John Waite

Los Angeles, CA, April 5th, 2014: With a career spanning nearly four decades, legendary singer-songwriter John Waite, known for his solo work as well as work with iconic bands The Babys and Bad English, will be releasing his new greatest hits record, BEST, on May 13, 2014. The album features 18 songs spanning his illustrious career including eleven studio hits - three of which were recently re-recorded - five live songs, and two unplugged tracks. “This collection is called BEST because it's my best. It's me putting together my favorite work and it’s totally subjective; I had no one to answer to but myself,” says Waite. “It was, I have to say, great fun.” Waite has been successfully writing, recording and performing some of the most listenable, enduring and appreciated popular music for more than 35 years. He rose to fame as bassist and lead vocalist for The Babys, who rocketed to Top 20 chart positions with a pair of infections hits - “Isn’t it Time” from the band’s 1977 sophomore LP, Broken Heart and the monster ballad, “Every Time I Think of You” off 1978’s Head First. After the breakup of The Babys, Waite began an abundant and prodigious solo career, ignited by the well-received release, Ignition, which featured the single, “Change,” which rode the AOR charts for weeks in 1982. John’s next solo effort, 1984’s No Brakes, did exactly what the title inferred, barreling at runaway train speed to international acclaim and U.S. platinum success thanks to the smash hit, “Missing You,” which did not stop until it reached Number 1 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles, Album Rock Tracks and Adult Contemporary charts. The following up single, “Tears” was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. In 1988, a reunion with former Baby’s band mates, Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips –along with uber-guitarist Neal Schon from Journey and drummer Deen Castronovo –resulted in the John Waite fronted supergroup, Bad English. And in 1989, the group’s ballad, “When I See You Smile,” – penned by Grammy-winning songwriter, Diane Warren – went to Number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was certified Gold. The album reached Top Five and sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone. Bad English released two albums before breaking up in 1992. Since returning to the recording studio and concert trek as a solo artist in 1995, John has produced a string of solid, existentially eccentric, courageously eclectic and blisteringly electric rock n’ roll records, including 1995’s Temple Bar, 1997’s When You Were Mine, 2001’s Figure in a Landscape, 2004’s The Hard Way, 2006’s Downtown: Journey of a Heart and 2010’s In Real Time. It's especially timely that John Waite's BEST is coming out now as New York Times Best Selling author Harlan Coben's new thriller Missing You is named after Waite's signature 1984 chart-topper. The thriller even references the iconic song, which is represented on this new collection twice with a newly recorded version and an intimate duet with Alison Krauss. For more information, visit: www.johnwaitethesinger.com TRACK LIST: 1. Back On My Feet Again (newly re-recorded) 2. Isn’t It Time (newly re-recorded) 3. Rough and Tumble 4. Missing You (newly re-recorded) 5. If You Ever Get Lonely 6. Better Off Gone 7. Suicide Life 8. Change (live) 9. Every Time I Think Of You (live) 10. Head First (live) 11. Evil (live) 12. Saturday Night (live) 13. Bluebird Café (unplugged) 14. I’m Ready (unplugged) 15. In Dreams 16. The Hard Way 17. Downtown 18. Missing You (duet with Allison Krauss)