Josh Turner will release ‘King Size Manger’, his first Christmas album, on 8th October via Snakefarm (UK) / MCA Nashville.
The album features fresh interpretations of classic festive songs alongside four originals, three of which were co-written or written by Turner.
“Making a Christmas record can be a mighty daunting task for an artist,” Turner reflects. “There are so many songs to choose from and there’ve been so many versions of those songs throughout history. It can be intimidating to wonder whether you’ll be able to measure up to what’s already been done, and when I get to that point I step back and remind myself that I have to do what I hear in my heart. You may be surprised to hear my arrangement on some of these songs that you know so well. We had a lot of fun throwing out all the preconceived notions of what a Christmas record should sound like. In my opinion, it’s about the words and the heart and soul of how a song sounds. You don’t need jingle bells on a song to make it a Christmas song.”
Turner has arranged five of the album’s tracks. His wife Jennifer and his four children appear on ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and Rhonda Vincent appears on ‘Joy To The World’.
In support of the record Turner will embark on the ‘Holiday & Hits’ tour in the US, which will visit 16 cities concluding at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
The track listing for ‘King Size Manger’ is:
1. Angels We Have Heard On High
2. What He’s Given Me (Featuring Pat McLaughlin)*
3. King Size Manger*
4. Joy To The World (Featuring Rhonda Vincent)
5. Soldier’s Gift*
6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Featuring The Turner Family)
7. Go Tell It On The Mountain
8. Mele Kalikimaka My ‘Ohana (Featuring Jake Shimabukuro and Ho’okena)*
9. The First Nowell
10. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
11. Silent Night, Holy Night
Produced by Kenny Greenberg *denotes original
