Time for our yearly tradition! Please join me in welcoming back Ken from the Sounds of Christmas. He has a ton of new Christmas music to share.
Thanks so much for once again inviting me back to your blog, Michelle!
As usual, I am very excited about the upcoming season for the Sounds of Christmas (which starts on November 1, which is next Friday)!
We’re already on, of course. Truth is, we’re always on. These days, we’re playing Halloween music through the end of October, as the Sounds of Halloween.
For the last seventeen Christmas seasons, I’ve played a huge variety of Christmas music, and I’ve worked hard to play thousands of songs, without repeating the same song and the same artist. This way, you won’t hear “Jingle Bell Rock” twice an hour, and you won’t hear Mariah Carey over and over.
I have just always felt that there’s so much good Christmas music out there, and more and more coming every year, there’s no reason to play Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” every other hour. Don’t get me wrong, I love Nat King Cole. But he recorded a lot of great Christmas music, and “The Christmas Song” isn’t the only song of his that gets played on the Sounds of Christmas!
I do the same kind of thing with Halloween music, spreading out different versions of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” and others, as well as separating out the songs by the same artists. You won’t hear “Monster Mash” over and over, and I have multiple versions of that in rotation, including versions by the Beach Boys and Vincent Price (not together).
By the way, if there’s a spooky song you’d like to hear, you can certainly let me know and I’ll do my best to play it for you!
So, what’s new in Christmas music this season?
Once again, there is a lot of terrific new music this year, much of which is already out! I’m sure I won’t be able to get to it all of it in this blog, and there are always surprise releases that show up as the season gets going!
First, here’s some of what’s already been released…
One of the first releases of the season happened back in July! The band Fans Of Jimmy Century released the album “A Coupla Holiday Spirits (Halloween Perils and Christmas Carols)” As the title suggests, it’s split between Halloween songs and Christmas songs. If you’ve been listening to the Sounds of Halloween, you’ve probably already heard some of their Halloween songs, and you’ll be hearing plenty more in November and December from the Christmas half of their album!
Just before Labor Day, George Kahn and the Jazz and Blues Revue released “Christmas Soirée”, which feels like it’s destined to be one of the most fun releases this season!
In September, we got a new release from Amy Grant and Vince Gill called “When I Think Of Christmas”. It’s mostly a compilation of previously released Christmas songs from each of them, but there are two new tracks – Amy singing the title track, and both of them singing together on the song “’Til The Season Comes Round Again”.
Also in September, we got a third Christmas album from Brett Eldredge and the first-ever Christmas release from Tower Of Power!
October kicked off with the first Christmas album from Little Big Town. We also got the highly anticipated Christmas album from Jennifer Hudson. There’s also a new Christmas book from Sandra Boynton that is accompanied by a CD featuring Christmas songs from Lyle Lovett, Zooey Deschanel and Patti LuPone (among many others).
Also out in October are new Christmas albums from Dan + Shay, Amanda McBroom, Rick Braun, Gaither Vocal Band and Carpenters Legacy (an amazing duo that sounds just like the Carpenters – plus they have an original song on the album done in the style of the Carpenters)!
Due out today are Christmas albums from Ben Folds and Chapel Hart (not together).
The big one for November, due on the first, is Kelly Clarkson’s deluxe version of her most recent Christmas album. This one’s called “When Christmas Comes Around…Again” and it features two new tracks, an original “You For Christmas” and a cover of “Sleigh Ride”.
Also highly-anticipated and due on November 1 is the Christmas album from Jimmy Fallon. In addition to his previously released Christmas singles, this one features duets with Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Will Ferrell and many more!
That’s certainly not all for November. Also on the way are Christmas albums from Kalen Allen, Lea Salanga, Alicia Witt, Phil Wickham, CeCe Winans, Albert Hammond, Luminare Christmas, Clay Aiken, Mindy Abair, Home Free, Mickey Thomas, Dean and Britta (with Sonic Boom), Elizabeth Chan, Sixpence None The Richer and a third volume from the Philadelphia Eagles. There’s also live Christmas albums from For King & Country and Wizards Of Winter (not together), and Steve Perry has a third version of his Christmas album on the way with a few more songs. And Pentatonix are hinting at something – could be a single or an EP or an album.
Jethro Tull have also put together a four-volume deluxe version of their Christmas album, including live performances!
Lots of singles and EPs out and more on the way! Some include Ruben Studdard, Cliff Beach, Ed Sheeran, the Hollyberries, Dan Ashley, Liz Kennedy, Ronnie Martin, Libera, Sara Evans, Crash Adams, Curtis King Jr., Diana Krall, Kesha, Michael W. Smith and Blake Shelton.
And actors Kate Hudson and Jeff Goldblum (not together) have also released Christmas singles.
And then, there’s vinyl.
In fact, there’s so much Christmas vinyl on the way, that I’m pretty sure I’m going to miss some (and that’s not intentional, so my apologies if I don’t include your favorites)!
Christmas vinyl that’s either already out, or on the way, include Ray Conniff, Brett Eldredge, Ben Folds, Tower Of Power, Chet Baker, the Carpenters, Jimmy Fallon, the Good Lovelies, Home Free, Kenny Rogers, Lea Salonga, the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole, Albert Hammond, Burl Ives, the Judds, Brenda Lee, Point of Grace, Frank Sinatra, Michael W. Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Mickey Thomas, Clay Aiken, Erasure, Marc Martel, James Brown, Olivia Newton-John, David Phelps, Andre Rieu, Jethro Tull, Little Big Town, Sixpence None The Richer, Elvis Presley, Steve Perry, Ray Charles, Tyler Shaw, Mariah Carey, Christopher Cross, Ella Fitzgerald, Nick Lowe, Harry Connick Jr., Sarah McLachlan, New Edition, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Barenaked Ladies, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Randy Travis, Cher, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Crash Test Dummies, Donna Summer, Boyz II Men and Bobby Sherman!
I am sure I’ve missed some, and I apologize if I skipped one of your favorites. Hundreds of new releases come across my desk (and into my email) every year, and I try to get to as many as I can. Unfortunately, every year, I come across truly wonderful songs that I don’t actually discover until January.
Plus, there are always surprises. Usually, these are surprise singles, or even EPs. Every once in a while, there’s a surprise Christmas album, but that’s pretty rare.
The Sounds of Christmas shifts back to Christmas music on November 1. I know not everyone is ready for it that early, but we’re here for those who are. And we’ll be here, playing all your favorites alongside the tunes I mentioned here, whenever you are ready for Christmas music!
Hope you’re able to spend at least some of your holiday season with us!
And may you always believe in Santa Claus!
Ken
https://www.SoundsofChristmas.com
A big thank you to Ken for keeping up this Yuletide tradition with us! I definitely have my eye on the Alicia Witt, Clay Aiken, and Jimmy Fallon releases. Which ones are you looking forward to?
Be sure to tune in to Sounds of Christmas on November 1st, and all season long. I have a link to the Sounds of Christmas in the right sidebar so you can listen while you're online. Look for the Sounds of Christmas Christmas tree, click the image and you'll be taken to the site where you can listen. Also, Sounds of Christmas has an app on Google Play so you can listen on the go...and it's free! You can find it in the Play Store here.
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