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Philly Soul Legends The Stylistics Releasing New Album Featuring Shania Twain, Ronnie Wood, Gene Simmons & Other Special Guests

By Matt Friedlander | American Songwriter | December 11, 2024

Philadelphia soul legends The Stylistics are preparing to release their first new studio album since 2008, a star-studded 21-track collection called Falling in Love with My Girl. The album, which is due out February 21, 2025, will be available as a two-CD set and via digital formats.

An impressive, and quite surprising, list of music stars lent their talents to the album. Among them are Shania Twain, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, KISS’ Gene Simmons, and ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons. Others who contributed to the record include Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Ray Parker Jr., drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone of Elton John’s band, The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins, former Chicago member Bill Champlin, and veteran U.K. soul group The Real Thing.

The Stylistics’ current lineup features founding members Airrion Love and Herb Murrell, as well as Jason Sharp, who joined the group in 2011.

Falling in Love with My Girl was produced by Tom Cridland, a singer, songwriter, and producer who fronts a popular Elton John tribute band. Cridland co-wrote most of the songs on the album with U.K. songwriter Anthony King and King’s wife, Fiona Shaw.

Airrion Love contributed two songs to the album, “Sad Tomorrows” and “I Get a Feeling.” Barrington “Bo” Henderson a former member of both The Stylistics and The Temptations, also wrote a song, “If I Fail,” and sings lead on the track.

Olsson and Johnstone played drums and guitar throughout the album.

You can pre-order Falling in Love with My Girl now.

About the Album’s Lead Single, Which Features Twain

The album’s lead single, “Yes, I Will,” features and was co-written by Twain. The track, which was the last song completed for the project, will be released on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2025. The country star had been invited to sing one of the album’s other tracks, but she felt her demo, “Yes, I Will,” a soulful tune on which she’d been working for a couple of years, was the perfect soulful fit for a collaboration with The Stylistics.

Twain had already begun recording the song with help from Lukather, Parker, and lauded session bassist Nathan East. Cridland wrote a new section for the tune, The Stylistics added their vocals, and Olsson played drums on the track.

“I’m so happy that this song I wrote ‘Yes, I Will’ has found a home on The Stylistics album,” Twain said in a statement. “It’s a special song that came together on one special day at my home where I was hanging out with some friends and musicians. So I think it turned out great and I’m just really excited to share it with the whole world.”

Added Airrion Love, “I fell in love with Shania Twain the first time I heard ‘You’re Still the One’—a great song that I still love. When we heard there might be a chance to do something with her, we said, ‘Hell yeah!’”

About Some Other the Famous Collaborators Appearing on the Album

Wood played slide guitar on a song called “Who Am I.” He recorded his parts in Philadelphia in June 2024, after The Rolling Stones played a concert in the city.

Simmons had originally intended to just play bass on a song titled “Don’t Leave Me Here,” but Cridlund invited the KISS great to sing on it the tune, along with Murrell.

Gibbons played a guitar solo on the song “You’ll Live Forever,” while Hawkins lent his guitar talents to the album’s title track.

More About The Stylistics

The Stylistics are best-known for their run of Top-40 pop/soul hits during the early 1970s. Among their many classic tunes are “You Are Everything,” “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” “I’m Stone in Love with You,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

The Stylistics’ Upcoming Tour Plans

The group currently has four confirmed concerts in 2025, according to TheStylistics.org. They’ll play a January 2-3 stand in Honolulu to kick off the New Year. Those shows will be followed by performances on January 9 in San Diego and January 11 in Los Angeles.

Falling in Love with My Girl Track List:

1. “Falling In Love with My Girl” (with Justin Hawkins)
2. “Who Am I” (with Ronnie Wood and Jay Graydon)
3. “Leave So Soon”
4. “Sad Tomorrows”
5. “Infatuation” (with Tom Cridland)
6. “Yes, I Will” (with Shania Twain, Steve Luthaker, Ray Parker Jr., and Nathan East)
7. “Jealousy” (with Tom Cridland)
8. “Whatever Happened to Our Love” (with Bill Champlin, Nigel Olsson, and The Real Thing)
9. “You’ll Live Forever” (with Billy Gibbons)
10. “Endless Days” (with Tom Cridland)
11. “Take Me Back to Rainbows”
12. “Lost and Alone” (with Tom Cridland)
13. “Don’t Leave Me Here” (with Gene Simmons and Tower of Power)
14. “Holy Water” (with Tom Cridland)
15. “Rock and a Heartbeat” (with Tom Cridland and Tower of Power)
16. “I Could Never Leave Her” (with Tower of Power)
17. “Debbie” (with The Tomicks)
18. “Sonnet 18”
19. “I Get a Feeling”
20. “If I Fail”
21. Take Me Back to Rainbows” (Operatic Version) (Carly Paoli)

https://americansongwriter.com/philly-soul-legends-the-stylistics-releasing-new-album-featuring-shania-twain-ronnie-wood-gene-simmons-other-special-guests/