Josh Turner‘s first Christmas album, King Size Manger is available now!
Josh shares the story behind the title, “Naming the album King Size Manger was kind of an easy thing because I looked at every other option. As for song titles, and I had even delved into lyrics within certain songs to see if maybe there was something that stood out, and King Size Manger just made the most sense to me, because it was an idea that came to me… I don’t know if anything specific really inspired it. I just I got to thinking about how there’s different sized mattresses that people sleep on, and I guess when I thought about a king-sized mattress, it got me thinking about Jesus being in a manger, like didn’t matter what the actual physical size was like. It was, you know, the right size for a king.”
While making a “normal” studio album is not easy, Josh says there’s a little added pressure when it comes to making a holiday themed album, especially your first one, “Making a Christmas record can be a mighty daunting task for an artist, 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 know 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.”
King Size Manger track listing:
- “Angels We Have Heard On High”
- “What He’s Given Me” (Featuring Pat McLaughlin)*
- “King Size Manger”*
- “Joy To The World” (Featuring Rhonda Vincent)
- “Soldier’s Gift”*
- “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (Featuring The Turner Family)
- “Go Tell It On The Mountain”
- “Mele Kalikimaka My ‘Ohana” (Featuring Jake Shimabukuro and Ho’okena)*
- “The First Nowell”
- “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”
- “Silent Night, Holy Night”
Produced by Kenny Greenberg
*denotes original
Josh says “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.”
As you look at the track listing, and then listen to “The First Nowell” you might think there’s a bit of a typo on the spelling. “The First Nowell”, which is known by many today as “The First Noel,” is a traditional Christmas Carol that dates back to the olden days of England and can trace it’s roots to a Cornish origin. “Nowell” is an early modern English synonym for “Christmas.”
The whole Turner family gets into the holiday spirit as Josh’s wife, Jennifer, and their four boys join him on singing a holiday classic, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”.
Fans of Josh will be able to catch his new Christmas album live and in-person on the Holiday & Hits tour, which launches November 18th in Michigan.
To purchase tickets to Holiday & The Hits Tour click HERE
Josh Turner’s King Size Manger is available now.
Photo Courtesy of Josh Turner
