NFL Eagles' Jordan Mailata & Patti LaBelle Duet Together on 'This Christmas' Out This Week

NFL Eagles' Jordan Mailata and the Godmother of Rock & Soul, Patti LaBelle duet together on a soulful rendition of Donny Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor's holiday classic, “This Christmas.” The second single from the upcoming A Philly Special Christmas Special (Vera Y Records), the song is filled with exuberant horns, a groovy bass line, and a spirited Hammond B3 solo.  The duo each takes the lead on a verse, then join together for a boisterous chorus, and even threw in some fun ad libbing. Ms. LaBelle recorded her vocals at the Eagles' practice facility in South Philadelphia. "It was an honor to be witness to Ms. LaBelle feeling her way through something with such ease and mastery and to see the mutual admiration between her and Jordan.  And she brought it out of him.  It was the sweetest icing on an already delicious cake."

WHYY's Billy Penn raves that “This Christmas” is “a fun, jazzy 1970s holiday track that's nothing short of a bop.”
 
A Philly Special Christmas Special (Vera Y Records) is available now for vinyl preorder via  PhillySpecialChristmas.com and will be available on all digital platforms on December 1st.  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 runaway 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 truly make this a Philly special.