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West
Palm Beach, FL (Nov. 20, 2009) – The Weather
Channel® (TWC),
in partnership with singing legend Aaron Neville and
The Salvation Army, announces the release of
“Holiday Party,” a holiday music compilation album.
The CD features the single “Please Don’t Forget” by
Aaron Neville, and a portion of the proceeds from
the single and the CD, both available by download
from
theweatherchannelmusic.com, will be donated to
The Salvation Army’s Annual Red Kettle Christmas
Campaign.
“We are very excited to expand The Weather Channel
music collection with the release of our new holiday
album, ‘Holiday Party,’” said Robyn Coward, director
of licensing and merchandising for The Weather
Channel. “The timing of this campaign aligns
perfectly with the holiday season and the recent
launch of
theweatherchannelmusic.com.”
“Holiday Party” features a mix of upbeat and festive
music. Along with classic holiday songs, the CD
offers the all-new single “Please Don’t Forget” by
Grammy Award-winner Aaron Neville. A song about
true joy and peace received from helping others,
“Please Don’t Forget” follows in the tradition of
the “original” Salvation Army Christmas song “Silver
Bells,” which also is performed by a Salvation Army
brass band on the CD. “Silver Bells,” inspired by
the iconic Salvation Army bell ringer, was
originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1950.
Neville also lends his voice to the holiday classics
“White Christmas” and “Go Tell It On The Mountain”
from his album “Christmas Prayer.” “Holiday
Party” features other well known artists such as Ray
Charles, The Beach Boys, Amy Grant, The Salvation
Army Ensemble, One Approved, Matt Belsante and
Blessing. Classic holiday songs include “All I Want
For Christmas,” “Little Drummer Boy,” the Charlie
Brown Christmas Theme and others.
“One of the sounds I love about the holiday season
is the ‘ring ring’ of Salvation Army bells at Red
Kettles. It brings hope, happiness and awareness to
so many around the U.S. It's such an honor to
partner with The Salvation Army and The Weather
Channel on this holiday collection and new song.
‘Please Don't Forget’ is just a reminder to reach
out a hand to our brothers and sisters who may need
a little extra help this holiday season and every
season for generations to come,” said Aaron Neville.
Aaron Neville will appear for the special premiere
performance of “Please Don’t Forget” Friday, Nov. 20
on Wake Up with Al, The Weather Channel
morning show hosted by Al Roker and Stephanie
Abrams. The Weather Channel, Aaron Neville and The
Salvation Army also have joined forces to promote
the single and the CD. TWC will support the effort
from weather.com as well as on air. The single
“Please Don’t Forget” – available exclusively on the
“Holiday Party” CD – and the full CD will both be
available for purchase and download from
theweatherchannelmusic.com. “Holiday Party”
will be distributed to the retail market via EMICMG
Distribution, a subsidiary of EMI Music. The CD
will be available at major retailers such
as Wal-Mart.
“The
Salvation Army has a strong musical tradition so
this partnership is a natural fit,” said Major
George Hood, national community relations and
development secretary for The Salvation Army. “This
is an excellent way for people to help their
neighbors in need by supporting the Red Kettle
Campaign while enjoying some great music in the
process.”
The release of “Holiday Party” follows past CD
release successes from The Weather Channel. In
December 2007, TWC’s debut album “The Weather
Channel Presents…Smooth Jazz” hit number one on
Billboard’s current contemporary jazz charts and
became a top-20 seller on Amazon.com. In spring
2008, a second “Smooth Jazz II” compilation was on
Amazon.com’s Top-40 list for several weeks. Both CDs
are available at
www.weather.com/store, Best Buy and Amazon.com.
About The Weather Channel Companies
The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC)
is made up of The Weather Channel Network (TWCN),
The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCi), and Weather
Services International (WSI). The Weather Channel®
is based in Atlanta and is seen in more than 99
million U.S. households. TWCN also operates
Weatherscan, a 24-hour all-local weather network;
The Weather Channel Radio Network; and The Weather
Channel HD. TWCi, which includes the
weather.com® site, The Weather
Channel Desktop and
The Weather Channel Mobile, reaches more than 40
million unique users online each month and
is the most popular source of online
weather, news and information according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
WSI,
headquartered in Andover, MA, primarily provides
business-to-business weather services, particularly
for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors.
TWCC is owned by a consortium made up of NBC
Universal and the private equity firms The
Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more
information, visit
www.weather.com/press.
About The Salvation Army
The
Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal
Christian church established in 1865, has been
supporting those in need in His name without
discrimination for 129 years in the United States.
Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from
The Salvation Army each year through the broadest
array of social services that range from providing
food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims,
assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly
and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and
opportunities
for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is used to
support those services in 5,000 communities
nationwide. For more information, go to
www.salvationarmyusa.org.
About Aaron Neville
Aaron was the first Neville to burn his way up the
national charts when "Tell It Like It Is" hit number
one in 1966. The Neville Brothers, with Aaron as one
of the lead vocalists, went on to record a series of
memorable albums, including Yellow Moon (for
which Aaron wrote the title track). Aaron's solo
career hit another high in the Nineties when Linda
Rondstadt and George Massenburg produced Warm
Your Heart. He won two Grammies for his duets
with Linda Ronstadt on "Don't Know Much" and "All My
Life," both Top Ten hits. In 1994, he won Best
Country and Western Vocal Collaboration with Trisha
Yearwood for "I Fall to Pieces." In this same
period, he also won Best Male Singer two years
running in the Rolling Stone critics' poll. After
five decades of consistent hit-making, Aaron Neville
has, in the words of one Rolling Stone writer,
"reached a highpoint in a career marked by artistic
superlatives. Bring It On Home - The Soul
Classics is an album for the ages and Neville's
most remarkable work to date." Aaron continues to
record new music and tour internationally with both
The Neville Brothers and with his Quintet featuring
Charles Neville. For more information, go to
www.aaronneville.com.
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