BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 23 (UPI) -- Starbucks and Concord Records announced Tuesday Ray Charles' upcoming CD of duets will be released in Starbucks shops late this summer.
The announcement called the venture "the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the two companies to produce and distribute new recordings under the Concord and Starbucks Hear Music brands." Starbucks has distributed music in the past, but the company's Music and Entertainment vice president, Don MacKinnon, said this project represents a first.
"While discovering new music has been an important part of the Starbucks Experience," he said in a statement, "this recording marks the first time that Starbucks will be involved with the creation of music from such legendary icons."
The CD features Charles duets with such collaborators as Elton John, Norah Jones, BB King, Diana Krall, Michael McDonald, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson.
Charles is a 13-time Grammy winner, as well as the recipient of a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement, the Presidential Medal for the Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors.
