WATCH: Whiskey Myers’ Cody Cannon Delivers Stellar Acoustic Cover Of Robert Earl Keen’s Christmas Classic, “Merry Christmas From The Family”

A Christmas classic.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just eight days away. As the clock slowly ticks down to the big day, it’s hard not to feel the stress of all that comes with the holidays. Whether it’s searching for last-minute gifts, wrapping said last-minute gifts, coordinating plans with friends and family or simply preparing yourself to give your year-in-review to all your relatives you haven’t seen all year, there’s plenty of anxiety that comes during the most wonderful time of the year.

Of course, one way to remove some of that stress is to listen to some stone-cold country-Christmas classics. And though I’ve gone on record before by saying I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas music in general, there’s absolutely no denying that there have been some truly great songs in the genre throughout the years.

Whether it’s Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas,” Alabama’s “Christmas in Dixie,” Merle Haggard’s heartbreaking “If We Make It Through December,” Randy Travis’ “Meet Me Under The Mistletoe” or Tyler Childers’ severely underrated “Luke 2:8-10,” there have been some classics created by some of country music’s greatest.

When talking about country-Christmas classics, however, you simply cannot forget about Texas legend, Robert Earl Keen’s, legendary track, “Merry Christmas from the Family.”

Appearing on Keen’s 1994 album, Gringo Hooneymoon, the song quickly became an instant classic in the Texas scene, thanks in part to its utterly hilarious depiction of a dysfunctional, alcoholic family trying to spread some Christmas cheer during the holidays. Undeniably being a song that could not be written and released today, Keen opens the first verse with the iconic lines:

Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk
At our Christmas party
We were drinking champagne punch
And homemade eggnog
Little sister brought her new boyfriend
He was a Mexican
We didn’t know what to think of him
Until he sang, “Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad”

From there, the hijinks only continue with the narrator’s brother bringing his third, chain-smoking wife, while Fran and Rita, blow out the Christmas lights trying to plug in their motor home in something reminiscent of the Chevy Chase classic, Christmas Vacation.

Ultimately, “Merry Christmas from the Family” has remained the quintessential Texas Christmas song. Additionally, it also received some mainstream attention when Montgomery Gentry covered it back in 2000 and charted it all the way up to #38 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

With all of that being said, one of the most underrated versions of the song, for my money, is none other than Whiskey Myers‘ frontman Cody Cannon’s acoustic cover, which was posted to the band’s YouTube channel back in December 2020.

It’s safe to say that Cannon has one of the most versatile voices in the country/southern rock scene, having the ability to effortlessly traverse everything from acoustic classics such as “Broken Window Serenade” to pure rock songs like “Icarus,” which appears on their stellar new album, Whomp Whack Album. And it sounds phenomenal here on “Merry Christmas from the Family.”

If you’re a fan of both Whiskey Myers and Robert Earl Keen’s Christmas classic, you won’t want to miss this underrated gem of a cover.

Watch here:

And while you’re here, fire up REK’s original.

 The post WATCH: Whiskey Myers’ Cody Cannon Delivers Stellar Acoustic Cover Of Robert Earl Keen’s Christmas Classic, “Merry Christmas From The Family” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.