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Two Classic Kenny Rankin Recordings Reissued; Silver Morning and the Kenny Rankin Album

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AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH ON-LINE RETAILER CD BABY

Two of Kenny Rankin's seminal recordings, 1975's Silver Morning and 1976's The Kenny Rankin Album, long sought-after by collectors, are now available on CD exclusively through CDBaby.com. This release marks the first time Silver Morning has been available on CD.

Silver Morning is regarded as one of Rankin's finest recordings in a career that spans over three decades. Critic Steve Matteo called it “one of the best and most representative albums of that time." His remarkable reworkings of Lennon & McCartney's “Blackbird" and “Penny Lane" demonstrate his prowess as a first-rate interpreter of song, while his original compositions “Haven't We Met?" and the title track “Silver Morning" prove that his skills as a songwriter easily match, if not surpass, his gifts as a singer and arranger. His rendition of the Frankie Lymon classic “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," never before included on an album, is the bonus track on Silver Morning.

In Rolling Stone's review of The Kenny Rankin Album, Stephen Holden wrote “Kenny Rankin...is a mood stylist in the tradition of Johnny Mathis. And The Kenny Rankin Album is his best record." The album was recorded live in the studio over a period of three days with legendary producer/arranger Don Costa conducting a 60-piece string orchestra. This sublime collection includes such enduring selections from the Great American songbook as “When Sunny Gets Blue" and “Here's That Rainy Day" as well as more contemporary hits like “Groovin'" and George Harrison's “While My Guitar Gently Weeps," all done in Rankin's inimitable style. Rankin recalls his delight at working with Don Costa: “Having had the privilege of working with Don, who took me under his wing in the early '60s, I said 'If I were never to make another recording, this is the one I always wanted to make.' That still holds true today!"

As a teenager, Rankin signed with Decca Records and released a handful of singles. A few years later, he signed with Columbia Records and found himself playing guitar on Bob Dylan's landmark 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. Not long after, he performed on The Tonight Show, whose host Johnny Carson became such a fan that Rankin was ultimately invited to appear on the show more than 20 times.

Through much of the '80s, Rankin largely concentrated on the live stage, though he ended a long break from recording in 1995 with a pair of albums: Professional Dreamer and the Brazilian-flavored Here In My Heart. His most recent studio album was 2002's A Song For You, which teamed Rankin with legendary producers Al Schmitt and Tommy LiPuma.

Rankin plans to tour throughout the US in 2007.

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