John Coltrane. Miles Davis. The Dude!
Jeff Bridges, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a fading country music star in "Crazy Heart," has inked a record deal.
Bridges' major label debut — produced by (who else?) T-Bone Burnett — will be released by EMI's legendary Blue Note Records, home to the aforementioned jazz legends, later this summer.
The yet-to-titled album will include several of Bridges original compositions — as well as tunes by Bo Ramsey and Tom Waits and others — and guest appearances by Rosanne Cash, Sam Phillips and Marc Ribot.
Burnett co-wrote several songs on the "Crazy Heart" soundtrack, winning an Oscar himself for "The Weary Kind."
Bridges is not the only actor-turned-country-crooner to be involved in a record deal. Gwyneth Paltrow, star of "Country Strong," was said to be close to nabbing a $900,000 contract with Atlantic Records last month to record her debut album, though it has yet to be finalized.
