NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Rocky Comfort Records) - Country music's comeback story of the year, Tracy Lawrence, is set to release the first holiday album of his career on the Rocky Comfort Records (RCR) label [Distributed by A2M] this year. The Christmas CD, titled ALL WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS, will be in stores October 23. It marks the first Christmas CD Lawrence, one of country music's true stylists, has released in his 16-year recording career. The project is the seasonal follow-up to FOR THE LOVE, the highly successful first album on his own label.
'As much as I love the holidays, it's hard to believe I've never recorded a Christmas album,' notes Lawrence. 'I love everything about the holidays from shopping for presents to decorating the house with my family. Christmas is huge with the Lawrence household. Before heading into the studio, I had each of my daughters select one song for the project. Skylar chose 'Here Comes Santa Claus' and Keagan selected 'Frosty The Snowman.''
Lawrence and his co-producer Julian King brought a blend of country, jazz and classic pop elements together and captured all of the well-loved magic Christmas. 'I've been dreaming of recording a Christmas CD for many, many years,' he adds. 'I've just been waiting for the timing to be right. I looked for songs that were warm as well as fun, and challenging to sing. We pulled the best from all three music traditions.'
The disc features a mixture of seasonal classics with three new songs. Some of the classics include 'White Christmas,' 'Let It Snow,' 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,' and 'Winter Wonderland.' The new numbers are 'Something In The Air,' 'Cold Beer,' and the title cut 'All Wrapped Up In Christmas.' 'I really hope this CD will put people in the spirit of the season,' says Lawrence. 'It's a collection of songs that I hand-selected to share with my fans, and I hope it will become a favorite part of their seasonal traditions.'
The project was recorded during some of the summer's hottest days. 'It was nearly 100 degrees outside when we were recording,' he explains. 'To set the mood, we put up a Christmas tree in the studio, hung stockings filled with candy on all of the musicians' mic stands, strung up some twinkling lights and prepared for a make-believe snow storm. For the moment it felt like Christmas-at least until we broke for lunch and walked outside.'
The disc is a warm and heartfelt immersion in the Christmas spirit from Lawrence to his fans. 'With this CD,' he says, 'I can share the holiday with all of my friends.'
Lawrence has had a stupendous year, launching his own record label, celebrating his first No 1 record in more than ten years, and garnering a CMA award nomination in the Musical Event category for 'Find Out Who Your Friends Are' featuring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. He proved to the music community that he can compete successfully on his own imprint.
'Find Out Who Your Friends Are' continues to be ranked among the Top 5 favorites for all demos, currents and recurrents combined, in national radio callout research. Amazingly, the song was released to radio in August, 2006. The accompanying video continues to be tops with regional and national music video outlets including CMT and GAC. The Gold Buckle Network online video outlet has the video featured prominently on its home page for the entire month of October, along with an accompanying site visitor contest.
Lawrence's FOR THE LOVE album sales have clipped along consistently since the CD's release in January, 2007 with actual sales just shy of the 250,000 unit milestone. Check out the exclusive Tracy Lawrence interview and performance clips on CMT's '330 Sessions' where he'll be the featured artist beginning October 9.
