Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole is set for the release of her tenth full-length album, Revolution, September 13 via 675 Records. In celebration of the upcoming release, Cole is premiering the track "Go On" via Parade.
"'Go On' began 26 years ago in 1993, a melody and groove I composed while living in San Francisco just starting my career," Cole explains to Parade. "My manager Carter thought it was a hit (even though there were no words!) but I never finished the song. Carter is sadly no longer alive, I miss him very much, and I finally finished the song for him. I hope he is right about it, we'll see! I think I just needed to live life a while in order to have something lyrically fitting for the music. Post-divorce, 13 years deep into my relationship with the love of my life, in all its struggle and beauty, I've found my words."
Listen to the track here:
Produced by Chris Bruce (Seal, Meshell Ndegeocello, My Brightest Diamond) alongside Cole (a Grammy-nominated producer, herself), the album delves into the themes of gender identity, race and age that are once again so relevant in the current social/political climate.
"At the heart of it, Revolution is about breaking silence," Cole notes. "At its core lie signature, highly-personal songs. Revolution is mostly about INNER revolution, breaking silence and finding a way through these times with love in our hearts."
Cole also recently premiered the track "Hope Is Everywhere" in support of the LGBTQ+ community. The song is featured as a bonus track on the vinyl edition of Revolution; listen to the track and share it via Soundcloud HERE.
The forthcoming album features contributions from a number of acclaimed artists, includingNdegeocello, vocalists Nona Hendryx (Labelle) and Darcel Wilson and jazz pianist and singerBob Thompson (of NPR's "Mountain Stage"). The title track "Revolution (Is a State of Mind)" excerpts Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence," delivered at New York's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. "I was born the morning after MLK was shot. His death was a part of my life," Cole explains. "My mom tells me how she cried together with the African-American OB/GYN nurse before she went under for my C-section. Many of my heroes and champions have been African Americans, and we as a nation have not come to terms with our horrific past and present. I have biracial family members, and I must write and sing about this. I wish a lot more white people would."
A New England native and daughter of an amateur musician and a visual artist, Cole studied jazz singing at the Berklee College of Music, where she currently teaches. She won the 1998 Best New Artist Grammy and her sophomore album This Fire went double-platinum on the strength of the hit singles "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" and "I Don't Want To Wait." Her most recent album, 2017's Ballads, featured a selection of jazz standards and debuted at #10 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart.
Paula Cole LIVE
August 16 |
Arundel, ME |
Vinegar Hill |
August 27 |
Harwich, MA |
Cape Cod Jazz Festival |
September 25 |
Phoenix, AZ |
Musical Instrument Museum |
September 27 |
Hillsboro, OR |
Walters Cultural Arts Center |
September 28 |
Seattle, WA |
Triple Door |
September 29 |
Oakland, CA |
Yoshi's |
October 1 |
Denver, CO |
Buffalo Rose |
October 2 |
Atlanta, GA |
City Winery |
October 4 |
Nashville, TN |
City Winery |
October 5 |
Washington, DC |
City Winery |
October 6 |
Chicago, IL |
City Winery |
October 8 |
Minneapolis, MN |
The Dakota |
October 9 |
Boston, MA |
City Winery |
October 10 |
New York, NY |
Le Poisson Rouge |
October 11 |
Saratoga Springs, NY |
Café Lena |
November 3 |
Intervale, NH |
Theater in the Wood |
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