It's 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.
This is my third draft for this blog. There’s so much coming that I keep forgetting to mention certain releases, and I’m trying to make this as comprehensive as possible (even though I know I’m still going to miss some things).
As usual, I am very excited about the upcoming season for the Sounds of Christmas (which starts on November 1, which is next Wednesday)!
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 sixteen 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 Bing’s “White Christmas” every other hour. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bing. But he recorded a lot of great Christmas music, and “White Christmas” 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! Nashville singer/songwriter Justine Blazer released her album “Joy”, which I think consists of all original songs!
In September, we got a new release from New Age/Jazz legend David Arkenstone called Winterlüde. Phoenix Chorale, Raymond Arroyo, David Ian and the Tenors also released new albums. And the folks at Stax Records released a new collection, with many familiar songs and artists, and one previously unreleased track – a version of “Blue Christmas” by Carla Thomas!
So far in October, Mary J. Blige released a special anniversary edition of her Christmas album “Mary Christmas” with a couple new tracks. Michael W. Smith added half a dozen new songs to his EP from last year for an entire album, “Every Christmas”.
Gavin DeGraw has released an EP called “A Classic Christmas” with half a dozen covers (maybe he’ll follow Michael W. Smith’s lead and give us a whole Christmas album next year).
Johnny Mathis followed this trend, adding half a dozen songs to his four-song EP from last year for a new Christmas album this year called “Christmas Time Is Here”. While most of the album is just Johnny, he does team up with Kristin Chenoweth for a new version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”.
Then, there’s Judy Garland’s Christmas album. Judy didn’t actually record a Christmas album, and most, if not all, of the tracks on this come from Judy’s TV show, the Christmas show in 1963. Still, for collectors, this is a pretty cool set, even if it’s not really a Judy Garland Christmas album.
Remember Wheatus? It’s been over twenty years since their hit “Teenage Dirtbag” was all over the radio. This year, they’re back with a Christmas EP called “Just A Dirtbag Christmas”, a definite nostalgia set for fans of that hit from 2000!
Two of what I’m sure will be the biggest Christmas releases of the season came out last week!
First, Cher’s long-rumored Christmas album, simply called “Christmas”, was released. It features duets with Darlene Love, Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Michael Bublé and Tyga, and has sold in such big number in just the first week, that it’s hard not to imagine a sequel, or at least a deluxe version, coming in the next year or two.
The other big release from last week was a collection from Pentatonix. It’s called “The Greatest Christmas Hits”, and while it does include many previously released songs, it also has eight new tracks, including the original single “Please Santa Please”.
Another a cappella group, Voctave, also released a new Christmas album last week. This is their third or fourth holiday release (depending on whether you count EPs or Deluxe Editions).
Lindsey Stirling issued a deluxe version of last year’s “Snow Waltz” (with four extra songs), and this appears to be only available at Target.
Chris Isaak’s album from last year, “Everyone Knows It’s Christmas”, also gets the deluxe treatment this year, with an additional four songs (and this one’s available everywhere).
Last year, Michelle Malone (along with the Hot Toddies) put out a Christmas album through Kickstarter, and this year they’re serving up “Toddie Time”, which should be available everywhere this Friday!
This week, we’re expecting new Christmas released from Quinn Hedges, Samara Joy, Hauser, Jon Pardi, Sukey Molloy and Mark Tremonti. Maddie and Tae have also expanded their Christmas EP “We Need Christmas” with three new songs.
Believe it or not, this Friday we’re also getting a Christmas EP from the Blue Man Group. They have a video on their YouTube channel of the first single, and while it’s interesting to watch, I’m not sure how this will translate to an audio-only format. But I guess we’ll find out in a couple days!
We’re also getting a new Christmas album this Friday from Bing Crosby. Yes, you read that right. It’s called “Christmas Gems” and the label putting it out says they worked with the family’s estate, and these songs are from Bing’s archives and the majority are previously unreleased. Looking at the tracklist, I don’t see anything that hasn’t been out before, but it is an interesting mix of songs not usually featured on one of Bing’s collections. And giving them the benefit of the doubt, it’s possible some of these are alternate takes or recordings. Answers will arrive this Friday.
So what else is on the way?
In November, we’ll be getting new Christmas albums from Jim Brickman, Michael Bolton, Kings Return, Brandy, Rehya Stevens, Lisa Biales, Chloe Flower, Gregory Porter, Seth MacFarlane (with Liz Gillies), Wes Brown, Dami Im, Aubrey Logan and My Morning Jacket!
Also, David Foster and Katharine McPhee have added new songs to last year's “Christmas Songs” EP for an entire album, also due next month.
And there are EPs on the way from Straight No Chaser, Jessie James Decker and Ally Brooke.
Plus, David Lanz and Kristin Amarie have a string of new singles on the way. They surprised us last year with “Silent Night” and “Mary, Did You Know”. I can’t wait to hear the new ones!
There are also supposed to be new Christmas albums on the way from Jimmy Fallon and the Kardashians (not together), but so far, there’s no release info.
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 Mary J. Blige, Bob Dylan, Adam Hawley, Alan Jackson, Carole King, John Legend, Willie Nelson, ’N Sync, Elvis Presley, Phil Spector’s Christmas Gift For You, Sia, Johnny Mathis, Cher, Dave Bruebeck, Judy Collins, Ella Fitzgerald, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, Don McLean, the Miracles, the Platters, Linda Ronstadt, the Vandals, Booker T. and the MG’s, Aimee Mann and Buck Owens.
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
www.SoundsofChristmas.com
A big thank you to Ken for keeping up this Yuletide tradition with us! I definitely have my eye on the Judy Garland, Cher, and Bing Crosby 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.
Always in spirit...
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