 NEW YORK (Holly Cieri Website)
Singer/songwriter, Holly Cieri remembers fantasizing about her career
with a friend one afternoon. Holly mused that she would truly feel a
sense of professional accomplishment if her own musical hero agreed not
only to meet her, but also to work with her. That, Holly thought, would
be the ultimate pat on the back for any singer or musician. Holly's
dream became reality when she met and befriended James Griffin,
guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-producer in the wildly popular
'70s soft rock group, Bread. "I've always been a fan of early '70s rock
bands like the Allman Brothers, The Doors and The Who," the singer
explains, "but I also really loved the songs of groups like The Beatles
and Bread. There's an innocent honesty and simple melodic truthfulness
in their songs, which I think is pop music at its finest. It's great to
really love a band's music, but it's so rewarding to meet an artist
when, in James' case, he turns out to be such a wonderful person."
When
James Griffin passed away on January 11th at age sixty-one, after a
brief battle with lung cancer, his death resonated throughout the music
world, and Holly was devastated by the loss of her friend. What gives
her solace is the knowledge that her new single will also stand as one
of Griffin's final recordings. In June of 2004, Holly and James
collaborated on a duet of his classic love song, "For All We Know,"
co-written by Griffin/Rob Royer/Fred Karlin for the 1970 film Lovers
and Other Strangers. "For All We Know" went on to win the Academy Award
for Best Song and became a smash hit for The Carpenters, reaching #3 on
the charts. "While he was in Bread," says Holly, "James was always
overshadowed by David Gates, since David sang lead on most of the
group's singles. But I always preferred the songs James wrote with
Bread guitarist, Robb Royer. For an artist who never got the
recognition he was due, it seems fair that the song he would be best
known for � which was a huge hit for another band and also won an Oscar
� would be one of his final recordings, and that he gave me the honor
of recording it with me!!"
A native of Boston, Holly Cieri is a
former dancer who chose to focus on her singing talent after a knee
injury made a career in dance impossible. Collaborating with songwriter
and guitarist Geoff Caple, she recorded the seven-song demo, Two
Continents and later completed a full-length album, Sleeping On My Own,
released in late 2001 on Holly's own label, Holly & Lilacs Music.
Her singles "Without," "The Only Way" and "You Don't Know Who I Am"
have charted as high as #15 in the Adult Contemporary market. Critics
have called Sleeping On My Own "An eclectic mix of melodic songs --
pop-rock, blues and smooth jazz --from a powerful, versatile singer,"
with Holly's sultry vocal style often compared to The Motels' Martha
Davis and Belinda Carlisle of Go Go's.
"Although I'd achieved
some success on the Adult Contemporary charts," says Holly, "my
promoter was looking for a way to break me to radio. As an independent
artist, I'm known for having original music, so he suggested I record
an old love song -- a ballad from the '70s or '80s -- that had a great
track record as a hit but wasn't still heard all the time by the
original artist. I suggested covering "For All We Know," with the plan
to release the song in time for Valentine's Day 2005. I asked James to
sing co-lead vocals with me, because we knew our voices blended so well
in harmony, I felt singing it together would add warmth and an even
more "loving feeling" to compliment the radiance of his love song."
Griffin had three requests for the new version: that it be piano based,
that it have a slower feel, from the Carpenters' arrangement, and for
Holly to "make it more loving". Beyond that, he just wanted me to run
with it and do what I felt was right for the song. The arrangement I
came up with, featuring Marc Trachtenberg on piano, has a bit of a
country feel. We recorded the song in both Nashville and Boston."
Along
with the Carpenters, Bread was perhaps the most successful adult
contemporary pop group of the Seventies. The band released six albums
featuring classic songs like "Make It With You," "If," "Aubrey, "Guitar
Man" and "Diary." Griffin played guitar and sang harmony on such Bread
hits as "Everything I Own" and "Baby I'm-a Want You." With songwriting
partner Robb Royer he co-wrote the Bread songs "Friends and Lovers,"
"Could I," "Any Way You Want Me," "Games of Magic" and "Coming Apart"
among others. "We became very good friends in the short time we knew
each other," says Holly, "and James was someone I just loved spending
time with. He was low-key about the severity of his illness and had a
very positive attitude right to the end. My life has been full of
serendipitous events and I've experienced many coincidences that grew
to have bigger meaning. I do feel that I was really meant to meet and
befriend James. The fact that we got to record together is really a
dream come true for me, as an artist, a fan and as James' friend.
"James
had so much to offer," Holly continues. "He was an excellent singer,
and all-around musician and he wrote some beautiful music along with
Robb Royer. I think we would have collaborated on some new material,
but his life was cut short. For anybody who was lucky enough to know
him, James was the most down to earth, sweet guy you'd ever want to
meet. I will miss him!!"
Holly Cieri's remake of the infamous song, "For All We Know," is being shipped to AC Radio the first week in February.
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