Playlist was a labor of love for Edmonds because, as is the case with so many millions of other people, these songs are a big part of the reason that he fell in love with music in the first place. “When I was in the seventh or eighth grade, I would go to church on Sunday, and I’d listen to the music,” Edmonds recalls about his childhood in Indianapolis. “That was the fun part for me. But when the preacher started preaching, I would leave and go to the car and listen to the radio. Normally, I would listen to the R&B station, but they’d be playing church music, too. So I’d switch to the AM pop station, and that’s where I was introduced to James Taylor, Bread, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton. I was learning how to play guitar, it was acoustic music, and it talked to me. I loved it.” Performing songs that have meant so much to you for so long can present its own challenges, however. How do you live up to the artists who have set the standard by which you measure yourself? Edmonds had to confront that issue in the studio. “Look, I could have done a whole record of James Taylor songs, I love his work so much,” Edmonds says. “What I appreciate about him is that he has so much love in his voice – it’s so calming and cool. But initially when I sang ‘Shower the People,’ I realized that I wasn’t even close to the feeling that he gives. So I studied him to understand how he makes it feel so good, and ultimately I was able to get into that space.” Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” also required some thought – even though (or maybe because) one of Edmonds’ children is named Dylan in honor of the great songwriter. “I was a little afraid of doing it, because in no way is my voice close to Dylan’s,” Edmonds says. “His voice is so free and rugged. But that song has always been great. And, finally, that’s one of the tests of great music: a great song is always a great song.” Of course, Edmonds has worked with Eric Clapton – most notably on the Grammy-winning single “Change the World” – so the ballad “Wonderful Tonight” was a natural choice. “That’s one of his songs that I’ve always loved, because he doesn’t do a lot of romantic songs,” Edmonds says, laughing. “That one was an easy fit.” Bread’s “Diary,” meanwhile, with its moving thematic twist and vision of love as a potentially painful mystery, is one of the places where Edmonds first encounters the atmosphere that would inhabit so much of his own music. “That’s one of the first songs I heard on that AM radio station that really hit me,” he recalls. “That was part of my training..