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Tavis: Corinne Bailey Rae is a rising young star in the music business. She's already topped the charts in her native England, scoring the number one album and single in the U.K. Her self-titled debut CD is now out here in the States. Later on, she'll perform a track from the disc. But first, here now, some of the video for 'Like a Star.'

Tavis: Corinne, nice to have you on the program.

Rae: Thank you.

Tavis: So we were just talking. So you've seen that video, like, months ago, but not recently.

Rae: Yeah, (unintelligible).

Tavis: This video's, like, old in England, huh?

Rae: Yeah, it's been out, we put the song out in November. We just put out a limited edition CD in November. Had an EP with that and two other songs from the record. So a few people in England know that song, but not as many as know the first proper single, which was 'Put Your Records On.'

Tavis: Yeah. So first of all, congratulations on being number one back in your native U.K.

Rae: Thank you. Thanks a lot.

Tavis: So, why, and I don't ask this question out of any naiveté, but I wanna get your perspective on it. Why does it matter if you're number one in your native country, so why does all of this U.S.A. stuff matter? Why come over here and invest so much time?

Rae: Well, I just love to play music. So I'll always go to anywhere that people want me to play. So if there's an audience to play to, I'll play there. We've been playing in Italy and Spain and France and Germany and Switzerland. And I think if there's, like, a hundred people that wanna watch you play, then you should do it. I love to play music, and any excuse, really.

So, we've been over here a few days. We played in New York at the Bowery Ballroom. We played in Chicago, just a small gig. But yeah, I like getting a feel for the audiences out here, and I'm really enjoying it.

Tavis: Yeah. So have you been here long enough yet, or played enough yet to ascertain a distinct difference between playing a crowd in a small club in England and a small club in Chicago?

Rae: So far, I haven't seen a massive difference. We've been really lucky that the sort of people that turn out to watch us have been a really diverse audience. So people from all different age range, we got, like, 50 year old guys and we've got teenagers, students, we've got Black people and White people. And a real mixture. We've got women and men.

And I'm finding that, like, everywhere we get to play. So I'm really happy that the record's appealing to all different kinds of people. It's not just for one niche. And it's not been written with loads of contemporary music in mind, so it's not just for, like, fashionable sort of twenty-somethings. It's for anybody who likes songs. So I've been really happy that whether we're playing in, like, Paris or London or the other week in New York, the crowds are really similar.

Tavis: Yeah. So when I walked in, you're gonna perform, you and some of your band's gonna perform here for us in just a few minutes. When I walked in, I saw these guitars lined up everywhere. So you play. And you've been playing for how long?

Rae: I am. I've been playing guitar about 12 years. Which you couldn't really tell from my playing. I'm not, like, a really prolific sort of amazing guitarist, but I love playing guitar to write songs. I love looking at patterns, and I'm more from that sort of Bill Withers school of playing guitar that you just write simple things, and it's just warm chords. And you use it for rhythm, as well. So I love playing guitar, though. I just find it such a natural-sounding instrument.

Tavis: I get jealous when people come on the show and they say, "I've been playing for 12 years." Only 12 years, and you got a hit record after playing the guitar just for 12 years. So you obviously play well enough to sell records.

Rae: Yeah. So, yeah. (Laughs)

Tavis: Yeah. (Laughs) You say so modestly. You mentioned Bill Withers a moment ago. That's a great name. First of all, I love Bill Withers. He's a great artist, as you well know. That's why you referenced him, I suspect. What were you listening to growing up, from American artists?

Rae: Well, I would listen to mostly American music when I grew up. My parents met on the soul scene in the seventies in England. My dad's from the Caribbean, and my mum's English. And they just loved, like, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, so I had all these records in the house. And my dad collected those funk 45s, you know the ones with no covers?

Tavis: Sure, exactly.

Rae: So it's fun to always go through them and see, like, listen to a bit of Aretha Franklin. Listen to the Four Tops or something. Stevie Wonder. So yeah, I just loved listening to music. But when I was a teenager, I kind of moved away from soul music and got into, like, guitar, sort of heavy guitar music. And I started this band called Helen that was like an indie guitar band that like Veruca Salt and Belly, who were also American bands.

Bands signed to (unintelligible). I liked kind of kooky music, and things for, music that was for people that didn't really fit in, I guess, to the mainstream. But then, when I was at university, I started working at this jazz and soul club. And really came back into soul music.

Tavis: Came back, yeah.

Rae: Yeah, and sort of rediscovered it, and discovered artists like Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, and people I hadn't heard of, really, when I was growing up. And I still feel like there's loads of music to discover from that era. I'm just getting into those gospel recordings that Aretha Franklin did. So there's loads to kind of look through, and there's loads to learn from that era.

I just think it was amazing, that era, for American music, with the fact that so much was coming out of the church, and there was the Civil Rights movements. So much music was political, but it was, like, of the folk, and it was really soulful. And I just think there'll never be an era of songwriting like it. So I tend to listen to a lot of music from that time.

Tavis: I gotta get you a copy, as a matter of fact, I was just in my car on the way to the studio today listening to, Aretha Franklin did a live gospel album.

Rae: 'Amazing Grace,' that's the one I love.

Tavis: You know this album? You have this album already?

Rae: Yeah.

Tavis: Okay.

Rae: That's what I'm listening (unintelligible).

Tavis: It's amazing. She's a live gospel...

Rae: She makes you shiver, yeah.

Tavis: Yeah. At a church not too far from here.

Rae: Really?

Tavis: She recorded it. (unintelligible) live gospel records.

Rae: Yeah, (unintelligible) Stanford. Stand forever.

Tavis: So you already have this forever. I'm trying to give you a gift (laughs) to say welcome to the States, and you (laughs)...

Rae: I should have pretended. (Laughs)

Tavis: And you already have the record I was gonna give you. (Laughs) Most of these artists that you mention, Aretha and others, all of them, Stevie, they all grew up connected to a church somewhere. Did you have the same experience?

Rae: Yeah, I grew up in a church, but it wasn't a traditional sort of gospel church. It was a Baptist church, but it was mostly quite a sort of White, middle class church in the suburbs where we lived. And the guy who ran all the youth work was really into bands. We were into, like, Nirvana and Radiohead, and all those bands when we were teenagers. And he was into creative things, so he just used to encourage us to write our own music.

So we used to have a lot of church songs that were, like, in the style of Nirvana, or in the style of, (laughs) we used to change, like, Primal Scream lyrics, and then I guess a lot of that's really gospel influence, anyway, and sort of change it back into church music. So that was a really good introduction to writing songs, because it was kind of irreverent, and it wasn't about everything had to be perfect.

They were just saying, if you got feelings, you should express them in music. And it was something I'd started to do a little bit, so it was really useful to start to do that in church, as well.

Tavis: So for American audiences, those who are not gonna run out in just a minute, after seeing you perform here, and buy this CD, what are they gonna hear? What's on this CD?

Rae: Well, it's quite a broad range of music, really. Some of it's more acoustic-based; some of it is fully orchestrated. Some of the pieces have got a 17-piece string orchestra on them. Some of them are more unusual and a bit kooky, and some of the music's more soulful. There's a song that's just got a piano in it called 'Choux Pastry Heart.' There's quite upbeat, fun songs, like 'Put Your Records On.'

And there's some songs about growing up. What it was like for me growing up in England and being from, like, not a really wealthy family, but kind of the way that you choose to get by, and the things that you find to do when you haven't got a lot of money. We did a lot of fun, creative things when we were young. So yeah, it's a whole range of things, but mostly it's about songs.

It's not about real modern production techniques, and samples, and the latest snare drums. It's really about songs, and the different experiences and melodies and things you can sing along to. So hopefully, people will like it.

Tavis: Well, I'm certain they will. I snuck into the rehearsal just a little while ago, and you're gonna love what she and the band are about to perform now. Her name is Corinne Bailey Rae. Write it down. I know you'll run out and get the new CD. If she's number one in England, she can be number one in the U.S. We will see, when we get to experience her in a moment. Up next, a special performance from Corinne Bailey Rae. Stay with us.

From her acclaimed, self-titled debut CD, here is Corinne Bailey Rae, performing 'Put Your Records On.' Enjoy. Good night from L.A., and keep the faith.