NEW YORK, NY. and NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Sony BMG
Music Entertainment) - On October 14, Sony BMG
Music Entertainment, in partnership with
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., will release the "Elvis Presley Christmas Duets" CD, which is the first
Elvis Presley duet recordings album and the first Christmas compilation of its kind ever produced. This release marks yet another milestone in Elvis Presley's legacy, 31 years after his death.
The CD will feature many of today's biggest country artists, including Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Gretchen Wilson, Sarah Evans and LeAnn Rimes singing classic Elvis holiday songs with Elvis Presley.
"There has been tremendous excitement from the many artists contributing their voices to these Elvis Christmas classics. We believe Elvis fans will truly enjoy these unique collaborations while introducing Elvis' holiday classics to the many fans of his duet partners," says Joe Galante, Chairman, Sony BMG Nashville.
In order to create these classic "duets" Sony BMG used the most advanced and sophisticated audio technology available. For songs that were recorded on one track, mono, musical beds were created to perfectly match the instrumentation and arrangements contained on the originals. In the case of songs that have been recorded in multi-track where Elvis' vocal is isolated on a single track, the vocal was simply dropped for a given verse or chorus, making room for the duet artist. To be as faithful as possible to the original recordings, the fabled RCA Studio B in Nashville - the same studio that Elvis recorded the 1971 original Christmas session in, was used.
"This is an excellent example of the innovative ways in which we keep Elvis' catalog fresh for new and existing fans, and continue the history of creating, preserving and celebrating his great music," says John Ingrassia, President of the Sony BMG Commercial Music Group.
"We are so pleased that these accomplished artists are collaborating with Elvis in this unique way to make exciting new versions of his Christmas songs. I am sure Elvis would be proud to have worked with them," says Priscilla Presley.
Elvis is one of the biggest-selling artists every holiday season, although he only recorded 20 Christmas songs, his various holiday albums have sold over 25 million copies in the U.S. alone. His existing Christmas releases are seen on the holiday charts year after year.
Partial track listing (not in sequence):
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" with Carrie Underwood
"Blue Christmas" with Martina McBride
"Here Comes Santa Claus" with LeAnn Rimes
"Silent Night" with Sara Evans
"Merry Christmas Baby" with Gretchen Wilson
"Silver Bells" with Anne Murray
"White Christmas" with Amy Grant
"O Little Town" with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town
"Santa Claus Is Back In Town" with Wynonna Judd
Sample tracks will be previewed August 14 during the 2008 Elvis Week in Memphis at the Elvis Insiders Conference https://www.elvisweek.com. Sony/BMG and EPE executives will welcome the attendees to be the very first to hear portions of the CD during an exclusive preview and listening party at the Conference in The Cannon Center.
