Hallmark may be the first brand that comes to mind for greeting cards, but the company is hoping to further associate itself with hit music. Having already secured gold and platinum sales with previous seasonally themed releases, Hallmark is adding Mother's Day and Father's Day CDs to the mix.
The card company has tapped country singer/songwriter Sara Evans and the Beach Boys for the mom-and-pop sets. Evans' "Always There" arrives April 17, while the Beach Boys' "Songs From Here and Back" will be released May 15. The former includes songs from Evans' past albums and two new tracks. The latter features previously unreleased live versions of Beach Boys classics as well as three new solo tracks from Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine.
Each title will be sold exclusively at more than 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores in North America.
"You can't deny the reach of the Hallmark brand," Evans, a mother of three, tells Billboard. As an artist, Evans says she is always looking for new opportunities that go beyond "releasing a record, sending it to radio and touring." This way, she says, "I have the possibility of exposing my music -- and country music as a whole -- to people who may not necessarily listen to it."
The card company has tapped country singer/songwriter Sara Evans and the Beach Boys for the mom-and-pop sets. Evans' "Always There" arrives April 17, while the Beach Boys' "Songs From Here and Back" will be released May 15. The former includes songs from Evans' past albums and two new tracks. The latter features previously unreleased live versions of Beach Boys classics as well as three new solo tracks from Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine.
Each title will be sold exclusively at more than 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores in North America.
"You can't deny the reach of the Hallmark brand," Evans, a mother of three, tells Billboard. As an artist, Evans says she is always looking for new opportunities that go beyond "releasing a record, sending it to radio and touring." This way, she says, "I have the possibility of exposing my music -- and country music as a whole -- to people who may not necessarily listen to it."
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