New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On December 1, MICKEY THOMAS of STARSHIP has released "A Classic Christmas," a two-sided single (available digitally only, via
Symphonic Distribution) on which he distinctively lights up such holiday gems as "Have Yourself A Merry
Little Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" with his deeply soulful and soaring voice.
Having recorded only one Christmas song before - a bluesy/gospel version of "
Silent Night" with the Elvin Bishop Band in 1976 - MICKEY says, "I love traditional Christmas songs because most of them were written by fantastic old school writers. They all have a terrific sense for melody and usually have very creative rhyme schemes."
Both songs were produced, mixed, and engineered by Dan Frizsell and recorded in East Iris Studios in Nashville with John Willis (guitars),
David Dorn (keys), Mark Hill (bass), and Evan Hutchings (Drums). "The recording session was a fantastic experience and worked like a charm," says MICKEY. "Dan Frizsell assembled an incredible group of players - some of the best studio musicians in Nashville. They were not only musical virtuosos but also funny as hell. I love the experience of walking into a studio and diving into the process with people you've never met or worked with. The chemistry was spot on from the get-go and we all had a blast recording the songs."
Mickey
Thomas is the owner of the soaring voice that propelled STARSHIP through the decade of the 80's. With his soulful and compelling vocals, Mickey has established himself as one of Rock Music's most recognizable stars.
Mickey made his mark in 1976 as lead vocalist on the mega-hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" with The Elvin Bishop Band. In 1979, Mickey joined Jefferson
Starship as the lead vocalist, after the departure of
Grace Slick and Marty Balin, and recorded a string of hits including "Jane", "No Way Out", "Find Your Way Back", "
Stranger", and "Layin' It on the Line".
The group was renamed STARSHIP in 1985 and went on to record three #1 hit songs including "
We Built This City", "Sara", and "
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", from the film, Mannequin, which also was an Academy Award nominee. Their hit "It's Not Over 'Til It's Over" became Major League Baseball's theme in 1987. Mickey's stellar voice and video charisma on STARSHIP's video classics such as "
We Built This City" and "Sara" became staples on MTV and VH1.
