Eric Clapton has announced a brand new album, Happy Xmas, due out October 12th via his own Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records—marking his 24th studio album and the first since 2016’s I Still Do. The holiday album will release just four days after Clapton’s final North American shows of 2018, which will take place at Madison Square Garden on October 6th and 7th.
Happy Xmas was co-produced by Eric Clapton and Simon Climie and features cover art drawn by Clapton himself. In addition to holiday classics like “White Christmas”, “Silent Night”, and “Away In A Manger”, Clapton included a brand new original, “For Love On Christmas Day”, on the 14-track album. Interestingly, Clapton’s take on “Jingle Bells” is dedicated in memory of 28-year-old Swedish DJ, Avicii, who passed away earlier this year. According to Billboard, it was “due to the singer’s admiration for the late DJ”.
“I had in my head that these holiday songs could be done with a slight blues tinge, and I started to figure out how to play the blues lines in between the vocals,” Clapton said in a statement. “I got it down and one of the most identifiable songs on the album, the one that became the foundational style, is ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.”
You can pre-order Happy Xmas here.
Happy Xmas Tracklist
1. White Christmas
2. Away In A Manger (Once In Royal David’s City)
3. For Love On Christmas Day
4. Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday
5. Christmas Tears
6. Home For The Holidays
7. Jingle Bells (In Memory Of Avicii)
8. Christmas In My Hometown
9. It’s Christmas
10. Sentimental Moments
11. Lonesome Christmas
12. Silent Night
13. Merry Christmas Baby
14. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
[H/T JamBase]