PHILADELPHIA ā The burly, bearded men belting out holiday classics have made the night before Christmas more than just a time this year to watch the Philadelphia Eagles try and slay the competition.
Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata -- with a little assist from some melodic teammates -- have made a season already pretty jolly in Philly a bit more sweet-sounding with the release of their Christmas album, āA Philly Special Christmas.ā
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Yes, the album title is an ode to Old Saint Nick, in this case former QB Nick Foles and the trick play that helped the Eagles win their only Super Bowl in the 2017 season.
The trio of Eagles offensive lineman can sing about as well as they can pass protect -- Johnson might not even let Santa Claus down the chimney as he holds the record for most consecutive games without allowing a sack -- and an All-Star cast of musicians was assembled to record the album.
Leading the charge was Charlie Hall, drummer for the Grammy-winning band War on Drugs.
āIf weāre going to do this, letās make it meaningful. Letās make it awesome,ā Hall said. āItās not a goof.ā
While the tone is light, this is no novelty record.
āOh, football players making a record, itās like āSuper Bowl Shuffle,āā Hall said with a laugh. āBut no, this was born out of sincerity and a deep love and appreciation of music.ā
The cover art features Johnson, Kelce and Mailata sketched in an homage to the Peanuts characters on the āA Charlie Brown Christmasā album and the songs are standards found on Christmas playlists.
āI did not think it was going to get to this level of quality,ā Kelce said.
The guys in green sing āWhite Christmas,ā ā Blue Christmas,ā āSilent Nightā and Eagles radio announcer Merrill Reese narrates āThe Night Before Christmas.ā
On the field, the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys Dec. 24.
Thereās a philanthropical slant to the album as well, with proceeds going to the Childrenās Crisis Treatment Center in Philadelphia. More than $100,000 has already been raised.
Good luck buying the album, though.
Well, at least a vinyl copy, as previous pressings have quickly sold out. The last batch sold out in 120 seconds -- some albums are going for $4,000 on eBay -- and thereās one final order available on Friday. āA Philly Special Christmasā is of course available on streaming services and one song a week has been dropped each Friday leading to the full recordās release on Dec. 23.
The idea for an album was kicked around last year by Kelce and friends around last Christmas and former Eagle Connor Barwin used his music connections - War on Drugs have headlined the former defensive endās charity show - to get the ball rolling. The album was recorded over several days at various Philadelphia-area studios this past summer.
āItās 98 degrees and weāre recording a Christmas album,ā Kelce said, wearing a Christmas sweater, Eagles Santa hat and holding a beer, in a making-of video.
Barwin served as an executive producer. The seven-song LP from Vera Y Records also features musicians from The Hooters, Dr. Dog and 98-year-old saxophone player Marshall Allen of Sun Ra Arkestra.
The recording team brought in a vocal coach to assist the Eagles as they made the transition from the huddle to the studio.
āThat was the lesson in all this, just being game for something,ā Hall said. āTheyāre like, āyeah, show me what to do. Show me how to be better and Iāll do it.ā Just totally coachable.ā
Kelce, who dressed as a Mummer during the Super Bowl parade and s ang the national anthem at a 76ers game last season, channeled his inner Bruce Springsteen for the classic āSanta Claus is Coming to Town.ā
Kelce bursts into laughter when the 25-year-old Mailata hits all the high notes of falsetto on the the ā I-I-I am dreaming of a white Christmas ā doo-wop part popularized by The Drifters.
āWhat Jordan did, you could call singing,ā Kelce said. āWhat Lane did, you could call singing. I donāt know if you could call what I did singing. Iām very much just a yeller in certain tones.ā
Mailata has the best pipes of the bunch and even competed on the Fox reality show ā The Masked Singer. ā
āJordan could straight up quit football and be a singer if he wanted to,ā Hall said. āBut theyāre all great. Their voices are like a reflection of their personalities. Lane has this incredibly soulful voice. If they were to get out of this line of business, Jordan would have no trouble finding a gig singing.ā
Hall already felt the holiday spirit with the War on Drugs set to play three-sold out ā Drugcember To Rememberā charity shows next week at the Philly rock venue Johnny Brenda's. The money raised goes toward The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that raises and coordinates investments into the Philadelphia public schools.
War on Drugs had just won a Grammy and were on tour in Australia in February 2018 when the Eagles beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
āIt was like 10 in the morning and we all crammed into a hotel room and were screaming and throwing chairs out of excitement,ā Hall said.
Now they're building Christmas traditions together.
āIt's sort of a beautiful reminder that we're all just connected through life and music and friendship," Hall said.
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