The Six Wives of Henry VIII (album) a five-album deal with A&M Records as a solo artist. While touring the United States with Yes on their Fragile Tour promote "Fragile" (1971), Wakeman was informed by his manager Brian Lane that A&M co-founder and executive Jerry Moss wished to meet him at A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Moss wished for Wakeman to record a solo album and offered an advance of $12,500, around £4,000, to produce it which Wakeman accepted. As part of his signing on fee, Wakeman received a 1957 Cadillac limousine from A&M which he claimed was once owned by Clark Gable and had it shipped
My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows edition CD was released in 2004, which included the mono mix of the album, one single track and three alternate studio takes. A new mono mix was created for a deluxe edition, released in January 2015, which also included home demos for the album recorded by Visconti and exploratory studio sessions with Boyd. The album reportedly received negative reviews upon its release. In his retrospective review, Dave Thompson, writing for AllMusic, called it "an irresistible affair, if absolutely a child of its psychedelically-inclined time". My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear