"American Epic:The Collection" and "American Epic: The Soundtrack" Releases May 12

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release AMERICAN EPIC: The Collection, a 5-CD/100 song deluxe box set, and AMERICAN EPIC: The Soundtrack, a single disc anthology of 15 songs featured in the AMERICAN EPIC three-part historical
documentary on 1CD on Friday, May 12.

AMERICAN EPIC: The Collection and AMERICAN EPIC: The Soundtrack--each available as physical product--lead the way for a series of releases of music associated with the film series AMERICAN EPIC, produced by Allison McGourty, Duke Erikson and Directed by Bernard MacMahon, premiering in the U.S. on PBS on Tuesdays May 16, 23 and 30 at 9 p.m. (check local listings)

The AMERICAN EPIC historical documentaries are a journey back in time to the "Big Bang" of modern popular music.

In the 1920s, as radio took over the pop music business, record companies were forced to leave their studios in major cities in search of new styles and markets. Ranging the mountains, prairies, rural villages, and urban ghettos of America, they discovered a wealth of unexpected talent. The recordings they made of all the ethnic groups of America democratized the nation and gave a voice to everyone. Country singers in the Appalachians, Blues guitarists in the Mississippi Delta, Gospel preachers across the south, Cajun fiddlers in Louisiana, Tejano groups from the Texas Mexico border, Native American drummers in Arizona, and Hawaiian musicians were all recorded. For the first time, a woman picking cotton in Mississippi, a coalminer in Virginia or a tobacco farmer in Tennessee could have their thoughts and feelings heard on records played in living rooms across the country. It was the first time America heard itself.

Loretta Lynn's "Wouldn't It Be Great" Album Out in August

Legacy Recordings (a Sony Music Entertainment division ) will release Wouldn't It Be Great, the new studio album from American music icon Loretta Lynn, on Friday, August 18.
One of the most deeply personal albums of her career, Wouldn't It Be Great is comprised entirely of songs written (or co-written) by Loretta, premiering new compositions nestled alongside select soulful reinterpretations of enduring classics from her catalog.

Like its predecessor, the critically-acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Full Circle (released March 2016), Wouldn't It Be Great was mainly recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with producers Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash.

Willie Nelson Premieres 13 Stellar New Songs on "God's Problem Child"

Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release God's Problem Child,

Willie Nelson's new studio album (and 9th for the label), on Friday, April 28.

An album of all-new recordings, God's Problem Child adds 13 new songs to the artist's repertoire, including seven recently written by Willie and Buddy Cannon, his longtime collaborator and producer. The album is Willie's first to debut all-new songs since Band of Brothers (his 4th Legacy release) reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart and #5 on the Billboard 200 in 2014.

Willie's 7th Legacy collection, Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin is currently in the running for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. The album debuted at #1 on both the Top Current Jazz chart and the Top Traditional Jazz chart following its release in February 2016. Nelson has won 11 Grammys over the course of his career.

Ray Davies Returns with April's "Americana" Album

This April 21st, Ray Davies will release his first new album in over nine years – ‘Americana’ – via
Legacy Recordings (a division of Sony Music Entertainment). The 15-track set of originals serves as a master-crafted return for one of the most acclaimed and iconic songwriters of the past 50 years, and follows Davies’ 2013 memoir of the same name, using the book as both source material and creative catalyst. Davies enlisted The Jayhawks as backing band, and recorded the album in London at Konk, the studio founded by The Kinks in 1973.

Album highlight “Poetry” is streaming now via NPR Music, listen below.

‘Americana’ was written, conceived, and arranged by Davies, and co-produced with Guy Massey and John Jackson. The album is an autobiographical work, chronicling the inextricable role America has played in Davies’ life. From his earliest days touring the U.S. with the Kinks and subsequent blacklisting by the American Musicians Union, to his years playing stadiums and eventually staying in New York and New Orleans for a time, America has served as both muse and tempest to Davies.

Celebrate Harry Belafonte's 90th, with "When Colors Come Together..."

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is celebrating the 90th Harry Belafonte (born March 1, 1927) with the release of When Colors Come Together... The Legacy of Harry Belafonte on Friday, February 24, 2017. Preorder via Baker & Taylor.
birthday of the iconic American singer/songwriter/actor/social activist/cultural ambassador

Harry Belafonte broke into both mainstream success and musical immortality in 1956 when his breakout LP--Calypso--became the first album ever, by any artist of any race or gender, to sell more than a million copies while his signature "Day-O" (from "Banana Boat") became one of the most instantly recognized melodic phrases in the world. Belafonte's sound signified an international island dance party, Belafonte was an inspirational and motivating force in the American Civil Rights movement. Throughout his career, Belafonte has brought a high degree of social consciousness to everything he does, merging the activist with the artist in the flow of his music.

An essential single-disc anthology of Belafonte's biggest hits and timeless classics, When Colors Come Together... The Legacy of Harry Belafonte premieres a new recording of "When Colors Come Together (Our Island In The Sun)," performed by a children's choir. The original recording of the song (co-written by Belafonte and Irving Burgie) served as the title music for the highly successful and at-the-time controversial 1957 film, "Island In The Sun," which starred Belafonte, James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Joan Collins and Dorothy Dandridge. One of the great pop standards in the Belafonte catalog, "Island In The Sun" has been covered more than 40 times since becoming a hit in the 1950s and was referenced in the 1992 film "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

The Wonder Of You: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Out on 10/21

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to announce the release of The Wonder Of You: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, on October 21, 2016. This remarkable new album is the follow up to last year's huge global phenomenon If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which topped charts worldwide and sold over 1.5 million copies.

The Wonder Of You focuses on the iconic artist's unmistakable voice with lush new orchestral accompaniment. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with acclaimed producers Don Reedman and Nick Patrick, the album features Elvis' most dramatic original performances augmented with lush new arrangements by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The album spans a variety of musical styles that Elvis embraced, from rock and gospel to country and ballads, featuring beloved Presley classics along with several surprises. Standout tracks include a sultry new version of the "A Big Hunk O' Love," the glorious "Amazing Grace," the heartfelt emotion on "Kentucky Rain," a stunning new take on the classic "Always On My Mind," and the fun, upbeat "I've Got A Thing About You Baby."

The first single from the new album, "A Big Hunk O' Love," can be streamed now at ElvisTheMusic.com: https://smarturl.it/ep_twoy_sp?IQid=pr

A Deluxe version of the album will be released on December 2nd and will include a CD with two additional tracks, two 150 gram LPs in a gatefold package, a poster suitable for framing and a 12 page booklet, all housed in a beautiful 12"x12" lift off box.