This will be Clapton’s first ever full-length studio Christmas album, Happy Xmas, which is scheduled to be released on October 12 via Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records. It will be his 24th career studio album, as well as his first collection since I Still Do, which was released in 2016.
Clapton co-produced this holiday record with longtime music producer Simon Climie. Happy Xmas is a blend of the recognizable Christmas classics, along with the new original tune “For Love On Christmas Day.” The cover art for this forthcoming project was illustrated by Clapton himself.
The perennial Christmas standards will include “White Christmas,” “Away in a Manger,” “Silent Night,” “Merry Christmas Baby,” “Home for the Holidays,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” as well as “Jingle Bells,” which he dedicates in memory of Avicii.
Clapton noted that he had an idea in his head that the holiday songs could have been done with a “slight blues tinge.” He went on to figure out how to “play the blues lines in between the vocals.”
To this day, Clapton is the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the most times, with three. Clapton has been inducted as a soloist and as a member of such musical groups as Cream and The Yardbirds.
Happy Xmas is available for pre-order on CD or vinyl on Amazon.
To learn more about Eric Clapton, his new holiday album and touring dates, check out his official website.
