Alabama Releasing New Holiday Album, ‘American Christmas’

Christmas comes early for Alabama fans with the announcement that they're releasing a new holiday album, American Christmas.

The project includes some of the group's favorite Christmas songs including "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells," "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Away in a Manager." The band also recorded four new holiday-themed tracks, along with an updated version of their own classic "Christmas in Dixie," which celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2017.

"To all our fans: Christmas is a special time for Alabama. We hope it is for you," the award-winning group say in a press release. "From our hearts to you, we give you this Christmas gift. Thank you for the love and support, all these years. Merry Christmas!”

Country Singers Share Christmas Traditions

American Christmas is Alabama's first Christmas album in more than two decades. They released Alabama Christmas in 1985, and Vol. II came along in 1996.

Alabama's most recent album was 2015's Southern Drawl, which claimed the No. 2 spot on both the Billboard Top Country Albums and Independent Albums charts.

Alabama fiddle player and singer Jeff Cook made the heartbreaking announcement in April of 2017 that he has Parkinson’s disease and would be stepping down from the band. He was diagnosed in 2013, but decided to hold off making the news public.

"I’ve tried not to burden anyone with the details of my condition because I do not want the music to stop or the party to end," Cook says in a video to fans recorded by the Tennessean. "Let me say, I’m not calling it quits but sometimes our bodies dictate what we have to do, and mine is telling me it’s time to take a break and heal."

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