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This Is for All the Lonely People: Lee Brice on His New Christmas Cut ‘Single Bells’

This week's Makin' Tracks highlights the songwriting and recording process behind Lee Brice's "Single Bells."

And so does Lee Brice ’s new seasonal offering, “Single Bells,” an interpolation that manages to turn a public-domain kiddie classic into a mature-sounding piece: kind of moody, but subtly uplifting, too. They started “Single Bells” with the chorus, mimicking the structure of the original “Jingle Bells.” But instead of sending a group of laughing people through the snow in a “one-horse open sleigh,” they placed the protagonist alone at home, drinking Jack Daniel’s and vacillating between acceptance and self-pity on a day that’s associated with family and relationships. The rest of the musicians were added one instrument at a time: drummer Aaron Sterling, playing with jazz combo-style brushes; bassist Mark Hill; and guitarist Jerry McPherson, who brought an edge to the sound by running some of his performance through a Leslie rotary speaker.

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