“Music From Living on the Earth,” my first ever vinyl LP arrived today – 5 copies. EM Records, in Osaka, made the LP from my first CD, the one I released in 2000 for my self-made eight-month national tour promoting the 30th anniverary Villard/Random House edition of Living on the Earth. On the back cover is a photo that was taken in 1971 during a New York City book tour for the Vintage/Random House second edition of Living on the Earth. EM Records licensed it from the Associated Press.

I somehow never imagined my music would be recorded on vinyl. During the years that 33 1/3 albums were the standard presentation of singer/songwriters, I was writing lots of songs, but I was not at a professional level as a musician. By the time I felt ready to record, at age 50, the technology had blessedly changed. I could produce my own CDs, instead of hoping to be discovered by a Record Company. So, I did. I’ve made seven of them, so far. www.cdbaby.com/artist/AliciaBayLaurel

However, I actually WAS discovered by a record company. Koki Emura, the owner/producer of EM Records, saw my first two CDs when I posted them at the CD Baby online indie record store, where he was browsing for new releases. He knew my book, and he knew it was popular in Japan. He bought the two CDs, listened and liked them, and made me an offer. So, they were released with Japanese language covers on them in 2005, and the following year I started doing concerts in Japan, and sold plenty of them for him.

Last year Koki proposed that “Music From Living on the Earth” be released as an LP. And, of course, I agreed. So here it is. A thousand thanks to you, Emura-san!