Life Journey

It seems like there's almost nothing Leon Russell hasn't done. The Tulsa-born pianist and songwriter came to prominence as a member of Phil Spector's legendary studio band and a session player who recorded with everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Rolling Stones. He was one of the highlights of George Harrison's historic CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH and produced several songs for Bob Dylan. During the 1970s, his own albums - released on his own pioneering label, Shelter Records - made him one of the biggest concert draws in America, and he wrote two songs that would go on to become true modern standards: 'Superstar' (co-written with Bonnie Bramlett) and 'A Song for You.' Yet even for Leon Russell, the LIFE JOURNEY album is an impressively wide-ranging tour of American music. The album's twelve selections range from compositions by such giants as Robert Johnson ('Come on in My Kitchen') and Duke Ellington ('I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good') to such incomparable standards as 'Georgia on My Mind' and 'That Lucky Old Sun' to more contemporary tunes like Billy Joel's 'New York State of Mind,' with a couple of Russell's own songs to cap it all off.