"Fresh Cut Christmas"
By George Strait
Available Exclusively at
Hallmark Gold Crown Stores
CD Features
Ten Holiday Classics
Selected and Recorded by Strait
For This
Exceptional Christmas CD
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (October 4,
2006) -- Platinum-selling superstar George Strait will wish fans a merry
Christmas this season with the new 2006 Hallmark Christmas album, "Fresh Cut
Christmas," which weaves Strait's unique style into traditional
seasonal music that families everywhere have come to love. Ten Christmas
classics were personally selected by Strait for "Fresh Cut Christmas." The
announcement was made by Ann Herrick, vice president - strategic
music alliances at Hallmark.
"Fresh
Cut Christmas" is available only during November and December 2006
exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown® stores and will be offered alongside
special "O Christmas Tree" George
Strait song cards. Songs
on the CD include the Christmas anthem "We Three Kings," the playful "Up on the
Housetop," and enduring classics such as "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing," "Deck
the Halls," "O Come, All Ye Faithful," and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas,"
among others.
"These are
the songs I grew up with, but I added a little country flavor to each one, so
my fans can appreciate them," says Strait. "Christmas is a wonderful time when
new memories are made and old ones resurface.
I hope my fans will make "Fresh Cut
Christmas" a new tradition in their homes during this happy season."
"Fresh Cut Christmas" is
priced at $7.95 with each purchase of three
Hallmark cards. Consumers can visit
Hallmark.com or call 1-800-HALLMARK to find a Gold Crown® store in their area.
George Strait, who will
be inducted into the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame in November, just
scored his 53rd number one hit with "Give It Away," making him the
artist who has scored more solo number one songs than any artist in any
genre--a musician who sets his own incomparable standards. Strait has sold more than 70 million records
and earned more platinum or multi-platinum discs than any other musician in his
genre. An integral part of the fabric of the music industry for more than 25
years, Strait's "Pure Country" album is the best- selling country soundtrack of
all time and his "Strait Out of the Box" is the best-selling country box set of all
time. After breaking other artists'
records, he broke his own record during this year's George Srait Arena Tour.
On a stop in Little Rock, Arkansas,
Strait broke his own attendance record, drawing the largest crowd in Arena
history and beating the previous attendance record, set by Strait in 2004!
Strait's
recording of this new holiday CD reflects Hallmark's ongoing commitment to
partnering with world-renowned artists in the music industry. Hallmark offers
artists a loyal consumer base and the right to retain creative integrity on
their respective projects. Teri Brown,
president of T.B.A. Network, Inc., was instrumental in crafting the partnership
between Hallmark and Strait.
Hallmark is the only specialty retailer to have
achieved Platinum and Gold certification of their CDs, sold only at their
retail outlets. James Taylor's 2004
Hallmark Christmas album was certified Platinum 44 days after its release and
Michael McDonald's 2005 Hallmark Christmas album reached Gold status just one
week after its release. Hallmark CDs are
sold exclusively by nearly 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown® stores and are available
for a limited time. Each CD has a focused, seasonal or event theme. Hallmark is
synonymous with quality entertainment, producing and sponsoring the acclaimed
Hallmark Hall of Fame television series for more than 50 years.
###
About
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world
for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television's
most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The company's Binney & Smith subsidiary,
maker of Crayola® crayons and markers, is the leading producer of art materials
for children and students. Through licensing leadership and joint ventures,
Hallmark continues to expand its product formats and distribution avenues. The
company publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in
more than 100 countries through a multi-national strategy. In 2005, Hallmark reported consolidated net
revenues of $4.2 billion.
About the
Hallmark Gold Crown® Store Network:
The Hallmark
Gold Crown® network of stores stands for excellence in specialty store
retailing and is the premiere channel of distribution for Hallmark-branded
products. Nearly 4,000 Hallmark Gold
Crown stores can be found nationwide, most of them independently owned and
operated. A Hallmark Gold Crown store is
the specialty retail environment preferred by consumers who seek a comfortable
shopping atmosphere, a higher level of customer service, and an extensive
selection of greeting cards, gifts and other personal expression products. For the nearest Hallmark Gold Crown store,
call 1-800-HALLMARK or use the store locator on Hallmark.com. MEDIA NOTE: Because "Hallmark Gold Crown®" is
a
distinct specialty retail network, these stores should be referred to as
"Hallmark Gold Crown stores" (not "Hallmark stores") in
print and electronic coverage.
About
Hallmark Music:
Hallmark
has offered music since the mid-1980s with such recording artists as Tony
Bennett, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Olivia Newton-John and Natalie Cole, among
others. In addition to titles that
celebrate special holidays, 32 everyday titles are available in Hallmark
stores, including artists such as Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole, and Louis
Armstrong.
For more information:
George Strait:
Kathy Best, 615-383-0412
kathy@frontpagepublicity.com
Hallmark Cards, Inc.:
Eileen Gaffen, 816.274.4673
egaffe@hallmark.com
