Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson are joining forces with all-star musicians from the City of Brotherly Love for the upcoming holiday benefit album A Philly Special Christmas. The seven-song collection of holiday favorites produced by The War On Drugs drummer Charlie Hall and executive produced by former Eagles player and current Director of Player Development for the NFL team Connor Barwin arrives on vinyl in late November with digital pre-order available via iTunes on October 29.
Mailata, Kelce and Johnson love to sing together in the locker room and forged an idea for recording a holiday album incorporating classic songs they enjoyed from childhood. The trio talked about the concept with Barwin, who connected with Hall to help make it happen.
“Earlier this year, Jason Kelce got it in his mind to make something special for Philly and has assembled a group of teammates (who can REALLY sing, like REALLY) to make a Christmas record,” explained Charlie Hall. “What began as just a seed of an idea has grown to include all sorts of Philly luminaries both young and old, from The Hooters to the celestial sounds of Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arkestra to The War On Drugs to Lady Alma and everything in between (including members of Dr. Dog, The Spinto Band and countless others). We’ve had some of the most beautiful young Philly players add their heart and spirit – including Nasir Dickerson (tenor sax) and Kalia Vandever (trombone). This is a record that is just absolutely full of JOY.”
Proceeds from the album will benefit the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center’s annual toy drive in Philadelphia. Songs featured on A Philly Special Christmas include “Silent Night,” “Blue Christmas,” “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” “White Christmas” and more.
“It means a lot to me about coming together, sharing stories about our upbringing, and what Christmas was like for each of us growing up,” added Mailata. “I hope we bring people together with this album the same way that it brought us closer together talking about our backgrounds, music and family holidays. And discovering that Lane and Kelce have great voices behind their beards was my favorite part.”
Watch a trailer for A Philly Special Christmas below:
A Philly Special Christmas Tracklist
- White Christmas
- Blue Christmas
- Merry Christmas Baby
- The Night Before Christmas
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
- Silent Night
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
