Josh Turner.Photo: David McClister
It was harder than he anticipated, and it made him think.
“I was occupied, but there were days where I was homesick,” he tells PEOPLE. “It was heart-wrenching. I’m like, ‘If I’m struggling this much and after 16 days, I can’t even imagine [a military deployment]. How do people survive that?”
Turner broaches that sacrifice in his new Christmas song “Soldier’s Gift” from his holiday albumKing Size Mangerout now. The festive collection is an assemblage of traditional country versions of classic Christmas songs with a smattering of Hawaiian, bluegrass and swing. Turner wrote three of the four original tunes and arranged five tracks on the 11-song album. “Soldier’s Gift” is the only outside original cut.
King Size Manager Cover Art.David McClister
“It’s a humble reminder that we are able to celebrate Christmas freely here in this country because of our men and women in uniform,” Turner says of “Soldier’s Gift.” “I was convicted of the fact that every year throughout my life, I’ve celebrated Christmas, and I’ve kind of taken that for granted. I’m honestly baffled that somebody hasn’t written this song before.”
Turner penned the title track with his friend Mark Narmore and the singer believes it’s among the best songs he’s written. He explains that Christmas songs can be about two things — Jesus or Santa. And, most of those songs have been written. When the idea for “King Size Manger” came to him, he felt a great responsibility to write a song worthy of the title.
“I was intimidated,” he explained. “When you get a great title like that, the last thing you want to do is write a mediocre song. I feel like it stands on its own, and I love being able to sing it every night. The audience is hanging on every word.”
“The crowd is just amazed at him as they should be,” Turner says proudly. “I’ve been telling people for a long time; you got to watch out for him ‘cause he’s coming.”
Before Hawk was born, the Turner family often toured together. However, the singer said this is the first time in seven years they tried it – and his boys are a lot bigger than they used to be.
“That bus is a lot smaller than I remember it,” Turner said. “That’s been a little hairy, but we’ve made it work, and we’re out there making memories.”
The 18-city Holiday & the Hits Tour is one of the hardest things Turner said he’s done in his career. He had to arrange a new show, find parts for his family and add another trailer to his entourage to haul Christmas decorations. When it snowed on the tour’s opening night in Michigan, Turner felt it was a sign they were on the right track.
“It was yet another passion project,” he says. “There’s more of my thumbprint on this record than any other record I’ve ever done. The majority of the ideas were mine. And, when I talk about how much variety there is on this record, that really kind of speaks to who I am because I love all different kinds of music, as long as it’s good.”
On paper, Turner’s Christmas tour ends Dec. 21 in Knoxville, Tennessee, but he suspects it will last longer. When the break comes, he said he’ll be more ready to relax than he’s ever been.
“We’ll probably be leaving our tree up into January so we can kinda actually enjoy Christmas at home this year,” he says.
source: people.com
