Jason and Travis Kelce made their debut as brothers singing Christmas songs in 2023 when they personalized the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” by hurling insults at each other. in the form of sibling rivalry in “Fairytale of Philadelphia.”

Now, the brothers are back with a new duet from the Eagles’ third Christmas album, A special Christmas party in Philadelphiawith a song that Dr. Dog keyboardist Zach Miller wrote specifically with siblings in mind.

“It’s Christmas (in Cleveland Heights),” shouts the suburban Ohio town where the brothers grew up. The Kelces are joined on the song by one of Philadelphia’s most beloved musical acts, Boyz II Men, whose sumptuous, swooping vocals surround the brothers’ less dulcet tones with a gossamer sweetness.

The song, out Friday, is the first to be released from the third volume of the Philly Specials series. which raised $3 million last year for the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and other local charities. A song from the album, which also includes stevie nicks, mount joyand Devon Gilfillianwill be released every Friday until the full album drops on November 29.

“It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)” is the second original Christmas song written in-house by the Philly Specials team since the offensive linemen Jason KelceJordan Mailata and Lane Johnson first rang their bells with 2022 A Philadelphia Christmas Special. The first was Kelce’s “Santa’s Night,” which the now-retired Eagles center wrote for last year’s issue. A Special Philadelphia Christmas Special.

For the first Philly Specials album in 2022, Miller wrote piano music to accompany Eagles radio voice Merrill Reese’s recitation of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” more commonly known as “Twas The Night Before Christmas.”

For this one, Miller did something else. He created a melancholic Christmas tune in the spirit of Christmas songs like “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” and wrote lyrics for the brothers about the transformation of their hometown while they all played soccer. the days. Christmas season.

“That’s one of the things I love about Christmas music. A lot of this sounds very sad, but it’s also ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,’” Miller said, speaking this week from his home in West Philadelphia, singing the title of that perennial Andy Williams holiday.

“Musicians, athletes and a lot of people can empathize with not being home for the holidays,” Jason Kelce said in an interview. with the researcher in September. “So you end up thinking about it and longing for the time you were there.”

“Travis and I have been away from home for a long time, and not just during the holidays,” said the Monday night football analyst and co-host of he new heights podcast“so it means a lot more to you when you return home for the holidays. And that’s how the song sounds to me. You’re home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and you think, ‘Oh my God, this place has changed so much.'”

“It’s not a complicated song,” he said, “but I think the feeling behind it is universal for a lot of people. It’s like an R&B version of a Christmas song. When I first heard it, I didn’t know what it was, but I thought, ‘Man, I love this song.’ “It really struck a chord with me.”

Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris add delightful vocal ornamentation to the arrangement, with Stockman singing the final verse before Wanya Morris embellishes the coda.

“When I found out there was a chance to have them on the song, it was unreal,” Kelce said. “We have had Patti LaBelle and Amos Lee and a lot of great artists in years past, but Boyz II Men are probably the biggest names I’ve ever sung with. And the song is right in his wheelhouse.”

Miller, who grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, remembers being 11 years old and spending afternoons in his family’s home studio playing the computer game Lode Rider and listening to the cassette of Boyz II Men’s 1991 debut. cooleyhighharmony on repeat.

“It’s full circle,” said Miller, who is credited with playing the drum machine, Mellotron chorus, Moog synthesizer and DW600 synthesizer on the song, which also features Philly Special regulars such as bassist Anthony Tidd. , guitarist Kevin Hanson and saxophonist Immanuel. Wilkins.

Being a key Philly Special player from the beginning has been a joy, “just being in the orbit” of Kelce, Mailata, Johnson and his former Eagle executive producer, Connor Barwin, Miller said.

He also praises Charlie Hall, The drummer and producer of War On Drugs who is “an incredibly charismatic person who can bring a group of people together to do something crazy and have a good time doing it.”

The “lingering challenge” with the Philly Specials project, Miller said with a laugh, “is explaining what it is about. It’s like, ‘We made this album of Christmas songs with football players,’ but it’s actually good.”

In addition to Kelces and Boyz II Men, “It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)” includes vocal contributions from The Philly Specials Children’s Choir, made up of children of the project’s behind-the-scenes musicians and actors. Including Miller’s son Cyril, 13, and daughter Frieda, 10. And since it stands to reason that Travis Kelce will likely play the music he and his brother make for important people in his life, Miller had a message for his daughter.

“I have to tell you that, technically, Taylor Swift You’ve probably heard her sing. It’s a good possibility. And that’s great, you know? In a choir of other children.”

She took the news in stride, her father said of Philly Specials. “She laughed.”