This Is Christmas

Curt Smith, co-founder of seminal music group Tears for Fears, released “This Is Christmas,” his first original holiday song, on November 29, 2010. Smith released “This Is Christmas” via his KOOK Media label as a standalone single, which is available in digital format from iTunes, Amazon MP3, and other online retailers. It will also be available as a signed, limited edition CD single, sold only at concerts and via Smith’s website. Click below to have a listen:

This Is Christmas by curtsmith

“This Is Christmas” tells the story, Smith says,  “of an adult visiting his parents at Christmas and lamenting how he’s always made to feel like a child when he returns home. It culminates in his realization and acceptance that they’re family after all, and nothing will (or even should) change that.” Fittingly, backing vocalists on the track include Smith’s daughters Diva and Wilder; Charlton Pettus (Smith’s longtime friend and collaborator) and his children Georgica and Harry; Jason Joseph; Simon Steadman; and chorus comprised of local school children.

“This Is Christmas” will be featured in the December 15 episode of the USA Network series “Psych.” “I’d been attempting to write a holiday song for years,” Smith says, “but always found them a bit trite and forced. I was trying again when Psych’s James Roday approached me about licensing a song for the holiday episode of “Psych.” Once he sent me a clip of the scene he had in mind, it all made sense and the song came together naturally.”

Like Smith’s previous solo efforts, he’s releasing “This Is Christmas” under a Creative Commons license. The license Smith uses allows others to freely share, perform, and remix his work, so long as the uses are non-commercial, Smith is credited, and any derivative works carry the same license. Smith shares production credits on the song with Charlton Pettus.

Production credits:
Produced by Curt Smith & the Reverend Charlton Pettus
Recorded at Shabby Road

Mixed by Charlton Pettus
Mastered by Ted Jensen for Sterling Sound

Written by Smith/Pettus – Happy Fish Music exclusively administered by Kobalt Music Publishing Limited (BMI) and alpettusongs (ASCAP)

Vocals: Curt Smith
Backing vocals: Jason Joseph, Lisa P’s 6th Grade Classes, Simon Steadman, Charlton Pettus, Harry Pettus, Georgica Pettus, Diva Smith, Wilder Smith
All instruments: Curt Smith & Charlton Pettus

Curt would like to thank:
Frances, Diva & Wilder AKA my life
Charlton, Alexandra, Georgie & Harry
Ted Jensen
Arlene Wszalek
Jason Joseph, Afton Hefley, Lisa P & Simon Steadman
James Roday
Justine Ungaro and Gina Vivona
Cover photograph: Justine Ungaro
Art Direction and Design: Gina Vivona for GV Creative

Management: Arlene Wszalek, SW14 Group
(818) 232-5620 • www.sw14group.com

© 2010 KOOK Media, LLC. Some Rights Reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License