao
2. Please Make That Happen For Me* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao
3. My Foolish Heart – Victor Young/Ned Washington
4. Prisoner Of Love – Russ Columbo/Clarence Gaskill/Leo Robin
5. Someday Dreams Of You* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao
6. Can’t Fight This Feeling – Kevin Cronin
7. Moment* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao
8. This Heart Of Mine – Harry Warren/Arthur Freed
9. Where The Real Love Grows* – Johnny Boyd/Eric Shifrin
10. There But For You Go I – Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Lowe
11. My Shining Hour – Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer
ADDITIONAL PRESS INFORMATION / EPK / LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO:
http://www.johnnyboyd.com/press
http://www.facebook.com/JohnnyBoyd
https://www.youtube.com/user/johnnyboydtv