Little Big Town pays homage to Elvis on new Christmas album

It only took 25 years for Little Big Town to become members of the Christmas Album club.
While many acts hop into the holiday spirit early in their careers, the veteran country quartet of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet waited until the timing was ideal to craft “The Christmas Record.” The 11-track collection, released this month, includes the band’s trademark harmonizing on classics including Amy Grant’s “Tennessee Christmas” and Vince Guaraldi’s haunting “Christmas Time is Here,” along with five new songs.
The first single, “Glow,” is complemented by a winter wonderland of a video, which Little Big Town shot while on tour in Switzerland.
“It looked like a movie set, only it was real,” said Fairchild of the city of Gstaad. “It was in the Alps with all of these tiny little towns that looked like little villages. I would absolutely go back there.”
As is typical with holiday releases, recording took place in the summer months, leaving the band to balance sweating in Savannah, Georgia, at producer Dave Cobb’s studio and crooning “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
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Fairchild says Little Big Town initially thought about a Christmas release five years ago, but “our schedule went crazy and every year since it’s been something with the kids or our parents or business … we finished it in the spring and are so proud of it. We put a lot of work into the writing.”
There are plenty of musical holiday traditions in the Fairchild-Westbrook house (the pair has been married since 2006 and have a teen son), beginning with The King.
“Jimi is a huge Elvis fan, so we always start off by listening to ‘Elvis’ Christmas Album,’” Fairchild said, noting that Little Big Town’s album includes a cover of “Santa Claus is Back in Town,” which Presley made famous in 1957. “And the Harry Connick Jr. album (“When My Heart Finds Christmas”) is a popular one for us. We love “I Pray on Christmas” and almost cut it for the album. Maybe for the extended version!”
The group also recently filmed a two-hour special, “Little Big Town’s Christmas at The Opry,” that will air Dec. 16 on NBC. Fairchild loved the look of the set, which she described as “very ‘70s Sonny & Cher show with vibes like the old Johnny Cash and Barbara Mandrell specials,” and was “wowed” by guests including Josh Groban, Dan + Shay, Sheryl Crow and Kelsea Ballerini.
Crossover country star Ballerini also factors in Little Big Town’s “Greatest Hits” album, released in August. The “Miss Me More” singer joins the band for the emotive “Shut Up Train,” from 2010’s “The Reason Why” album, while Miranda Lambert douses “Little White Church” with her signature twang. As well, current tour mates and longtime friends Sugarland collaborate on a creamy cover of Phil Collins’ Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit from 1985, “Take Me Home.”
“We’re deeply connected as people,” Fairchild said of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. “We’ve had so many years on the road together and so many nights that if they were on the road and we were nearby, we’d play cards after their shows.”
The 18-date arena tour that launched Oct. 24 will hit cities including Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Austin before wrapping at their home base of Nashville Dec. 13.
The tour is also called Take Me Home, which Fairchild said was chosen for a couple of reasons.
The song “is kind of a perfect anthem from one of the most iconic artists of all time,” she said. “It’s nostalgic, but it’s also a full circle moment of all of us coming back together.