Leon Bridges is spreading Christmas cheer this year. The Grammy-winning singer has teamed up with Amazon Music to cover Marvin Gaye’s holiday gem “Purple Snowflakes,” as part of the Amazon Original program.
Bridges’ version doesn’t stray far from the original but he adds his own spin to the arrangement. There’s also a pedal steel guitar added to the production, which was helmed by Josh Block.
As a fan of Gaye, Bridges tells Rated R&B that “it’s a total honor” to cover one of his favorite Christmas songs.
“I hope I did it some justice. For me, Marvin Gaye, pretty much laid the blueprint of how I want my trajectory to go,” says Bridges. “He continued to evolve his sound, but still kept the essence of what was special about him.”
Bridges’ rendition of “Purple Snowflakes” was recorded at Niles City Sound, located in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. “It was definitely a full circle moment recording this song in the studio where my first album [Coming Home] was made,” he shares. “I was able to curate the right players to really help make this thing special.”
In July, Bridges released his third album, Gold-Diggers Sound, named after the place where he worked on the project for nearly two years.
Stream Leon Bridges’ “Purple Snowflakes” cover exclusively on Amazon Music below.
Watch Leon Bridges talk about “Purple Snowflakes” below.