Crawford's Choirboy Roots Show On Atlantic's 'wings'

After netting a platinum album and worldwide acclaim for his starring role in Broadway's 'The Phantom Of The Opera,' Michael Crawford revisits his roots as a London choirboy with the Feb. 17 release of 'On Eagle's Wings.'
Atlantic Records plans to use television heavily in promoting the new album and has also hired a Nashville marketing firm, the Resource Agency, to take it to the Christian bookstore market (see story, page 93).
'This goes back to when I was a choirboy,' says Crawford, who attended the London Choir School in his youth and was part of a choir that performed at St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and other locations. 'The love of that kind of music stayed with me.'
Crawford says that when he reached a stage in his career where he had
creative control, recording an album of spiritual songs was a priority. 'I'm now six or seven albums into my career, and this is the first album I've done that everything came from my heart, my ideas, and my memory bank,' he says.
Not that he regrets any of his previous releases. His 1991 album, 'Michael Crawford Performs Andrew Lloyd Webber,' is platinum. His 1993 project, 'A Touch Of Music In The Night,' has been certified gold, and 'The Phantom Of The Opera (The Complete London Cast Recording),' released in 1987, is a multi-platinum international hit.
The new set is very close to his heart, however. Working with producers John McCracken and John Vanore, Crawford was involved in every aspect of 'On Eagle's Wings'--from song selection to taking the photo used on the back cover of the CD. Crawford, appearing in a show in Las Vegas, had gone to Utah's Lake Powell for a little rest and relaxation, he says.
'I was lying in the bottom of a boat I had rented. It was a beautiful day, and I had fallen asleep,' he recalls. 'When I woke up, I saw a cloud shaped like an eagle. I reached over, grabbed my camera, and took the photograph of the sky that we used on the CD.'
Crawford recorded the basic tracks in Nashville, with Ronn Huff arranging and orchestrating nine of the 11 cuts on the album. The project includes guest appearances by the American Boychoir, the St. Olaf Choir of Minneapolis, and Atlantic labelmate Maire Brennan of Ireland's Clannad. The songs range from classics like 'Amazing Grace,' 'Ave Maria,' and 'I'll Walk With God' to new material like 'Joseph's Lullaby,' written especially for Crawford by Marcy Heisler and John Kavanaugh.
A couple of the cuts on the album, the title tune and 'Not Too Far From Here,' were songs Crawford says moved him when he was watching the memorial service following the tragic Oklahoma City bombing. 'I heard 'On Eagle's Wings' during the Oklahoma memorial service, but that wasn't the reason I recorded it. That was coincidental,' he says. 'A friend of our family's had died, and at his funeral they sang 'On Eagle's Wings,' and I was very moved by it. I loved the sentiment in it that we can be carried. We can be lifted, helped through life, and on to the next world. There's always help for us if we just ask.'
Crawford says many people advised him against recording 'Amazing Grace' because it's been cut so often. 'I defied people. I was determined to do something,' he says. 'And Maire brought so much to it with her beautiful harmonies that she put in and just freewheeled through . . . I'd never worked in that way before--everything was always pre-written and pre-rehearsed. She had me just standing at a microphone ad-libbing.'
The album is being marketed to Crawford's usual fan base and is being distributed by Warner Christian Distribution in the Christian bookstore market.
'We're very, very excited about this,' says Atlantic senior VP of marketing (U.S.) Vicky Germaise. 'Although it's unusual for us, the record has touched everyone that has listened to it. They've been captivated . . . The idea of taking these songs and singing them with passion as love songs is a very sweet, beautiful idea that has worked wonderfully.'
Germaise says television exposure will be key in marketing the album--particularly Crawford's PBS special in March. 'We really needed to have a centerpiece for our marketing efforts, and when Michael Crawford goes on television, we sell records,' she says.
Crawford will perform two cuts from the new album on the special, which will be broadcast during a pledge drive.
Plans also call for a push to retailers that draw adult consumers, such as Barnes & Noble and Borders. According to Germaise, there will be 'light boxes and plenty of paid visibility' at such accounts. The second phase of the label's marketing campaign will involve a direct-response TV campaign in May or June.
Tower Nashville GM Jon Kerlikowske says the project has strong potential. 'Because of his association with 'The Phantom,' (which has) been such a huge success, I'm sure we'll have sales on it,' he says. 'When an artist switches from the genre he's associated with and goes into a new one, publicity really is what will drive a record like this.'
Germaise expects Crawford to get exposure on 'The Rosie O'Donnell Show,' 'Access Hollywood,' and other TV programs.
He will also embark on a summer tour to promote the album.

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