Your Songs is a studio album by American jazz singer Harry Connick Jr. that was released by Columbia. It was released first in the United States on a limited edition double vinyl LP on August 25, 2009,Harry Connick Jr. – Your Songs , previewnewmusic.com then on CD on September 22., directcurrentmusic.com, July 27, 2009
Background Most of the songs were chosen by record producer Clive Davis, who aimed towards classic, familiar songs, as contemporary as possible. Davis had expressed an interest in working with Connick. Connick had an idea of bringing in a famous arranger for the album, but Davis suggested Connick do the arrangements himself.
The song "Bésame Mucho" was suggested by Connick's father, Harry Connick Sr., a former district attorney for the Parish of Orleans. They sang a duet on the album New Orleans...My Home Town (1998). Branford and Wynton Marsalis contribute to the album. Both are multiple Grammy winners. Both are childhood friends of Connick. Trumpeter Wayne Bergeron and guitarist Bryan Sutton also play on the album.
Connick said in a radio interview that "Smile" was dedicated to a girl named Nicola. She and her mother attended one of Connick's shows in Paris, France, several years before. Nicola was seven at the time, and Connick took her on a tour of Paris. They stood under the Eiffel Tower. Although she was blind, she knew where she was and had a smile on her face.Radio interview: Harry Connick Jr. Album tracks played (mp3 & download) at JAZZ.FM91
Promotion On August 4, 2009, Connick had an album listening party in New York City, hosted by Sony Music chief creative executive Clive Davis. Amongst those in attendance were Alan Cumming, Bernadette Peters, Brian Williams, Kelli O'Hara, Rachael Ray, Mario Cantone, Rosie Perez, and David Hyde Pierce.Harry Connick Jr. "Your Songs" Listening Event With Clive Davis, Getty Images, August 4, 2009Harry Connick Jr. "Your Songs" Listening Event With Clive Davis, Wireimage, August 4, 2009
A number of public listening events were held, from August 24–30, 2009. Connick did not attend the exclusive vinyl listening events, which were held in cities such as Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Oakland, California, New Orleans, West Babylon, New York, and Los Angeles.Music >> All Shows for Harry Connick Jr., Harry Connick Jr.'s Official MySpace site, August 20, 2009
He made a number of TV appearances in September and October 2009. In September he appeared on Oprah on the 25th, then on Today (28th), The View (29th), and Late Show with David Letterman and Imus in the Morning on September 30. In October, he was a guest on the Today on the 1st, Rachael Ray in the week of October 5, and he set out to a week-long promotional tour in Australia from October 2 through to 9th, which included a visit to Hey Hey It's Saturday, and an appearance as a guest judge on Australian Idol on October 11, 2009.Idol: Harry Connick Jr., tvtonight.com, September 25, 2009
Release
The album was released first in the United States on a limited edition double vinyl LP on August 25, 2009. The CD album was released on September 22.
The first single of the album was Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You", and it was released exclusively on Amazon.com on August 25, 2009.(They Long To Be) Close To You: Harry Connick Jr.: MP3 Downloads, Amazon.comHarry Connick Jr. collaborated with Clive Davis on forthcoming album of standards, The Times Picayune, July 30, 2009
After the U.S. release, Connick was in Paris, France in September 2009, to record a song with French First Lady Carla Bruni. She and Connick's wife, Jill Goodacre, both former supermodels, are long time friends. The duet is a French and Italian version of "And I love her", written by Lennon–McCartney.Le duo de Carla et Harry Connick Jr (French), parismatch.com, September 26, 2009 The duet is released as a bonus track on European editions of Your Songs.
As of 2013, the album has sold 396,000 copies in United States.
Tour A worldwide concert tour began in January 2010.
Tour dates + List of concerts, showing date, city, and venue Date City VenueNorth America (Early 2010)January 23, 2010 Indio, CaliforniaFantasy Springs CasinoJanuary 24, 2010Temecula, CaliforniaPechanga Resort & Casino January 26, 2010Santa Barbara, CaliforniaArlington Theatre January 27, 2010Friant, CaliforniaTable Mountain CasinoJanuary 28, 2010San DiegoCopley Symphony Hall February 11, 2010 Fort Myers, FloridaBarbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall February 12, 2010Clearwater, FloridaRuth Eckerd HallFebruary 13, 2010Melbourne, FloridaKing Center for Performing Arts February 14, 2010 Jacksonville, FloridaFlorida Theatre February 16, 2010Durham, North CarolinaDurham Performing Arts CenterFebruary 17, 2010Charleston, West VirginiaThe Clay Center February 18, 2010BaltimoreThe Lyric Opera House February 19, 2010Virginia Beach, VirginiaSandler Center for the Performing ArtsFebruary 23, 2010 Nashville, TennesseeRyman Auditorium February 25, 2010Huntsville, AlabamaVon Braun Center February 26, 2010Birmingham, AlabamaAlabama TheatreFebruary 27, 2010Memphis, TennesseeCannon CenterFebruary 28, 2010IndianapolisMurat Theatre New Zealand (2010)Harry Connick Jr to tour NZ, stuff.co.nz, January 21, 2010 March 13, 2010AucklandCivic Theatre March 14, 2010WellingtonMichael Fowler CentreMarch 16, 2010 ChristchurchTown HallAustralia (2010)Harry Connick Jr Touring in March, undercover.com.au, January 21, 2010 March 19, 2010 MelbournePlenaryMarch 20, 2010 AdelaideHer Majesty's Theatre March 22, 2010SydneyOpera House March 25, 2010BrisbaneConvention Centre March 27, 2010 PerthKings ParkEurope (2010)May 13, 2010Paris Salle Pleyel May 14, 2010
Asia (2010) May 16 – Abu Dhabi Hall – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Europe (2010) May 18 – Istanbul Kongre Merkezi – Istanbul, Turkey May 21 – Mawazine Festival – Rabat, Morocco North America (2010) June 9 – The View, New York June 10 – Late Show with David Letterman, New York June 11 – Fox Theatre, St. Louis June 12 – PNC Pavilion, Cincinnati June 13 – Charlottesville Pavilion, Charlottesville, Virginia June 15 – The Filene Center at Wolf Trap Vienna, Virginia June 16 – Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, North Carolina June 18 – Peace Center for the Performing Arts, Greenville, South Carolina June 19 – Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta June 21 – Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, Indiana June 22–23 – Chicago Theatre, Chicago June 25 – Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Aspen, Colorado June 27 – Toronto Jazz Festival – Canon Theatre, Toronto Asia (2010) July 2 – USA Pavilion, National Day Gala Performance, Shanghai, China North America (2010) July 15–31 Neil Simon Theatre, New York August 13–14 – Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California September 17 – Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Reno, Nevada September 18 – The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California September 19 – Monterey Jazz Festival – Jimmy Lyons Stage, Monterey, California September 21 – Wente Vineyards, Livermore, California September 22 – Britt Pavilion, Jacksonville, Oregon September 24 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC September 25 – Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Washington September 26 – Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Washington September 28 – Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Oregon September 29 – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey September 30 – The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
North America (2011) March 25 – WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma March 26 – Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, Texas March 28 – River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana March 29 – Jones Hall, Houston April 1 – IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi, Mississippi April 2 – IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi, Mississippi April 4 – Mahalia Jackson Theater, New Orleans April 7 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, Florida April 8 – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida April 9 – Mizner Park Amphitheater at Downtown Boca, Boca Raton, Florida April 10 – Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, Orlando, Florida April 11 – Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida April 20 – Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey April 21 – Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey April 22 – MGM Grand Theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut April 26–30 – The Colonial Theatre, Boston
Broadway
He held a series of concerts, called Harry Connick Jr. in Concert on Broadway, at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway, from July 15 to July 31, 2010., Internet Broadway Database The concerts on July 30 and 31 were filmed live,Harry Connick Jr. In Concert on Broadway Ends Limited Run July 31, Playbill.com, July 31, 2010 and aired on PBS on March 2, 2011 for a "Great Performances" special on the concerts.PBS 'Great Performances' to feature Harry Connick Jr., The Times-Picayune, December 3, 2010 These were also released on video, CD/DVD and album in March 2011, as Harry Connick Jr.: In Concert on Broadway., Sony Music
Harry Connick Jr. won an Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Music Direction for Harry Connick Jr. In Concert on Broadway.Primetime Emmy Music Nominations Announced, filmmusicsociety.org, July 14, 2011
The In Concert on Broadway album is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Track listing , CNN: The Marquee Blog, July 30, 2009[ Your Songs Barnes & Noble Exclusive], AllMusic
Barnes & Noble Exclusive Version
iTunes
European Editions
Japan Edition
Deluxe Limited Edition CD/DVD package
US only. Available through hconnickjr.com. DVD includes behind the scenes footage, and the "(They Long To Be) Close To You" music video
Personnel Harry Connick Jr. – vocals, piano Branford Marsalis – saxophone (track #1) Wynton Marsalis – trumpet (track #3) Leroy Jones – trumpet (track #5) Ben Wolfe – bass Arthur Latin II – drums Bryan Sutton – guitarNew Harry Connick will be released on vinyl first , blogs.knoxnews.com, July 29, 2009His guitar speaks many languages, newsobserver.com, May 8, 2009 Roger Ingram – trumpetNews: Harry Connick Jr. – April 3, 2009, fumosonic.com, August 2, 2009 Wayne Bergeron – trumpet John Fumo – trumpet Warren Lunning – trumpet The Honolulu Heartbreakers – vocals
Release history Country Date Label Format United States August 25, 2009 Columbia LP September 22, 2009 CD, digital download Canada September 22, 2009 Sony AustraliaHarry Connick Jr is back with a new album "Your Songs", Koffee, September 8, 2009 September 25, 2009 United Kingdom October 26, 2009 Columbia DenmarkConnick Harry Jr: Your songs (Danish), Sony Columbia France on MySpace October 26, 2009 Sony France October 26, 2009 Columbia, Sony NorwayKommende utgivelser fra Sony Music (Norwegian), Sony Music Norway October 26, 2009 Sony FinlandSony Music Entertainment Finland – Uudet julkaisut (Finnish, Sony Music Entertainment Finland October 28, 2009 NetherlandsYour Songs, Connick, Harry -Jr-, bol.com October 28, 2009 Germany October 30, 2009 JapanHarry Connick Jr – 恋人たちのラブソング (Japanese), sonymusicshop.jp November 11, 2009 Sony Music Japan CD
Chart positions Chart (2009)Peakposition Australian Albums ChartTop 50 Albums Chart – australian-charts.com. ARIACharts.com. Retrieved on October 11, 2009. 9 Belgian Wallonia ChartYour Songs – Harry Connick Jr., ultratop.be 71 French Albums Chart 51 Irish Albums Chart 40 New Zealand Top Albums 10 UK Albums Chart 28
Awards and nominations Your Songs was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. This was announced on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. The 52nd Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles.Hair, Harry Connick Jr., Liza Minnelli, et al. Nominated for Grammy Awards, theatermania, December 2, 2009 The award went to Michael Bublé for his Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden.
References
External links Official site Harry Connick Jr. online interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' November 2009