Rachael MacFarlane in Hollywood Sept. 28 in support of album

Concord Records is pleased to announce the release of Hayley Sings, the debut album from American Dad! star Rachael MacFarlane. MacFarlane voices the beloved animated character of Hayley Smith on the Emmy nominated television show, American Dad!, currently in its seventh season. To release on September 25, 2012, Hayley Sings contains songs that Hayley Smith will sing on the series, as well as songs that Hayley would choose to sing – given her character and personality on the show. Jazz to Paul Simon, Lennon and McCartney, and Carole King at the CD Release Party at CATALINA’S – Friday, September 28th. Stage time is 8:30pm. Tickets are $20. Catalina’s is located at 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-466-2210.



For the concept, the wraparound was seamless – all having to do with MacFarlane’s alter persona, Hayley Smith. For the series’ eighth season premiere, Hayley will be introduced as a vocalist, scheduled to air on September 30th. “In that episode,” MacFarlane explains, “Hayley becomes a singer in Roger’s bar, and the producers came up with the idea that she’s a lover of standards, which I am as well.” To put together the 14-track playlist, MacFarlane and her manager “thought about what kind of music Hayley would listen to. She’s a hippie, a child of the ’60s and ’70s. When I was growing up, my dad introduced me to groups like Simon and Garfunkel and The Beatles and Crosby, Stills and Nash. So we decided to run with the idea of re-imagining music from my childhood, which would be appropriate for Hayley to sing.”



Two of the album’s fourteen songs will be included on that season-opening episode of American Dad!. “Someone to Watch Over Me,” which introduces Hayley’s vocal skills is, “a song I’ve been singing since high school,” says MacFarlane. Second is “Makin’ Whoopee,” the album opener. The show’s producers, says MacFarlane, “were going for a Fabulous Baker Boys feel, which was perfect for the storyline.”



Also on the album is “Out of This World, the classic Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer song that is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that Hayley is becoming romantically involved with an alien. The standard, “I’m Glad There Is You” is, says MacFarlane, “my father’s favorite. It is really stripped down—just me with George Doering on guitar.”



The remaining tracks are all drawn from the 1960s and ’70s. A slowed-down Paul Simon’s “Feelin’ Groovy” is, MacFarlane thinks, “a great marriage of Hayley and me. I grew up singing it and yet it seems to fit so perfectly with the character.” Equally slowed down is MacFarlane’s rendition, arranged by Tedd Firth, of the Chiffons’ 1963 hit, “One Fine Day,” written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. A second Goffin-King composition, “Up On the Roof,” also made the cut. “If I have a favorite track, this is it,” says MacFarlane. “This is truly Hayley’s voice coming through. It really taps into that 18-year-old angst we’ve all had.”



To close the album, MacFarlane chose Lennon and McCartney’s “All My Loving,” arranged and conducted by Matt Catingub with just Doering’s guitar and a bank of strings.



Rachael MacFarlane is the sister of Seth MacFarlane, creator and executive producer of Family Guy and American Dad!. She currently stars as the character Hayley on the animated show American Dad!. Before being given that role, she guest starred in several animated shows including Codename: Kids Next Door, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Megas XLR, Dexter's Laboratory, just to name a few, but known mostly for her work on Family Guy.