Singer and songwriter Brenda Russell is being recognized for her work in creating the original music for the Broadway hit The Color Purple. Along with collaborators Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, and producer Jay David Saks, Russell is nominated for a Grammy in the best musical show album category.

 Russell notes that when she and her team first took on the project, she had no idea it would take so long to complete. While Russell did record and release an album, Between The Sun And The Moon, in 2003, she says her career essentially took a back seat while she completed work on the stage adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning novel.

She told us: "You know, had they told me, 'OK, this is going to be the next five years of your life type of commitment,' I would have said, 'Oh no, I couldn't possibly do that, I have a career!' I'm sure I would have turned it down had I realized it was going to be a five-year commitment. But what you don't know is sometimes a blessing, and in this case truly a blessing because five years came and went, and I'm very grateful that I'm part of this project."

The 49th annual Grammy Awards will be handed out this Sunday, February 11th, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The televised portion of the proceedings can be seen at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

For more on Brenda, visit her website at:  www.brendarussell.com.