Christmas in Texas
Downloadable for a limited time only, an original song to benefit Victor Wooten's Center for Music and Nature.
CHRISTMAS IN TEXAS (track length 4:24)
Sometime around the year 1997, Cathy Beal, my longtime friend, told me that she had written song lyrics for the first time. It was a song called “Christmas in Texas.” Upon hearing them, I offered to put her lyrics to music, but it wasn’t until at least a year later that I found time to begin recording. Our make-shift studio was in my bedroom, and we recorded on a small Roland VS 880 digital workstation, the same one I’d used to record my album What Did He Say?. I played bass, programmed the drums, and recruited my brothers Regi and Rudy on guitar and sax to round out the band. My wife, Holly, also did an amazing job singing lead vocals, despite having just given birth to our first child, Kaila, only a few months prior. (Recently, Cathy found pictures of our recording session. It reminded us of how many years have passed since this project first began. You can see baby Kaila in her crib.)
As the years passed, Cathy kept reminding me about “Christmas In Texas,” but I had trouble finding the time to do anything with it because of my busy schedule. Once the 2020 pandemic hit, I found myself at home with extra time to work on unfinished projects. That was when Cathy approached me with the idea of releasing the song to help raise money for my not-for-profit (501c3) organization - Victor Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature. Although I thought it was a great idea, I had to admit to Cathy that I couldn’t find a copy of her song. She told me that she still had a copy but that it was on the original cassette tape that I’d made for her over twenty years earlier. Uh oh! Since it was all we had, I had her mail it to me so that I could digitize it. It worked!
While my four kids were home for Christmas in 2021, I asked Holly to double some of her vocals on the chorus and asked our daughters Kaila (now 25 years old) and Arianna (19) to add extra vocals and violin. That really updated the sound. Some additional scratches and pops from an old vinyl record also helped mask the sounds from the old cassette. Finally, “Christmas in Texas” was complete and Cathy Beal (the woman who runs the store at Vix Camps) could add “Songwriter” to her many credits.
“Christmas in Texas” is a journey that has lasted over two decades, and we are elated that it is finally available to you. It is a beautiful song that we hope will brighten your day and add some extra joy to the season. We thank you for your contribution.
Enjoy,
Victor L. Wooten
From Cathy Beal (Songwriter) :
My family has always gathered for Christmas, no matter how scattered we were. My parents would load all five kids (and sometimes our friends) into the car and drive to my grandmother’s house in Stevensville, Michigan. Every year we had 20 to 25 people packed into that farmhouse for singing, games, and gift exchanges. After my grandmother passed we still gathered at someone’s house. All my siblings moved back home to work for my dad‘s company, but I stayed in Virginia. I still flew back every Christmas.
Unfortunately one year (in mid November) when I went to make my travel plans, my twin sister excitedly told me she was packing to go to the El Paso office for three months. Our older brother was already there. Immediately I realized there would be no family Christmas gathering. I half jokingly asked her, “do they even have Christmas in Texas?” Soon as we hung up I started writing out the lyrics. I intentionally kept the relationship between the singer and the people mentioned in the song vague. It could be a parent and child, it could be a couple separating. Everyone can relate to the feeling of separation at a time they’re most looking for connection.
Thanks for Listening!
(Distributed by VixRecords)
