Edwin McCain's warm and winsome songs have built an enduring and enviable career, filled with chart-topping hits and crowds in every town that keep him on the road over 200 days each year. A rare artist whose songs are as popular today as the day they were released, McCain returns with a new powerful single that is poised to take its place alongside his romantic touchstones "I'll Be" and "I Could Not Ask For More." "Walk With You," a poignant song about a father and his daughter, has just been released to iTunes and will be featured on McCain's upcoming career retrospective album, due in the first quarter of 2009 on Saguaro Road Records.

McCain's extraordinary talent for writing songs that people of all walks of life deeply identify with has turned his songs into timeless standards and, much to his surprise, wedding favorites. "I'll Be" was named Dr. Phil's #1 wedding song by an audience vote of over 1 million and continues to receive gold level airplay on radio stations. "I Could Not Ask For More" follows closely behind, making McCain revered by new couples and wedding planners across the country. "Walk With You" is well on its way to becoming an instant classic.

McCain co-wrote the song with singer/songwriter Maia Sharp. The two have collaborated on songs for each others' albums and most recently on McCain's "Hold Out a Hand," which donated all profits to people affected by the hurricanes of 2005. "When Maia and I decided to write together again," recalls Edwin, "I said let's just start out with this song for a friend's daughter who's getting married, do a little song not for public consumption, just a nice song he can have for his daughter and a it'll be a good warm up for us to start writing the ‘real stuff.'" But "Walk With You" quickly took on a life of its own. "We had one of those ‘wow' moments," he continues, "and it sort of grew from that. By the end of the recording session, even the engineer in the studio was tearing up and you can't get a more jaded guy that the engineer who hears every single song out there."

But the real test was putting it before an audience. "Performing it at the wedding wasn't a really fair gauge," McCain admits. "So I started putting it into my touring set list, and was floored when the crowds erupted mid-song. That just doesn't happen with new songs." Edwin also played "Walk With You" on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom radio show a few weeks ago. The phone lines immediately lit up, other radio stations from around the country called his record label for a copy, and the Internet buzzed excitedly. Saguaro Road Records rushed to release the single to the public months before originally planned, and will officially begin working it to radio stations just prior to the upcoming album's release date.

Biography

Edwin McCain is happy. Life's been good to him and he is very much obliged. Millions of albums sold. Hit songs that never leave the radio airwaves. An unwavering fanbase that keeps him on tour more days out of the year than not. And - surprising even Edwin himself - not one, but two of the most enduring wedding songs on the circuit, his earnest and soulful delivery unlikely standouts amongst all the other contrived wedding fare. So when it came to recording a new album, Edwin wanted to share the songs he loves and that make him happy, hoping listeners will take a few moments along the way to discover, rediscover and savor some of the best vintage soul and R&B songs ever written.

So why would McCain - someone who has considerable talent at writing his own songs – choose to do an album of other peoples' work? "For me, it was an absolute blast," he says. "It was so much fun taking a break from staring into my own bellybutton, playing, singing, interpreting other people's songs just for the fun of it. Purely for the joy of doing it."

The idea for Nobody's Fault But Mine had been simmering for quite some time. "I had a conversation with my friend Kevn Kinney (of Drivin' n' Cryin') about five or six years ago, who said ‘you need to get a smoking band together and make a soul music album like James Brown,' and I loved it." Then last year, out of the blue, Edwin was invited by producer Tor Hyams (Joan Osborne, Tricky) to do just that. After culling through hundreds of songs, Edwin and his team came up with the 15 tracks for Nobody's Fault But Mine. They enlisted Steve Cropper, one of the architects of the Stax sound and a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's, as well as Joan Osborne ("I've Got Dreams To Remember") and Ivan Neville to join Larry Chaney (guitar), Manolo Yanes (bass), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Moffet and Craig Shields (saxophones), Quentin Ware (trumpet), Steve Pierson (acoustic guitar on "Good Times") and C.C. White and Chasen Hampton (background vocals) in the studio.

The band approached the sessions much like the originals, recording the tracks largely live in just one or two takes. "When we got to the studio, we were ripping through, recording a lot of songs in a short period of time." A particular favorite was "T.C.B. or T.Y.A." "It was one of my discoveries when searching for songs for the album, a real gift," Edwin explains. "And the version we ended up with is amazing." Exhilarating "Can I Get A Witness" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" were added alongside songs like the funk laden "Grits Ain't Groceries (All Around The World)" and deliciously dirty "Ninety-Nine and a Half." There's even a "Happy Song," resplendent in Stax-worthy horns.

"Some of the most fun in making the album was returning to the era and mindset of the songs," Edwin recalls, "really understanding the beauty of it all, just the absolute and total brilliance of the music and capturing the spirit of it." Upon listening to McCain's deep, expressive vocals belting out the rhythm and blues, it's clear that he and the songs are kindred spirits, finally finding each other and embracing in the reunion.

While radio fans may know McCain best for his smash hits "I'll Be," "I Could Not Ask For More" and "Solitude," the singer/songwriter paid his dues in full by touring relentlessly early in his career. After releasing seven albums and selling over 2 million copies, he continues to perform hundreds concerts throughout the country each year.

"The album's not meant to be heavy or overly contemplative," sums up Edwin. "With everything that seems to be going on in the world, it's nice to smile once in a while."