New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ IAMA) International Acoustic
Music Awards (IAMA) Announces A.J. Croce as Overall Grand Prize Winner and Winner of AAA/Alternative for song "I Should Have Known" AJ Croce. Another legendary songwriter, 2011 Inductee into Songwriter's Hall of Fame Leon Russell co-writes with A.J. Croce. The new song will be released later this year.
With a four star review in Rolling Stone, A.J. Croce's last album Cage of Muses is a shining milestone on the circuitous road that the singer-songwriter has traveled.
David Wild of Rolling Stone considers him "one of our greatest young songwriters" - and with good reason. A.J. won top honors at the 9th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic
Music Awards) by winning the overall grand prize as well as the first prize in the AAA/Alternative category with his original song "I Should Have Known". "I Should Have Known" was a co-write with the very accomplished singer/songwriter Steve Poltz and was released in 2006 on A.J.'s album 'Cantos.' Another well-known co-write for Steve Poltz was the #2 hit for
Jewel "You Were Meant For Me." In A.J.'s career he has won six San
Diego Music Awards in various categories and a Pollstar Adult Contemporary Award in 1993.
Music Artists are judged based on music performance, music production, artistry and songwriting (or song selection). Over 12,500 entries were received for the event. A.J. Croce's "Beatles like" song "I Should Have Known" beat out other notable winners at the 9th Annual IAMA such as:
Wes Carr (Top winner of Australian Idol) who won Best Male Artist; Joel Rafael (Board of
Director of Folk Alliance International) who won Best Folk/Americana/Roots; Mayu Wakisaka (Japanese Acoustic Musician), who won Best Open Category; and Virtuoso Guitar Duo Loren Barrigar & Mark Mazengarb who won Best Instrumental.
This week A.J. began songwriting with legendary musician and songwriter Leon Russell. Leon Russell is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and has been performing his gospel-infused southern boogie piano rock, blues, and country music for over 50 years. Leon was nominated with
Elton John for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2011 for his song, "If It Wasn't For Bad", from 'The Union' album. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011. His songwriting credits include "A Song for You", "Delta Lady", "
Hummingbird", "Lady Blue", "Back To The Island", "
Tight Rope", and "This Masquerade". "It's a thrill and a little surreal to collaborate with Leon Russell. He's been an influence and an inspiration as long as I can remember," says A.J.
Seven of A.J.'s albums have hit radio charts in a different genre, including Top 40, Independent, Americana, AAA, Blues, College, and Jazz, but apart from rankings, what makes A.J.'s music and performance special is its incredible variety. The son of legendary singer-songwriter Jim Croce, A.J.'s musical evolution was inspired by a broad spectrum of styles including classic rhythm and blues, folk, and British rock.
With his newly released track, "Right on Time," singer-songwriter A.J. Croce is inaugurating the New Year with his most ambitious recording project to date. Twelve Tales, delivers a dozen new tracks recorded by legendary producers across a variety of American cities to be released one song each month, concluding with the complete full length release of the CD at the end of 2013.
A.J.'s notable producers are Nashville's illustrious "
Cowboy" Jack Clement (Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis); New Orleans' ambassador of funk Allen Toussaint (Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton), and West Coast wunderkind Joe Henry (Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke).
The lead single "Right on Time," tracked in Stamford, CT, is produced and mixed by five-time Grammy winner
Kevin Killen, producer of five projects with Elvis Costello, and an engineer/mixer whose credits include U2,
Peter Gabriel, and Los Lobos among many other luminaries.
A.J.'s career began with his first tour at age 17 opening up for B.B. King. At age 19 he was signed to
Private Music/BMG where he released two successful albums. His subsequent albums were released on various independent labels leading up to 2003. As an independent artist, he formed his own label Seedling Records in 2003, this ambitious project marks the latest milestone on Adrian
James Croce's illustrious journey as a songsmith, vocalist, and an ever-evolving artist.
For more information on A.J. CROCE, go to:
https://www.AJCroceMusic.com
For more information on LEON RUSSELL, go to:
https://www.leonrussellrecords.com
To listen to and/or download "Right on Time", go to:
https://soundcloud.com/ajcrocemusic/right-on-time/s-rEzah
To listen to and/or download "I Should Have Known", go to:
https://soundcloud.com/ajcrocemusic/i-should-have-known/s-eMOY4
For more information on IAMA (International Acoustic
Music Awards), go to: https://www.inacoustic.com
