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" &amp;quot;It must seem different from the outside because I&amp;#039;ve always just done the next thing that&amp;#039;s come my way without a whole lot of thought,&amp;quot; Leon Russell, the legendary songwriter and keyboardist, told me recently. Russell, 71, is in the midst of a career Indian summer. While it may not rival his 1970s heyday, Russell scored a Billboard number-three and Grammy nomination in 2010 with The Union, his collaboration with uber-fan Elton John, and releases Life Journey, helmed by famed jazz producer Tommy LiPuma, who helped break Diana Krall as a star and recently produced Paul McCartney&amp;#039;s Grammy-winning Kisses on the Bottom, April 1 on Universal Music Enterprises. We&amp;#039;re pleased to premiere &amp;quot;Big Lips&amp;quot; from Life Journey here.      Both albums are different from what longtime fans might expect, but they&amp;#039;re no less satisfying. &amp;quot;Elton really pushed me to do a solo album,&amp;quot; Russell says. &amp;quot;We talked to some labels and they wanted me to have a producer. I usually make my own records, but we considered a few people. But I ran into Tommy over at the Montreaux Jazz Festival and asked if he had time \u2014 because I&amp;#039;ve known Tommy for almost as long as I&amp;#039;ve been in this business \u2014 and he said, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;ll make time!&amp;#039; I was really happy he was interested because I trusted him and I&amp;#039;m really pleased with the results. He works with some amazing players and he has a wonderful production style.&amp;quot; Russell grew up in Tulsa, Okalhoma, playing in bar bands with the likes of J.J. Cale before relocating to Los Angeles and becoming one of the most well-liked and respected session men of the 1960s, playing on hits by The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, and Glen Campbell, and appearing as part of the legendary Los Angeles backing band the Wrecking Crew on the equally renowned T.A.M.I. Show. In 1969 Joe Cocker was looking for songs for his debut album, which Russell was producing and arranging. &amp;quot;I thought it was about time to pitch some songs,&amp;quot; Russell says. &amp;quot;I hadn&amp;#039;t really done that before.&amp;quot; Russell offered up &amp;quot;Delta Lady,&amp;quot; one of his own, and a new career path opened up. He went on to organize Cocker&amp;#039;s tour in support of his self-titled debut. Called the Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour, its live album is considered a gem among music aficionados. But Russell truly broke out in his own right after sharing the stage with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan at Harrison&amp;#039;s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. For Russell it was just another friend offering a gig. &amp;quot;George called me and told me Ravi [Shankar], who was from Bangladesh, had told him they needed help because they were having a terrible drought and I was happy to help,&amp;quot; Russell remembers matter-of-factly. &amp;quot;It felt special. I was privileged to be there. Everyone there was there for George. I&amp;#039;m not sure why Bob Dylan asked me to play bass, but it was great fun.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Years later Willie Nelson told me that the United States government had forced them to stop making hemp, which was one of their main crops and really sustained them in many ways,&amp;quot; Russell goes on. &amp;quot;When they stopped making it and planting it their crops all blew away.&amp;quot; Russell and the legendary English producer Denny Cordell formed Shelter Records together. &amp;quot;I told Denny that I&amp;#039;d always wanted a label that was known for a particular type and quality of record, like the old days,&amp;quot; Russell explains. &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s what we set out to do.&amp;quot; Shelter was hugely successful for Russell, and even helped launch the career of Tom Petty.  Years of touring, and a string of hit records and rock classics like &amp;quot;Hummingbird,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Song for You,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Roll Away the Stone,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;This Masquerade,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Help Me Through the Day&amp;quot; followed. &amp;quot;I always struggled with lyrics,&amp;quot; the remarkably humble Russell admits now. &amp;quot;I got a book recently that helped demystify that for me and now I can knock them off easy. You want me to write you a song?&amp;quot;  I tell Russell yes, but our time is short and there&amp;#039;s a lot to cover. Russell continued to tour throughout the &amp;#039;90s, but the crowds got smaller. Then Elton John called.  &amp;quot;I go on a yearly safari and David [Furniss, John&amp;#039;s husband] had Leon on his iPhone,&amp;quot; John said in 2010. &amp;quot;It brought me to tears, how much I loved this man&amp;#039;s music and how much he had inspired me in my early career. I&amp;#039;d opened for Leon Russell when I first came to the States. It struck me as tragic that I was playing arenas and he was playing little clubs.&amp;quot; John reached out to Russell and the two struck up a collaboration. &amp;quot;I work fast, but I watched Elton there in the studio just reel off these amazing tunes,&amp;quot; Russell says of the experience. &amp;quot;Bernie [Taupin, John&amp;#039;s longtime lyricist] told me that no one ever watches Elton write \u2014 that in 25 years or whatever, he&amp;#039;d never seen him write \u2014 but there it was. Something was happening.&amp;quot; For an album released in the days when the format is sputtering, The Union was an artistic and commercial success and created renewed interest in Russell, among old fans who&amp;#039;d perhaps forgotten about him and new fans who were curious to find out why all their heroes were in Russell&amp;#039;s thrall all those years ago. A career retrospective, The Best of Leon Russell, followed in 2011, then induction into the Rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; Roll Hall of Fame, and now Life Journey. &amp;quot;I think Elton basically insisted they put me in the Hall of Fame,&amp;quot; Russell says, chuckling at the thought. In his characteristically modest way he goes on, &amp;quot;I was honored to be in there with all those other names. It was really an honor.&amp;quot;  As for the future? &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d like to thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt that I know what I&amp;#039;m doing, and it&amp;#039;s up to him, but I&amp;#039;d love to do an album with Elton and Tommy producing,&amp;quot; Russell says. &amp;quot;Denny and I had tried to get Elton for Shelter so to work with him now is great. But I think working with Elton and Tommy would be great. They&amp;#039;re both the real thing. And I&amp;#039;ve always thought Elton and I were great rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; roll singers, so I think that&amp;#039;d be really interesting to do a real rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; roll record. And as far as Tommy is concerned, he&amp;#039;s for anything that has to do with making records.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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