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365:; he opted not to do a traditional music video due to a lack of time. The video was designed by Brian Shutters, and depicted the making of a Thanksgiving meal, with various food items displayed the lyrics to the songs. Hidden within the video were references to Rector's life and career. He was "blown away" with Shutters' work, although he admitted the lyric video was above his
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would be fun for Rector to sing. Each song was designed to express feelings of nostalgia and familiarity, and help put the listener at peace amidst the pandemic. He researched the history of each song and their various renditions, creating a revision of each that reflected both the original song and what he remembered as a child. "
349:, which came as a surprise to him since "everyone has an emotional connection and a lot of memories around Thanksgiving", so he decided to write one himself. He also wanted to give Christmas purists something to listen to, to save Christmas music for after Thanksgiving. He made the song sound classic, pulling sonically from the
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A fan of the
Christmas season with it being his favorite holiday, Rector had always wanted to record a collection of Christmas songs. He appreciated the chord progressions, arrangements, and the unique style of singing, and he wanted to replicate it. By January 2020, Rector had recorded most of what
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Many of the songs on the album Rector kept true to the source material, to reflect how good the original versions are; according to Rector, "You realize that they’re so good that they just play themselves." The collection curated were a selection of songs that paired well together, as well as what
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era. To keep the chorus fresh at the end he rewrote the ending to reflect 2020, with the line "'we’ve made it through / I do believe / the longest year in history." He released it ahead of the rest of the album to give people something to listen before the holiday season. "The
Thanksgiving Song"
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334:" was not planned to be on the album. When the initial recording session went ahead of schedule, Rector, Nathan Dugger, and Scott Mulvahill stayed late and performed three takes of the song, resulting in its inclusion.
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A fan of
Christmas, Rector had always wanted to make a Christmas album. The selection of songs were researched and curated to express feelings of nostalgia and familiarity. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and inspired by
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as the biggest inspiration for the album's direction. Since forming a large orchestra would be difficult amidst the pandemic, he instead opted for a smaller, stripped production with an emphasis on
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to be closer to when he could tour again, he seized the opportunity to release
Christmas music for the holiday season. He would also rewrite 11 of the 13 tracks on
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released on
November 13, 2020. The album also had a vinyl release, and Rector underestimated the demand of it. The artwork is derived from
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rules, and were mixed by
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to be the most difficult due to the song's unique jazz instrumentation and unique vocal performance. He selected "
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673:"Ben Rector Talks Chicken Sandwiches, Overcoming His Fear Of Failure & His Newfound Joy [Interview]"
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Rector wrote one original song for the album, "The
Thanksgiving Song", a song celebrating the holiday
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saw the tour cancelled. With the lack of scheduled conflicts, and holding off the release of the
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to imitate feelings of nostalgia. The songs were recorded August 2020 in a studio with
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songs, including "The
Thanksgiving Song", an original piece based on
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He released an associated lyric video of "The
Thanksgiving Song" on
1079:"Ben Rector Releases New Year's Eve Song "The Best Is Yet to Come""
609:"Ben Rector Gets in the Holiday Spirit with Debut Christmas Album"
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inspired him to release "The Best is Yet to Come", a song about
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is a compilation studio album by
American singer-songwriter
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to be on the album for its unique elegance. Originally, "
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607:Benitez-Eves, Tina (2020-11-13).
207:, the songs featured a stripped,
981:Hollabaugh, Lorie (2020-10-28).
792:McDonnell, Brandy (2020-11-06).
175:. It is a collection of popular
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650:from the original on 2023-09-18
621:from the original on 2023-09-12
582:from the original on 2022-08-14
1117:. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
917:Hancock, Amanda (2020-12-03).
671:Farthing, Lydia (2022-03-22).
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1:
1330:The Old Friends Acoustic Tour
1013:Liptak, Carena (2020-11-04).
751:Rice, Nicholas (2020-10-27).
249:The Old Friends Acoustic Tour
865:"Old Friends (w Ben Rector)"
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181:the holiday of the same name
831:White, Chris (2020-11-17).
52:November 13, 2020
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1158:"Christmas Time Is Here"
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1138:"The Thanksgiving Song"
403:"The Thanksgiving Song"
230:performing live in 2016
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1237:The Walking in Between
521:A Ben Rector Christmas
519:Chart performance for
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380:A Ben Rector Christmas
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286:A Ben Rector Christmas
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139:A Ben Rector Christmas
22:A Ben Rector Christmas
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1163:"Frosty the Snowman"
1143:"The Christmas Song"
278:jazz instrumentation
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491:The Christmas Song
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339:Thanksgiving
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37:Studio album
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1308:Range Rover
1301:Old Friends
1208:Discography
924:The Gazette
576:Pop Culture
290:Bing Crosby
187:amidst the
1345:Categories
1199:Ben Rector
1095:2023-12-07
1063:2023-12-07
1031:2023-12-07
999:2023-12-07
967:2023-12-07
935:2023-12-07
903:2023-12-08
874:2024-01-17
849:2023-12-07
810:2023-12-07
769:2023-12-07
730:2023-12-07
689:2023-09-04
654:2023-09-08
625:2023-12-07
586:2023-12-08
557:References
351:Billy Joel
305:Production
251:, but the
228:Ben Rector
219:Background
169:Ben Rector
119:chronology
117:Ben Rector
108:Ben Rector
56:2020-11-13
42:Ben Rector
1294:Brand New
1244:Brand New
1133:account:
1114:Billboard
544:Billboard
532:position
367:pay grade
356:New Years
185:lockdowns
177:Christmas
1089:Archived
1057:Archived
1025:Archived
993:Archived
988:MusicRow
961:Archived
929:Archived
897:Archived
843:Archived
804:Archived
763:Archived
724:Archived
683:Archived
678:MusicRow
648:Archived
619:Archived
580:Archived
101:Producer
64:Recorded
49:Released
39: by
1286:Singles
1131:YouTube
363:YouTube
326:" from
152:(2022)
143:(2020)
134:(2018)
54: (
838:Fox 28
758:People
514:Charts
395:Length
94:OK Kid
72:Length
1251:Magic
506:19:32
392:Title
318:" by
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247:with
244:Magic
130:Magic
89:Label
956:KSDK
530:Peak
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255:and
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67:2020
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537:US
388:No.
345:by
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