Rock & roll great Dion has released a new holiday song, “Hello Christmas,” featuring Amy Grant.
“Hello Christmas” is a cheery acoustic number bolstered by all the classic sonic trappings of the season, from the jangle of sleigh bells shoring up the percussion to big booming bells ringing across the song. For all its warmth, though, “Hello Christmas” seems to acknowledge the particular balm the holidays may serve in 2020, with Dion singing and Grant providing harmony, “You bring more than you’ll ever know/Peace and love to young and old/Bring the warmth in from the cold.”
In a statement, Dion explained how “Hello Christmas” came about, saying: “I was talking with a friend about how the world this year can use a little life-giving love and harmony. I told him that Christmas was the grace that changed my life and that I was looking forward to a shot of that this year. The next day, I got together with [co-writer] Mike [Aquilina] and I picked up the guitar, started singing and words started to flow. Later I was walking with my buddy [and co-writer] Steve Bottari and he started singing along — with some new words. The song just seemed to write itself, a gift to finish off this challenging year. From the start I heard Amy Grant’s voice on it; she just sounds like Christmas to me. I sent the track to her and she fell in love with it and added a beautiful counter-melody which makes it really sublime.”
“Hello Christmas” marks the first of two new holiday songs Dion will release this year. The second, “You Know It’s Christmas,” will arrive Friday, November 20th, and will feature guitarist Joe Bonamassa. Both songs are arriving via Bonamassa’s label, Keeping the Blues Alive.
Back in June, Dion released a new album, Blues With Friends, that features an array of all-star collaborators including Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, and Van Morrison. Bob Dylan even penned the album’s liner notes.
From Rolling Stone US
