BAND DETAIL: Billy Bob Thornton

For Billy Bob Thornton, writing, recording and playing live music is something he has done his entire life.

With two RIAA Gold record certifications, having performed on the GRAMMY® winning album The Wind by Warren Zevon, headlining at SXSW 2003, a featured presenter on the 2005 GRAMMY Awards, performing vocals on the Tim McGraw tribute Where The Bluegrass Grows and the upcoming Anchored In Love: A Tribute To June Carter Cash, (featuring Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello and others), Billy Bob Thornton traces his music career back to learning drums at the tender age of nine years old. After performing throughout high-school, Thornton went on to play in several groups, most notably a ZZ Top tribute band, Tres Hombres, building a strong following opening for such legendary performers as Humble Pie, the MC5, Hank Williams Jr., Ted Nugent, the Earl Scruggs Review, and many others. Having released three critically acclaimed solo albums** - today, songwriter and musician Billy Bob Thornton's latest work, BEAUTIFUL DOOR (set for release on July 24th on New Door Records/UMe), proves to be his most introspective and prolific to date.

A collection of twelve tracks, BEAUTIFUL DOOR, is a lyrical, sonic story about life and death, beginnings and ends. "I have always felt, the best written songs are derived from your own experiences or things that you've observed, and as I was writing BEAUTIFUL DOOR, I realized I was writing about life and death on a personal level and on a global level as well." Stated Billy Bob Thornton. "Some songs are more personal to me, and some are on a bigger [global] scale. But it's a record about innocence and innocence lost, and life and death."

A blend of roots rock, country, and folk, the musical genres Billy Bob Thornton has always loved most, BEAUTIFUL DOOR is the follow up album to his third solo release in 2005, HOBO - and like HOBO, BEAUTIFUL DOOR is a collection of songs Thornton intended to have listened to as an "album," in its entirety. "I would not be satisfied if my record was a collection of one-off works grouped together helter-skelter," commented Billy Bob Thornton. "The album had to have a sequence. And even if it's not an A+B+C song type of story - BEAUTIFUL DOOR is still a sonic landscape that both musically and lyrically flows from one track to the next."

"BEAUTIFUL DOOR" is also the title track of the album, a song Billy Bob Thornton wrote as a commentary about war, politics, religion and the life & death of innocent people. Thornton reflects, "The song 'BEAUTIFUL DOOR' talks about how war, religion and politics are so blurred together today and how innocent people are ultimately the ones who end up suffering because of someone's fanatical beliefs. The lyrics express that I know you think there's some golden palace in the sky and because of your thinking you are willing to kill to get there, but the rest of us do not see that BEAUTIFUL DOOR!"

BEAUTIFUL DOOR features a selection of tracks ranging from the autobiographical "Always Countin'" about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; to the political anthem "Hope For Glory," a song about the loss of young men in war; to "Restin' Your Soul," told from the point of view of the person left behind; to the haunting "It's Just Me." This song is written from the perspective of someone who committed suicide that is now talking to the person whom they had loved. Billy Bob Thornton describes it best, "'It's Just Me' is about a warm spirit who is singing to their lover, and that they are now living inside their lovers soul. They are saying I took my own life, but don't be scared. Now I'm just where I always should have been all the time - with you, as one." And because it is one person singing to another, it is the only song on BEAUTIFUL DOOR without any harmonies, and Thornton's vocal performance truly captures the essence of a solitary soul singing.

On the track "In The Day," Bill Bob Thornton writes about a time when kids were growing up with innocent hopes and dreams, but they also knew the world needed changing. "'In The Day' is a song about my frustration regarding how the world has changed and how Main Street has been lost," commented Billy Bob Thornton. "But the song also talks about that even back in the day, the world needed changing, but I still think those days were more innocent and full of hopes and dreams. It's really about how the outskirts have taken over and Main Street is now lost."

Thornton's lyrics on "In The Day," say it all:

They've turned the Ritz into a mall/And tore down the Big and Tall/But the ghosts still wander main street

They took away the mom and pop/There's a seven-acre stop/Where you buy new tires and bed sheets

Paula's record shop is gone/It died a little with each song/that was written by committee

Now the stars don't really shine/They steal the glow we left behind/In a time they never did see...

The final track of the album is about the loss of a child titled "The Boy Is Gone." The writing of this song resonates and has tremendous personal meaning to Billy Bob Thornton. He reflects, "I always wanted to write a song about a couple who experienced a tragedy with a don't kill the messenger undertone. 'The Boy Is Gone' is about not being able to look each other in the eye after there has been a tragedy between two people, even though it was not their fault. In this case a, couple loses a son, and even thought they still love each other and would like to be together, they can't even look each other in the face. They can't go back into the house they once lived in, can't be in each other's presence because the reminder is always there. And in a way, they almost blame each other for the loss even though neither one of them had anything to do with it. In my own life I have experienced personal loss and still, to this day, and somehow unfairly, I still have negative feelings about the person who told me the bad news.

So 'The Boy Is Gone' really has two meanings. The title means obviously the son is gone/the boy is gone. But it also means that the boy inside this man is gone - his innocence is gone and it is never going to come back because of this event..."

Other tracks on BEAUTIFUL DOOR include "Hearts Like Mine," "I Gotta Grow Up," "Carnival Girl," "Pretty People," and "I Can Tell You."

Joining Billy Bob Thornton who produced, co-wrote all songs, played drums, and performed lead vocals on all tracks of BEAUTIFUL DOOR are co-writer and guitarist Brad Davis, bassist Leland Sklar and keyboardist Teddy Andreadis. Additionally, Graham Nash adds his signature background vocals on three tracks. BEAUTIFUL DOOR was mixed by GRAMMY® winning engineer Jim Mitchell. Additional engineering was handled by GRAMMY winning JD Andrew.

In addition to his solo albums, Billy Bob Thornton has appeared as a guest vocalist on the legendary Earl Scruggs' Earl Scruggs and Friends album, where he performed a rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"; Styx' Cyclorama album on the single "Bourgeois Pig"; the GRAMMY® winning album The Wind by Warren Zevon; the Tim McGraw tribute Where The Bluegrass Growsi>; and the upcoming Anchored In Love: A Tribute To June Carter Cash, (featuring Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello and others).

Thornton continues to break the mold while living on the cutting edge, creating powerful songs with prolific lyrics that are stories reflecting his love for music and life itself.

SONG LIST:

Moon Dance - Van Morrison
But It's Alright - Huey Lewis & The News
Brother Louie - The Stories
Hot Legs - Rod Stewart
Hold on I'm Coming - Sam & Dave
Joy To The World - Three Dog Night
When a Man Loves a Woman - Michael Bolton
Soul Man - Blues Brothers
Try A Little Tenderness - Three Dog Night
I would not Want To Be Like You - Alan Parsons
Mustang Sally - Wilson Picket
Wait Till The Midnight Hour - Billy Preston
Feeling Alright - Steve Winwood/Dave Mason
You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker
Unchain My Heart - Ray Charles
Spooky - The Classics 4
Heart Of The Night - Poco
Heart Of Rock & Roll - Huey Lewis & The News
Get Over It - The Eagles
Let's Groove Tonight - Earth Wind & Fire
At This Moment - Billy Vera & The Beaters
Blue Magic-Off Limits
Evil Ways - Santana
Life Is A Highway - Rascal Flats
Fooled Around and Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop
Black Magic Woman - Santana
Gimme Some Lovin - Spencer Davis Group
How Far Is Heaven - Los Lonely Boys