• WATCH DAVID ON TV NEXT WEEK!

• LINKS TO JT VIDEO AND AUDIO

• UPDATED PHOTOS AND FAN PHOTOS PAGES

• LISTEN TO DAVID'S CHRISTMAS SONG!

Watch NBC's Today Show on Friday, December 1 to see David performing live with James Taylor and band.  They'll also be on CBS' Early Show on Friday, December 8.  

Also, the MusiCares tribute to James Taylor from last February is being broadcast on PBS on Wednesday, November 29.  David, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCuller and Andrea Zonn were the featured background vocalists for a "who's who" group of artists:  Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, the Dixie Chicks, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Keith Urban, Carole King, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, and JT himself.  This concert is also available on DVD from Amazon.com.

David's background vocals are featured on several tracks from James Taylor's Christmas CD, which has been re-released this year, and you can see David in a new video of JT's quirky version of "Jingle Bells" by clicking HERE (works best in Internet Explorer). 

With Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller, David sings on "Deck the Halls," "Go Tell It On the Mountain, "Auld Lang Syne" and "Who Comes This Night" on the  Christmas album, available from Amazon.com.

Check out our SOUNDS page where we've just posted a number of links to YouTube.com videos of David performing with James Taylor, including audience-made versions of songs from the 2006 tour ("Carolina In My Mind," "Shower the People," "How Sweet It Is," "Mexico," "You've Got A Friend," "Handy Man" and more), as well as a song from Live At The Beacon and another from Pull Over, PLUS an oldie but a goodie:  "Mockingbird" from No Nukes. 

We've posted some additional pix from the 2006 James Taylor tour on our FAN PHOTOS page, and we also have added some photos of David at a recent Hair cast reunion on our PHOTOS page.

Finally, Happy Holidays from David! 

You can listen to "This Christmas, This Year" (from his DEMOS album), which is featured on our SOUNDS page through the end of December.  

• NEW FEATURED SONG!

• FAN PHOTOS 2006 DEBUTS!

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to our current Featured Song, "Ole Man Trouble" by Booker T. Jones from David's BETTER LATE THAN NEVER album with his group Rosie.  Genya Ravan joins Rosie members Lana Marrano and Lynn Pitney on backgrounds for David's soulful lead vocal.

To order any of David's recordings, visit our CONTACT/SHOP page.

Check out some new FAN PHOTOS from the 2006 James Taylor tour.  If you take any pictures of David (with you, with the band, etc.) at any of this summer's concerts, please feel free to submit them, and we'll post some of the best ones.  Submission instructions are on the Fan Photos page.

DAVID JOINS JAMES TAYLOR BAND
FOR SUMMER TOUR

David will be performing with James Taylor this summer for the tour that runs August 8 - September 1.  Visit JAMES-TAYLOR.COM for the tour schedule.

NEW "ASK DAVID" ANSWERS

David has answered more ASK DAVID questions!   

NEW FEATURED SONG

"Smalltown Change" is currently the Featured Song on our SOUNDS page. This track, which is on David's DEMOS album, was written by David and Don Paul Yowell, and is a beautiful duet by David and Don.   

To order any of David's recordings, visit our CONTACT/SHOP page.

UTOPIAS PHOTO FEATURED 
IN BOOK ON "DETROIT SOUND"

Last summer while visiting Michigan, David found himself browsing through a book called The Birth of the Detroit Sound, published in 2002.  To his surprise, the chapter about Fortune Records contained a photo of his group, the Utopias, and a caption that reads, 

"The Utopias were one of the last acts signed by Fortune, in the mid-1960s.  They featured David Lasley (center) who went on to supply background vocals for James Taylor's sound for a number of years."

Click HERE to see the picture.

From the publisher's description:  The Birth of the Detroit Sound chronicles great talents like John Lee Hooker, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Jackie Wilson, Jack Scott, Andre Williams, and Nolan Strong. Featuring a rare collection of vintage photographs, the book also spotlights record industry personalities, deejays, and long-forgotten venues where the giants of Detroit music once performed.

The book is available from Arcadia Publishing.

NEW ASK DAVID ANSWERS

David has answered more ASK DAVID questions, including some about singing with James Taylor, his work with artists such as Jeff Porcaro, Nick Kamen and Chic, his lyrics, and more.  

If you have a music-related question for David, feel free to use the form on the ASK DAVID page to ask!

NEW FEATURED SONG We've had a lot of requests for "What's It Gonna Take" as the Featured Song, so it's making a return appearance on our SOUNDS  page.  

This track, which is on David's EXPECTATIONS OF LOVE album and his BACK TO BLUE-EYED SOUL retrospective, was written by David, Robin Lerner (who wrote Faith Hill's "This Kiss"), and Marsha Malamet.  

To order any of David's recordings, visit our CONTACT/SHOP page.

Four of David's recordings are now available for listening or download at MySpace Music. 

David sings lead on all of these songs.  Two of them, "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" (written by David and Robbie Long, and recorded by Whitney Houston) and "Night of Our Lives" are from his EXPECTATIONS OF LOVE album.  

Another is "Got to Find Love" from his MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND album (written by David and Willie Wilcox), which features James Taylor on background vocals.  

And the fourth is "Stay Gold" from David's BACK TO BLUE-EYED SOUL retrospective album.

Click HERE to visit David's page on MySpace Music.  Enjoy!

To order any of David's recordings, visit our CONTACT/SHOP page.

David has answered more ASK DAVID questions, including some about the 2005 James Taylor summer tour, his work with artists such as Boy George, Dusty Springfield and Luther Vandross, the Algiers Motel "incident," stage fright, and more.  

Also, the "Ask David" page is operational once again for new questions.  We'll try not to take a year in answering them this time!  Sorry about that.

David performed a rare live gig last night at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles to celebrate Luther Vandross.  He appreciates everyone who came out to see the show!

David has posted some thoughts on the passing of his close friend Luther Vandross.  Click HERE to read. 

In tribute to Luther, our current Featured Song is "Too Much Commotion, Not Enough Emotion" from David's DEMOS VOL. 2 – TAKE A LOOK CD, a song that Luther and David sing together and wrote together.  Visit our SOUNDS page to listen.

David's new CD, DEMOS VOL. 2 – TAKE A LOOK, has been released on the Cool Sound label featuring early recordings of songs from his critically acclaimed MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND and RAINDANCE albums as well as unreleased works, including an early duet with Luther Vandross.  Cool Sound previously reissued David's DEMOS in 1999.

Of this recording, David says, "The original DEMOS, released in 1981 and re-issued/expanded to a 2-CD set in 1999, featured songs I wrote for consideration by other artists.  DEMOS VOL. 2 is just the opposite.  These are songs that I mainly wrote for myself.  This recording, subtitled TAKE A LOOK, does just that – it 'takes a look' at the demo versions of songs that I had recorded and released as a solo artist.  They're demos of songs in their earliest stages when they were still taking shape."

The album includes liner notes with David's detailed recollections of how the songs came to be written, providing an intriguing look inside the head of a composer and his songwriting process.

The tracks, with two exceptions, were written by David and many of his frequent songwriting partners including Willie Wilcox and Luther Vandross.  Musicians on the album include David Benoit, Jason Scheff, Bobby Watson, Jimmy Haslip, Moon Calhoun, Aaron Zigman, Mike Mainieri and others.  Arnold McCuller, Ula Hedwig and Myrna Smith are among the background vocalists. 

Our SOUNDS page has "Sailing Boat" from this album as our current FEATURED SONG.   Here are David's comments about this track from the CD liner notes:

I have always loved this song.  The words were sort of written in a dream.  I woke up in the middle of the night, ran and got a paper and pencil and wrote them down in one pass.  I didn't do anything with these lyrics but kept them with me, and about a week later I was doing a background vocal session for someone at A&M in Studio A engineered by Dave Iveland, who just happened to be the engineer for most of my demos.  I don't remember who we were singing for, but I never will forget this.  I think it was two other singers and me.  We were on the mike singing vocal parts, and when the tape stopped, out of nowhere, right in the middle of this session, the melody for Sailing Boat started to come to me, and I went over to the piano and started playing it.  They all thought I was crazy, but since Dave was the engineer and he knew how I worked, I asked him if we could stop for three minutes (which is highly unusual) and if he would roll some tape while I sang the words and played.  They allowed me to do this, and that's exactly how it happened.  The writing of the song was finished in about five minutes.  I demo'd it about a week later.  Originally I did the lead and all my own backgrounds, but about six months later I went back in, took my background vocals off and put Googie's (Coppola) on and added Mike Mainieri on vibes, and that's what you are hearing here. 

Click HERE for more information about DEMOS VOL. 2 -- TAKE A LOOK, and visit our CONTACT/SHOP page to buy the CD.

Also, watch for more responsese on our ASK DAVID page, coming soon!

• LISTEN TO OUR FEATURED SONG FOR APRIL, MAY AND JUNE, A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE PHILLIP BALLOU

• DAVID'S "DEMOS, VOL. 2 -- TAKE A LOOK" TO BE RELEASED BY COOL SOUND IN APRIL

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to the Featured Song for April, May and June, "The Right Way" from David's EXPECTATIONS OF LOVE album.

This song, written by David, Michael Prozzo and Jay Oliver, features David's lead vocal and an outstanding "guest vocal" toward the end of the song by Phillip Ballou.  Phillip, sadly, passed away on March 19, and David dedicates this song to his memory. Click HERE to read his obituary.

Watch for our announcement next month of the release of David's new CD, DEMOS, VOL. 2 -- TAKE A LOOK, issued by Cool Sound. 

According to David, "My idea for this album, DEMOS, VOL. 2 – TAKE A LOOK, is to do just that – to take a look at the demo versions of songs that I had recorded and released as a solo artist.  These are demos of songs in their earliest stages when they were still taking shape." 

Featured on the CD are some works from David's MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND and RAINDANCE as well as some other songs never before released, including a duet with Luther Vandross.

• GENYA RAVAN BOOK FEATURES SECTION ON DAVID AND ROSIE

• LISTEN TO OUR NEW FEATURED SONG 

• DAVID'S BACKGROUNDS ON JAMES TAYLOR CHRISTMAS CD

Comments about David are featured in a new book by music legend Genya Ravan, who produced BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, David's first album with his group Rosie.  In Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs Of A Rock And Roll Refugee (published by Billboard Books), Ravan details the story of how she arranged Rosie's first record deal with RCA.

An excerpt:

"In the midst of this, I'd met the singer/songwriter David Lasley, who was part of the band Rosie who'd sung with me.  He played me some of the music he'd been making with the other two members of Rosie:  Lynn Pitney and Lana Marrano.  I was floored by it, and resolved to get the band a record deal.  This was blue-eyed soul, and it was magnificent."

Ravan brought Rosie in for a live audition for RCA's Mike Berniker.  She continues:

"He was open-mouthed because he loved what he was hearing.  'Unbelievable,' he mouthed to me.  The harmonies knocked him out.  David's voice has tremendous range.  One moment he was sounding high and light in falsetto; the next, he was hitting all the deep notes.  Someone once said David's singing was like 'a visual vocal ballet,' whatever that means.  The girls were singing lusciously around David's vocals."

Click on the image above for more about this book.

"Roll Me Through the Rushes" by Rosie is the current FEATURED SONG on our SOUNDS page.  From BETTER LATE THAN NEVER (RCA, 1976), this is the album version of the song (words by Lana Marrano, music by David) that was also the first and only single released from the album.  The shorter "single" version is on David's BACK TO BLUE-EYED SOUL retrospective CD.  David sings the lead vocal mainly in his low voice (rather than in his trademark falsetto).

In the BACK TO BLUE-EYED SOUL liner notes, David has this to say about the genesis of BETTER LATE THAN NEVER and the song:
 

Rosie's record deal came about because singer Genya Ravan (of Ten Wheel Drive fame), who had acquired a production deal at RCA, saw us performing at Max’s Kansas City.  At this point, Rosie included Ula Hedwig as well as Lynn Pitney, Lana Marrano and me, but we had just decided to go our separate ways.  After working on the club scene for four years, we were starving while other groups like Manhattan Transfer and LaBelle had become huge.  I went to my attorney’s office for advice about the group's break-up, and, by a stroke of luck, I met Genya there for the first time.  She offered to audition Rosie, liked what she heard and walked us into the RCA office of Mike Berniker (Barbra Streisand’s legendary producer).  We sang live in his office, with Marsha Malamet playing piano.  Even though Ula had joined the Harlettes, she knew all of the parts and came along to the audition to help us out.  We got the deal, and the record was released some months later.  Ironically, The Harlettes later recorded this song, and Chaka Khan was in the audience while they were performing it at a Bette Midler concert.  That’s how she first heard the song and eventually went on to record it.  I was lucky enough to sing background vocals on Chaka’s version, produced by Arif Mardin, who I’ve known and worked with for 30 years.

David's background vocals are featured on four tracks from James Taylor's new Christmas CD, available at Hallmark stores throughout the United States and Canada.  With Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller, David sings on "Deck the Halls," "Go Tell It On the Mountain, "Auld Lang Syne" and "Who Comes This Night."

• MORE "ASK DAVID" ANSWERS

• LISTEN TO OUR FEATURED SONG FOR AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

David has answered more ASK DAVID questions on subjects ranging from his work with artists including Ace Frehley, Luther Vandross, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer and James Taylor to his advice about when to breathe while singing.

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to the FEATURED SONG for the rest of August, September and October, "Never Say" from David's critically acclaimed MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND album.  Written by David and Willie Wilcox, this track features David Benoit on Fender Rhodes, Bobby Watson on bass, Chuck Cochran on guitar, Willie Wilcox on drums, Victor Feldman on acoustic piano and percussion, Ernie Watts on tenor sax, and David, Charlotte Crossley, Joann Harris and Arnold McCuller on background vocals.

The Village Voice said of this album, “When the musical styles of Missin’ Twenty Grand are consonant with its soul confessions, Lasley’s record is everything and more you’d ever expect from a singer-songwriter.”
 
 

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to the Featured Song for June and July, "Warm as the Wind" from David's SOLDIERS ON THE MOON album.

Performing behind David's lead for this song, written by Don Yowell, are David Benoit on acoustic piano, Abe Laboriel on bass, and a string section with Bruce Dukov as concertmaster.

Of this album, David has said, "I’m proudest of … SOLDIERS ON THE MOON.  That’s all live to two-track, which means everybody’s in the studio:  the strings, the players, the singers.  They’re in their booth and you all sing all at once and they print it.  When it’s live to two-track with no edits and no overdubs, that means no snipping away mistakes, no re-doing something or adding to it.  You get what you get, and sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s a train wreck, and I lucked out on that one." 

SOLDIERS was originally released in 1990 by Pony Canyon in Japan and Agenda in the U.S.  In 2000, Cool Sound issued SOLDIERS ON THE MOON with 5 bonus tracks.  The CD (available from our CONTACT/SHOP page) features all 11 original tracks plus four alternate takes (of "Soldiers on the Moon" (in David's low voice), "It’s Too Late," "Without the One You Love," and "Warm as the Wind") and a new track called "This is Real." 

Thanks to everyone who has written to request more "Tales," and we're happy to report that David's second and last installment of TALES FROM THE ROAD 2003, his reports from the James Taylor "October Road" tour, is now posted on our site.

Click HERE to read it and to see the photos that are included. 

Watch for a new FEATURED SONG and more ASK DAVID answers coming soon, and keep an eye out for David's TALES FROM HOME, posted periodically.

• LISTEN TO OUR FEATURED SONG FOR MARCH/APRIL/MAY

• GOOD VIBRATIONS

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to our Featured Song for March, April and May, the title track from David's SOLDIERS ON THE MOON album, a song whose lyrics are even more timely today than when they were written in 1989. 

Performing behind David's lead vocal for this song (lyrics by David, music by David and John Sterling) are David Benoit on acoustic piano; Gregg Karukas on keyboards, Jeff Porcaro on drums, and Abe Laboriel on bass, plus background vocals by Luther Vandross, Rita Coolidge, Myrna Smith, Arnold McCuller, Carmen Twillie, Lynn Pitney, Fred White, Eugene VanBuren and Charlotte Crossley.

SOLDIERS was originally released in 1990 by Pony Canyon in Japan and Agenda in the U.S.  In 2000, Cool Sound issued SOLDIERS ON THE MOON with 5 bonus tracks.  The CD (available HERE on our site) features all 11 original tracks plus four alternate takes (of "Soldiers on the Moon" (in David's low voice), "It’s Too Late," "Without the One You Love," and "Warm as the Wind") and a new track called "This is Real." 

Many of you have written to ask about the Good Vibrations album featuring disco "cover versions" of some classic Beach Boys hit tracks, with vocals conceived, arranged and performed by David, Arnold McCuller and Luther Vandross.  Someone is currently selling this LP on EBAY.  If you're interested, visit EBAY and search (in Titles AND Descriptions) for "Good Vibrations" + Lasley. 

The auction, which ends March 19, is not associated in any way with David or his web site.

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to the Featured Song for January and February, "Where is Charlie and Joanne" from David's critically acclaimed MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND album.

Performing behind David's lead and background vocals for this song (which he wrote) are Willie Wilcox on drums and celeste; David Benoit on piano; Chuck Cochran on guitar; Osamu Kitajima on acoustic guitar; Dave Williams on upright bass; Jody Linscott on bells, spirit stick and leaves; and strings arranged and conducted by Nick De Caro.

New York Times critic Stephen Holden said of MISSIN' TWENTY GRAND, "The wide-open emotionality of Mr. Lasley’s singing, combined with his confessional lyrics and the way his tunes blend the style of Motown with more sophisticated Broadway and Hollywood influences, recalls the pop style of Laura Nyro’s classic late-60’s albums."

WATCH FOR MCI COMMERCIAL

Keep an eye (and ear) out for David with Valerie Carter, Arnold McCuller and Kate Markowitz singing "Shower the People" with James Taylor in an MCI commercial on television and radio.  The footage used in the ad was taken from the 1998 "Live At the Beacon" show.

• MORE "ASK DAVID" ANSWERS

• NEW FAN PHOTOS

• FEATURED SONG FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

• DAVID'S BACKGROUNDS ON TWO CDS AND A VIDEO

David has answered more ASK DAVID questions, and included is a message of thanks from David to everyone who wrote to say they missed him at the end of the James Taylor October Road tour.

Be sure to check out our FAN PHOTOS page for some newly acquired photos from last summer's James Taylor tour visits to Hartford and Jones Beach as well as some newly unearthed photos from a few years back.  Special thanks to Michelle and Emily for the pix!

Visit our SOUNDS page to listen to the FEATURED SONG for November and December, "Thank You for the Moment" from David's DEMOS album.  Written by David and his "Rosie" partner Lana Marrano, this track features David Benoit on piano, David Williams on bass, Marty Walsh on guitar, David Garibaldi on drums, and David, Charlotte Crossley, Essra Mohawk, Arnold McCuller, Lynn Pitney, Eloise Laws and Joann Harris as the background vocal choir.

Bonnie Raitt's new Best of Bonnie Raitt CD contains a nice comment about David from Bonnie in the liner notes.  Writing about background singers Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens, she adds:

"Along with Arnold McCuller and David Lasley, they're so much a part of what makes my first three albums in this collection so special." 

David's background vocals are featured on this CD's "Have a Heart," "Something to Talk About," "I Can't Make You Love Me," "Not the Only One," "Love Sneakin' Up On You," and "You."  Click on the image below to hear song samples and for more information about this CD.

David's background vocals are also featured on Kate Markowitz's new Map of the World CD (along with James Taylor's and Arnold McCuller's as well), on the "Lay Away" and "Love In the Ruins" tracks.  He's also seen in the classic No Nukes video, just reissued, most prominently in the James Taylor-Carly Simon "Mockingbird" duet. 

Click on the images below for more information about Kate's CD or the No Nukes video.