GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Annie Lennox released her latest solo album, Nostalgia, on vinyl on Sept. 30 with digital, CD and deluxe CD/DVD editions due Oct. 21. Ahead of the album's release, Lennox participated in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview, discussing how she learned the music for Nostalgia, which features her unique interpretations on iconic compositions from the Great American Songbook, and the range of emotions that are expressed on the album, among other topics.
"What is interesting about Nostalgia is that there's a whole range of emotions expressed throughout each song," said Lennox. "As a human being myself, I've experienced all those emotions. … Whether it be longing, loss, beauty, aspiration, [or] memory — all these things that are human emotions are actually manifest through music. … It is the language of the heart, the mind and soul."
Born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland, Lennox learned how to play both piano and flute as a child. After a stint at London's Royal Academy of Music, Lennox met guitarist Dave Stewart, who asked her to join his band the Tourists. The group released three albums in two years and earned a Top 5 hit in the UK with a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You." Stewart and Lennox subsequently left the Tourists and formed Eurythmics. In 1983 the duo topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" and earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist. They subsequently won a GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Missionary Man" from their 1986 Top 15 album Revenge.
After the Eurythmics disbanded, Lennox launched a solo career with her 1992 debut album Diva, which reached the Top 25 on the Billboard 200 and earned GRAMMY nominations for Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female on the strength of the hits "Walking On Broken Glass" and "Why." Lennox won a GRAMMY for Best Music Video — Long Form for the album's video companion. She subsequently released 1995's Medusa, which featured the GRAMMY-winning hit "No More 'I Love You's,'" followed by 2003's Bare and 2007's Songs Of Mass Destruction, both of which made the Top 10.
In 2014 Lennox and Stewart reunited for one night only to perform "The Fool On The Hill" on "The Beatles: The Night That Changed America — A GRAMMY Salute," an Emmy-winning special that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' groundbreaking first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Co-produced by GRAMMY winner Don Was, Nostalgia features Lennox's interpretations of 12 American classics, including "Georgia On My Mind" (co-written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell) and "I Put A Spell On You" (composed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins).