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Martina McBride Goes Back in Time

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Martina McBride performs "Ride" at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.


Dec. 1, 2008 — When Elvis Presley appeared in his 1968 comeback TV special, he was in the second year of his marriage to Priscilla Presley.

With that in mind, Martina McBride was dressed in Priscilla-like make up — a ‘60s-style hairdo and long eyelashes — when producers added her to Elvis’ comeback-special concert performance of "Blue Christmas" for a new video.

Martina is GAC's Artist of the Month for December. She's also one of several current female acts — including Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, Sara Evans, Amy Grant, Wynonna and the female members of Little Big Town — who overdubbed their voices to the King’s original recordings for the new holiday album Elvis Presley Christmas Duets.

"Blue Christmas" was "one of my dad’s favorite songs growing up," Martina told The Memphis Commercial Appeal. And that made it easy for her to select what song she’d do with Elvis.

She recently flipped the switch to turn on the now-traditional blue Christmas lights at Elvis’ former home, Graceland Mansion. She took her first tour of the mansion while she was there and has an appreciation for his artistry, even though wasn’t quite a teenager when he died at Graceland in 1977.

"I'm a huge Elvis fan," she said. "I doubt that something like that will ever happen again. We were in a much more innocent place then. He was very talented and very beautiful, and there was a mystery there."

Elvis Presley Christmas Duets has reached No. 5 on the Billboard country albums chart.

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