Whether you're ready or not, the Christmas creep is upon us, or at least the folks over at Rolling Stone believe so. The magazine is currently hosting Robert Ellis' cover of the Willie Nelson seasonal classic "Pretty Paper."
The track, which will be included on the country-fried title An Americana Christmas, is an updated version of Nelson's 1979 take on the Roy Orbison tune (head over to RS to hear it, you know you're ready for a little holiday cheer). "I chose to cut 'Pretty Paper' because I love Willie's version and it's a lesser-known Christmas tune with a little more depth to it than a story about reindeer – no offense to the reindeer," Ellis told the magazine. "I also thought the song could get by with a more minimal arrangement for my version, which is why we only used one synth, a drum machine and vocals and piano. The lyrics are strong enough that it didn't feel like it needed a whole lot."
Ellis will join the likes of Johnny Cash, John Prine, Bob Dylan and The Old 97's on the album, which is due out Oct. 14 – way ahead of the holiday season.
In other non-red-and-green news, the singer-songwriter has been doing well in the country world with his third studio effort The Lights From The Chemical Plant. Ellis has been nominated for a few American Honors & Awards titles as well.
Check out the track listing for An Americana Christmas below.
01. Luther Dickinson - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
02. John Prine - Everything Is Cool
03. Robert Ellis - Pretty Paper
04. Emmylou Harris - The First Noel
05. Johnny Cash - The Gifts They Gave
06. Corb Lund - Just Me and These Ponies (For Christmas This Year)
07. Dwight Yoakam - Run Run Rudolph
08. Bob Dylan - Must Be Santa
09. Valerie June - Winter Wonderland
10. Ronnie Fauss - Everybody Deserves a Merry Christmas
11. Max Gomez - Season of My Memory
12. Ben Keith w/ Neil & Pegi Young - Les Trois Cloches
13. The Common Linnets - At Christmas Time
14. Nikki Lane - Falalaalove Ya
15. Old 97's - Here It Is Christmas Time
16. The Band - Christmas Must Be Tonight
