It’s that time of the year again. Snowflakes are falling (in a select few parts of the country) and musicians everywhere are celebrating the season by sharing newly recorded holiday music. Ed Sheeran just released an original Christmas song with Elton John and Dave Grohl is celebrating each day of Hanukkah by sharing a new cover of a classic rock jam. Now singing his version of a holiday jingle, Leon Bridges puts a Texas spin on one of Marvin Gaye‘s Christmas tracks, “Purple Snowflakes.”
“Purple Snowflakes” originally appeared on the compilation album Motown Christmas Vol. 2, which featured music by Diana Ross, The Jackson 5, The Temptations, and, of course, Marvin Gaye. The original version of the song features jingling bells that are commonplace in classic Christmas tunes. But for his version, Leon Bridges takes things in a bit of a different direction.
Dressed up in an outfit that’s one-part cowboy and one-part Elvis impersonator, Bridges trades in snow-touched scenery for the dusty landscape of the California hills to deliver his cover of the Gaye classic. Bridges’ version of the track has chimes instead of bells and a full band offers subdued instrumentals to allow the singer’s voice to absolutely shine. While he’s just now sharing the cover as an official video, Bridges actually recorded the song exclusively for Amazon Music as part of their new Amazon Original holiday project.
Watch Bridges perform “Purple Snowflakes” above.
