As a difficult year for everybody winds down, John Oates has offered up a new cover of the Mel Torme yuletide classic, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).”
In the press release for the song, Oates send out a message to fans, saying, “Since being homebound during the pandemic I've been recording at home using Apple's Garage Band on my computer. For me it's therapeutic and a great way to pass the time. I chose to record the Mel Torme classic 'The Christmas Song' playing all the instruments myself and giving it a little more of a bluesy feel. A great song doesn't need much — simplicity is beautiful. I hope you all enjoy it.”
John Oates has always appreciated holiday music. Back in 2006 when he and Daryl Hall released their Home For Christmas album, he explained that there's a need for both the familiar and new in the genre: “There's certain Christmas classics that just seem to represent the spirit of Christmas and what people kind of expect on a Christmas album. And at the same time we want to do something that's a little different.”