Sarah McLachlan's WINTERSONG, Her First Ever Holiday Album, Arrives October 17th on Arista Records

Sarah McLachlan's WINTERSONG, Her First Ever Holiday Album, Arrives October 17th on Arista Records

12-Song Collection Highlighted By New Versions of John Lennon's 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' and Joni Mitchell's 'River'

First new studio recording by Sarah McLachlan in three years, since double- platinum Afterglow

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- It's coming for Christmas... and 3-time Grammy and 8-time Juno Award-winning multi-platinum Arista recording artist Sarah McLachlan, who has sold over 30 million records around the world, will usher in the spirit of the season with the release of her first holiday album, WINTERSONG, a 12-song collection that will arrive in stores on October 17th.

Recorded in her home studio in Vancouver, Sarah McLachlan presents these classic songs on WINTERSONG with a unique twist, making them her own and translating them into her repertoire. These recordings are not simply traditional holiday fare. Instead, WINTERSONG could be considered the soundtrack to a blustery winter day. The album opens with her version of John Lennon's timeless declaration of peace from 1971, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band originally recorded the song with the Harlem Community Choir, and Sarah is also joined by a choral group -- a children's choir of students from the music school she personally funds and oversees in her hometown of Vancouver. (The Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach Program was founded in September 2003, to provide free music education classes to inner city youths whose school music programs have been hit by budget cuts. "As a kid," Sarah recalls, "music saved my life; having that one thing that I knew I was good at made all the difference. It feels so good to be able to see their lives impacted. There's hardly any joy comparable.")

Another highlight of the new album is Sarah's version of "River" from Joni Mitchell's 1971 Blue album ("It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees..."). The title track "Wintersong" was written by Sarah specifically for this album. On this recording, she also pays homage to Gordon Lightfoot with his 1975 "Song For A Winter's Night." From the American standard songbook, Sarah has chosen "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." The program is rounded out with the traditional "What Child Is This (Greensleeves)," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night," the classically flavored "In A Bleak Mid Winter," and a medley of "The First Noel/ Mary Mary." In addition, WINTERSONG features guest appearances from Diana Krall on piano on "Christmas Time Is Here" from the 1965 Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon and fellow Canadian Jim Creegan of Barenaked Ladies guests on double bass throughout the album.

Since joining Arista nearly two decades ago, every one of Sarah McLachlan's studio and live albums and videos have been certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum by the RIAA, starting with Touch (1988) and Solace (1991), both gold sellers. Her 1994 breakthrough, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (triple-platinum) was followed by the digitally enhanced multimedia version of The Freedom Sessions (1995, gold). Sarah's landmark fifth album, the 8x- platinum Surfacing (1997), contained two Grammy Award-winning tracks, as "Building a Mystery" won for Best Female Pop Vocal, and "Last Dance" was voted Best Pop Instrumental. 1999's triple-platinum Mirrorball, and its platinum long-form video counterpart, were both culled from that year's Lilith Fair tour, and spun off Sarah's third Grammy-winning performance, as "I Will Remember You" won for Best Female Pop Vocal. The double-platinum Afterglow followed in 2003, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, while its opening track, "Fallen" was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal.

WINTERSONG is Sarah's first new studio recording since Afterglow. The new album celebrates three years of renewed growth and self-realization for the artist who takes a joyous and festive turn on WINTERSONG, a timely gift from Sarah McLachlan to her universe of fans, new and old.

WINTERSONG Track listing:
1. Happy Xmas (War is Over)
2. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
3. River
4. Wintersong
5. I'll Be Home For Christmas
6. O Little Town of Bethlehem
7. The First Noel/ Mary Mary
8. Silent Night
9. Song For A Winter's Night
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
11. In A Bleak Mid Winter
12. Christmas Time Is Here

Source: Arista Records

CONTACT: J-Arista Publicity Department Contacts: Mika El-Baz,
+1-646-840-5670, or mika.elbaz@sonybmg.com; Sarah Weinstein Dennison,
+1-646-840-5672, or sarah.weinstein@sonybmg.com; TV outlets, contact: Kevin
Beisler, +1-646-840-5675, or Kevin.beisler@sonybmg.com

Web site: http://www.jrecords.com/

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