DRG Records Will Release 'The Essential Barbara Cook Collection' 10/14

DRG Records will release a six-disc "The Essential Barbara Cook Collection" set on October 14. The set will mark the 17-year collaboration between Cook and DRG.

The recording will include four CDs from Cook's back catalogue: "Close As Pages in a Book" (newly remixed and remastered), "Live from London," "All I Ask of You" and "Live From The Met." The set will also include the DVD of "Mostly Sondheim" - which was recorded live at SUNY Purchase - and a four-track bonus CD titled "Give Me the Simple Life." The bonus disc was recorded July 23, and will include new tracks "Give Me the Simple Life," "It Was Written in the Stars," "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "I'd Rather Be Blue."

Barbara Cook, one of the glories of Broadway in so many fondly remembered shows, is still dazzling audiences today, with a voice remarkably unchanged after a career of more than five decades. Considered "Broadway's favorite ingénue" during the heyday of the Broadway musical, Miss Cook then launched a second career as a concert and cabaret artist soaring from one professional peak to another. Throughout her career her singing has attracted generations of fans, and the admiration of her peers and colleagues, from the world of both popular and classical music.

Whether on the stages of major international venues throughout the world or in the intimate setting of New York's Café Carlyle, Barbara Cook's popularity continues to thrive - as evidenced by having her own evening at the Metropolitan Opera House on January 21, 2006. The first female non-classical singer to be presented by the Met during their long history. In addition to countless Carnegie Hall solo engagements, and an ever-growing mantle of honors including the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, her citation as a Living New York Landmark and her induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

For more information, visit www.drgrecords.com.