For Immediate Release

May 18, 2012

SEATTLE-based TESS HENLEY joins a diverse roster of self-released and independent label talent culled from 6 continents named today by Music Resource Group (MRG) as the Judge-determined Winners of The 11^th Annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential international awards program for independent bands and fans.

The winners, hand selected from thousands of submissions from around the globe, were determined by a panel of influential artists and music industry pros including Keith Richards, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, Ryan Tedder (One Republic), Pete Wentz, Lee Ritenour, Del McCoury, Ozzy Osbourne, Bettye LaVette, Jim Lauderdale, Joshua Redman, Shelby Lynne, Kevin Lyman (Warped Tour), Jason Olaine (Jazz At Lincoln Center), Alan Light (Live From The Artists Den), and Evan Schlansky (American Songwriter).

Tess Henley’s Boy In The Window was named the winner of the R&B Single for this 11^th edition of The IMAs.  Currently, Tess is finishing her latest full-length album in Philadelphia, the epicenter of a soul sound all its own, with Dice Raw from The Roots crew. The talented songwriter is fusing her voice and vision with Dice and his talented team, including Khari Mateen (The Roots, Jill Scott, J*DaVeY). The new album that Tess is calling “her musical thesis” is due out this fall.  Last year, Tess won Budweiser’s Jill Scott/Anthony Hamilton Opening Act Contest and her music has already received international acclaim, all sans the aid of a major label or manager.  Her song entry was submitted by her distributor, GJTunes Worldwide.

Tess Henley website: http://www.tesshenley.com

Play: Boy In The Window

Details and complete list of 11^th annual IMA Winners, Nominees and Judges available at: www.TheIndependentMusicAwards.com

Artistry Has Its Awards
For more than a decade, artists and labels from around the world have found new fans and prominence through The Independent Music Awards.

Produced by Music Resource Group, publisher of the popular industry contact database The Musician’s Atlas, The IMAs uses its unrivaled access to performance, promotion and distribution to connect Winners and Nominees to new audiences and revenue opportunities.

The program receives submissions from artists previously on major labels as well as self-released and indie label talent from more than 70 countries on six continents.

Submissions for The 12^th Annual Independent Music Awards are currently being accepted at www.TheIndependentMusicAwards.com/submit

1 Bobby Caldwell is an American singer/songwriter who is still best known for his 1978 hit single What You Won’t Do For Love. While he’s always maintained a devoted fan base in the United States, a legendary status has been bestowed upon him in Japan. For R&B and modern jazz fans in the US, he retains the title of: “The white guy most often mistaken for an African American vocalist.” Caldwell wanted the song to be the sixth track on the album since he figured the second track, “My Flame” would be the hit. When it was released to R&B radio, his label did its best to shield Caldwell’s identity, hoping not to alienate its predominantly black audience. However, when Caldwell began making performances live on stage, it only increased demand. The song would become Caldwell’s most successful single and also his signature song, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on US R&B charts and #10 on US Adult Contemporary charts.

Since its release, the song has been covered by R&B, pop and jazz artists alike and has been an oft-sampled song in hip-hop and house circles.

2 The English pop duo, Go West, covered the song in 1992 on their Indian Summer LP, giving fans a chance to hear it 14 years after it’s original release. While they’ve had many successful singles in their native UK, they are generally best known in the United States for their hits “King of Wishful Thinking” and “Faithful”.

3 In 1997 American producer/actor/investor Percy Robert Miller (better known by his stage name Master P) put a ‘lil stank on it with If I Could Change.  This song juxtaposed Master P’s street game rap with Bobby as the smooth backgrounds. A year later Bobby himself decided to bring the silky vocals back with his own updated remake, found on the 20^th Anniversary CD set called The Timeline Anthology.

4 Tupac Shakur continued the recycling and remixing by sampling the song on 2004’s Do For Love, as did the Notorious B.I.G. on Sky’s The Limit.  Shakur’s Do For Love now has over 15 million YouTube hits.

5 Recently, DJ Jazzy Jeff & Raheem Davaughn sampled the song on My Soul Ain’t For Sale, found on 2007’s release The Return of the Magnificent that featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pos from De La Soul, & Method Man.

6 Today, Seattle’s Tess Henley brings the song full circle, back to it’s melodic vibe, but with a modern duo twist, featuring another great local artist, Mycle Wastman. With help from online streaming sites likes Pandora, Spotify and YouTube, the duet is now heard worldwide. In fact, Japan’s Tower Records endorsed Tess’ Easy To Love CD with large in-store promotions, and brisk sales gave rise to making her title cut the A-side on a brand new, 7” vinyl that became #1 for all genres at JetSet, the country’s “vinyl megastore”.  The B-side to that record? You guessed it, What You Won’t Do For Love, which is “Song of the Week” on UK’s www.JazzFM.com, where younger listeners will no doubt ask “who’s the cheeky bird covering the Go West song?”

Special thanks to Wikipedia.