Rhiannon Giddens, one of the founding members of Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, has announced a debut solo record ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’, produced by T-Bone Burnett, due out February 10 on Nonesuch Records (vinyl to hit the stores March 3).

Album Artwork

Rhiannon has commented on the choice of songs for the record:

“I had already started putting together a list of songs that didn’t really fit into the Chocolate Drops world. At the top was ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ [immortalized by Nina Simone]. Seeing Nina do it on YouTube was revelatory. I knew she’d gone through a lot of hard times, as so many people did in that time period. Watching her sing this song, with the words ‘tomorrow is my turn,’ I began to think about the struggle of her and women like her. Other songs started getting on my list and they were all by women or interpreted by women.”

According to the press release, ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ was recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville, with a multi-generational group of players whom T-Bone Burnett assembled. Among them are fiddle player Gabe Witcher and double bassist Paul Kowert of label-mates Punch Brothers; percussionist Jack Ashford of Motown’s renowned Funk Brothers; drummer Jay Bellerose; guitarist Colin Linden; legendary backup singer Tata Vega; veteran Nashville session bassist Dennis Crouch; and Giddens’ Drops touring band-mates, multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins and beat-boxer Adam Matta.

Giddens’ upcoming solo work follows her collaboration with Elvis Costello, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James, and Marcus Mumford on ‘Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes,’ an album also produced by Burnett that was released in November 2014. Her contribution to the songs ‘Spanish Mary,’ ‘When I Get My Hands On You,’ ‘Married To My Hack’ and the others was hailed by New York Times, saying:

“On lead vocals she’s the album’s revelation, singing melodies that hark back to Celtic modes with a decisive presence and a haunting grace.”

Album tracks ‘Don’t Let It Trouble Your Mind’ and ‘Shake Sugaree’ are already available for listening below; the full record track list includes both Giddens-written songs and the well-known classics.

‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ Track Listing:
1. Last Kind Words (Geeshie Wiley, arr. Rhiannon Giddens)
2. Don’t Let It Trouble Your Mind (Dolly Parton)
3. Waterboy (Jacques Wolfe)
4. She’s Got You (Hank Cochran)
5. Up Above My Head (Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
6. Tomorrow Is My Turn (Charles Aznavour/Marcel Stellman/Yves Stéphane)
7. Black Is the Color (Traditional, arr. Rhiannon Giddens)
8. Round About the Mountain (Traditional, arr. Roland Hayes)
9. Shake Sugaree (Elizabeth Cotten)
10. O Love Is Teasin’ (Traditional, arr. Rhiannon Giddens)
11. Angel City (Rhiannon Giddens)