Country legend Sylvia returns with personal new album

ATLANTA - The story of Grammy-nominated singer Sylvia’s latest album — titled "Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey" — begins where any good story does: Once upon a time…

"I took a break from full-time touring at the end of the 1980s, and I was processing those years of touring," Sylvia says. "And one of the things that I realized that was so precious was that from the time that ‘Nobody’ hit, just tons of children would show up at my shows. And looking back, I thought, ‘Wow, it would have been so nice to have music that had lyric content of things I wanted to be saying to kids.’"

So, the Academy of Country Music Award winner started writing those songs. The result is "Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey," entirely co-written by Sylvia and released in February. It’s a uniquely personal project for the artist, who says album opener "Avalon" came to her in a bit of magic.

"I had a dream in which I was holding a wooden clock, and I turned this clock over and etched in the back of the clock was my name. But my name was not ‘Sylvia.’ My name was ‘Avalon.’ I very much work in metaphor when I write songs and in life. And I really got to talking about how ‘Avalon’ is an identity, or a destination, or a place; maybe it’s the deepest part of ourselves."

"Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey" extends a career that began more than 40 years ago, when Sylvia became a pioneer of country-crossover music. Songs like "Nobody" were hits on both the country and pop charts, long before many people thought that was possible.

"I remember a disc jockey said to me one time, ‘So, you want to be country singer?’ And I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ And he said, ’Well, when are you going to start recording country music?’  So, that kind of mentality was out there, that I was a little too pop for country. But I was being really true to what music I was drawn to singing. And so, when ‘Nobody’ crossed over, it was a big surprise to the record label."

"Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey" is available for streaming and download now on all major music platforms; click over to the artist’s website here for more information on the album and upcoming tour dates.