(RockAndMetal.com) (09/02/04)

By Michael Bennett

NEW YORK, NY, USA - TONY JOE WHITE, best known for his late 60's swamp hit 'Polk Salad Annie,' has put the finishing touches on his first new recording in six years.

The album, entitled titled "The Heroines," features several of White's favorite female artists who are the "heroines" to which the title refers: Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, Jessi Colter, and White's own daughter, Michelle White.

"The Heroines" is his first for Sanctuary Records, which will be released by the label on September 28th.

For the new album, White wrote three of the 10 songs (not counting the framing solo acoustic instrumentals 'Gabriella' and 'Gabriella's Affair') with his wife Leann, who also took the cover portrait, and he sings the balmy 'Playa Del Carmen Nights' with daughter Michelle.

Additionally, all four of the above duet with White on "The Heroines," their presence evidencing his impeccable taste in both quality women and female artists.

One by one Williams, Harris, Lynne and old friend Colter intertwine their voices with White's gritty, ultra-laid-back baritone for some captivating down-home dalliances.

White first steps aside to permit Lynne to sing the opening verse of 'Can't Go Back Home,' which they wrote together, so that hers is the first voice you hear on the album.

His duet with Williams on the smoldering 'Closing In On The Fire' packs such an erotic charge that a spouse any less secure than White's surely would never have permitted its creation.

Harris joins White on the timeless country-folk piece 'Wild Wolf Calling Me,' one of the conjugal co-writes, while Colter adds her knowing vocal to White and Leann's 'Fireflies In The Storm.'

"I had known these women for a long time," says White, "and they've all been like heroes to me through the years."

"They'd recorded my songs, and we were all good friends."

"Not only that, but I had loved their voices and the way they played. And all of 'em are soulful."

"Even though a lot of 'em do country, it's still a soul thing to me, Emmylou especially."

"And Jessi Colter gave it totally up for Waylon [Jennings, her late husband] and stayed with him through the years.

And she's still got that unbelievable soulfulness in her voice."

Tony Joe White came steaming out of Louisiana with the red-hot 'Polk Salad Annie' in 1969.

Influenced by artists such as Elvis Presley and Lightnin' Hopkins, White's music merged into a style all his own.

He recorded nine albums in the '70s, and as a songwriter his tunes have been recorded by some of the biggest artists in the world including Ray Charles and Brook Benton scoring #1 hits with White's classic 'Rainy Night In Georgia.'

He's also written songs for Presley, Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Waylon Jennings, Kenny Chesney and more.

In the '80s, White focused on Tina Turner and Joe Cocker, contributing four songs to Turner's multi-platinum "Foreign Affair," on which he also played guitar and harmonica.

Unable to secure a stateside deal, White also recorded three relatively successful European albums in the '90s before signing an American deal in 1998, only to see the label get swallowed up in the Universal Music/PolyGram Records merger.

Tony Joe White is tentatively scheduled to tour sometime later this year as part of a guitar/drums duo, but may also playa few select shows backed by a five-piece band.

Copyright 2003-2008 Internet Music Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

---

[Top]