NFL Eagles player Jordan Mailata and the Rock & Soul legend Patti LaBelle have performed a duet together on a rendition of Donny Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor’s holiday classic, “This Christmas.” Ms. LaBelle recorded her vocals at the Eagles’ practice facility in South Philadelphia.
The second single from the upcoming A Philly Special Christmas Special (Vera Y Records), the song is features horns, a groovy bass line, and a Hammond B3 solo. The duo each takes the lead on a verse, then join together for the chorus, and even threw in some ad libbing.
A Philly Special Christmas Special is available now for vinyl preorder and will be available on all digital platforms on December 1st, 2023. This year, proceeds from the vinyl sales will benefit Children’s Crisis Treatment Center’s Toy Drive and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Snowflake Station.
Following the success of their debut LP, A Philly Special Christmas, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Jordan Mailata have reunited with producer Charlie Hall and executive producer Connor Barwin to release their second holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Special.
Recorded during the NFL off season and comprised of ten holiday classics and an original tune by Kelce, “Santa’s Night,” a limited-edition LP will be released on red vinyl, a double disc of A Philly Special Christmas Special and 2022’s A Philly Special Christmas will be released on limited edition gold vinyl in addition to the album being released digitally and available on all streaming services.
Recorded and mixed once again by Nick Krill, the trio called upon local musicians including Patti Labelle, Amos Lee, The Hooters’ Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman, DMHotep (Sun Ra Arkestra), Kevin Hanson (The Fractals, Huffamoose), Luke Carlos O’Reilly, Waxahatchee, members of The War on Drugs, Dr. Dog, Mewithoutyou, and The Silver Ages Choir, amongst others, to make this a real Philly special.
