Tag: Christmas Music

BGS Wraps: Daryl Mosley, “An Old Fashioned Christmas”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Daryl Mosley
Hometown: Waverly, Tennessee
Song: “An Old Fashioned Christmas”
Label: Pinecastle Records

In Their Words: “I’ve always had a love affair with the past. I love history, antiques, old music, old movies, old instruments, etc. As I’ve gotten older, things from my own past come into play. Rick Lang and I wrote the song from around a conversation of our personal Christmas experiences. It’s those special memories and those mental snapshots of our childhood that are most precious to us this time of year. Being able to record the song with my longtime friend Danny Roberts producing, and his amazingly talented daughter Jaelee singing harmony, was extra special and it truly captured the feelings of family. It is my hope when people hear the song that it mentally takes them back to happy Christmas memories of their own.” — Daryl Mosley

BGS Wraps: Williamson Branch, “Joy to the World”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Williamson Branch
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Joy to the World”
Album: Very Merry Christmas
Label: Pinecastle Records

In Their Words: “Christmas time has always been the most joyful of celebrations for our family. We love the silliness of claymation cartoons, as well as the gifts under a festive Christmas tree. But ultimately, we celebrate the time when God came to dwell among us. Very Merry Christmas is our musical expression of the joy that we experience in every aspect of the holiday season. ‘Joy to the World’ the Lord is come! That’s a great reason for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than with banjos, fiddles and voices raised in praise?” — Kevin Williamson, Williamson Branch

BGS Wraps: Michaela Anne, “River”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Michaela Anne
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “River”
Album: Happy Xmas EP
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “The impetus behind this record is that I was asked to perform a set of Christmas songs for a friend’s show. I had never thought of singing Christmas songs so I started from scratch, thinking of which songs I was most moved by and wanted to sing along with when they came on the radio. I wanted modern songs that felt classic to me. I had a five-month old baby at the time and was thinking about what soundtrack I wanted to create for her early Christmas memories. Fun and upbeat but also melancholy, emotional and beautiful, because that is what life is. I have warm memories now of sitting at the piano, practicing ‘River’ with my tiny baby wrapped to my chest, staring up at me.” — Michaela Anne

BGS Wraps: Rich Hinman, “White Christmas”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rich Hinman
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “White Christmas”
Album: Christmastown

In Their Words: “The songs on Christmastown originally came from a holiday show I played with David Piltch and Barbara Gruska at 1642 in LA in December 2019. We had a few hours to fill, and initially my impulse was to find lesser-known Christmas songs to explore — but overwhelmingly the ones that stuck out, that were the most fun to play, were songs that literally everybody knows. It was easy to feel connected to material I’d been hearing since I was a child. We made the record over two sessions, four days total, in 2021 and 2022 at Barbara’s studio and at Lucy’s Meat Market, a familiar spot in Los Angeles; we worked fast so as not to overthink or get bogged down in anything. ‘White Christmas’ was recorded at Barbara’s place in 2021; I slid a piece of foam under the bridge of my pedal steel to get the muted sound you’re hearing. Overall, it was hard to sound bad playing an Irving Berlin song with David and Barbara.” — Rich Hinman

BGS Wraps: Joss Stone, “What Christmas Means to Me”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Joss Stone
Hometown: Dover, Kent, England; currently Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “What Christmas Means to Me”
Album: Merry Christmas, Love
Label: S-Curve/Hollywood Records

In Their Words: “I loved recording this album, especially this song as it really brought the Christmas spirit and turned it up. It really puts a smile on my face and makes me think of all the unique things that make Christmas special to me. Great lyrics by the legend that is Stevie Wonder. What a fun song to have amongst the wonder and magic of this album. The video was great fun, more so because my baby girl and boy were right there with me. What a delight! And how festive. Can’t believe how lucky I am at this time in my life.

“I have thought about making a Christmas album for years, I am Christmas obsessed! Making this record has honestly been a dream come true. It’s been years and years playing in my head and now finally I get to hear it in reality. It seems to be very true that good things come to those who wait. All the Christmas stars have aligned and put me in the right place at the right time with the right team of people to make this music shine magic in every direction. I just hope people enjoy hearing it as much as I have making it.” — Joss Stone

BGS Wraps: Taylor Ashton, “Santa’s Song (I Don’t Believe in Myself)”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Taylor Ashton
Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.; Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Santa’s Song (I Don’t Believe in Myself)”
Label: Signature Sounds

In Their Words: “Could Santa Claus suffer from imposter syndrome? If so, I can definitely relate. Carving out a music career in this day and age definitely requires a little suspension of disbelief. It’s not always easy to believe in your own gifts, or to believe that you have something to offer. But it can be healing to hear that somebody else is also struggling. And so, I offer this little melancholy holiday ballad with a sense of humor and a little nod to the geography of Canada, my home country.” — Taylor Ashton

BGS Wraps: Old Crow Medicine Show, “Trim This Tree”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Old Crow Medicine Show
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Trim This Tree”

In Their Words: “‘Trim This Tree’ is our Christmas card to Nashville, the city we love and call home. It’s got all the trimmings of a Music City holiday, from the Goo Goo Clusters to the light-up plastic nativity scene. We were happy to be joined on this by special guests The Purple Martin Choir featuring students from the school I started, the Episcopal School of Nashville, as well as Nashville penny whistle master Jim Hoke. December has always been an important time for the Old Crow Medicine Show in Music City. Our Rockin’ New Year’s Eve show at the Ryman Auditorium is now in its 15th year. We’ve seen quite a few changes in our hometown since we first opened up our case to play for the hat on Lower Broad, but one thing in Nashville that hasn’t changed at all is homelessness. Christmas is the season for giving and Old Crow is proud to be fundraising and raising awareness for Room in the Inn, Nashville’s sanctuary for the unhoused and safe haven for those struggling with addiction. Let’s make the holidays a little bit brighter with this fun, spirited tune and Happy Holidays Y’all, from Nashville to you.” — Ketch Secor, Old Crow Medicine Show

BGS Wraps: Cody Belew, “Christmas for One”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Cody Belew
Hometown: Beebe, Arkansas; Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Christmas for One”
Label: Visionary Media Group

In Their Words: “When I originally wrote this song I was actually living through it. It seems like a trivial thing, but Christmas is all about the traditions we create and keep. When you’re suddenly faced with the thought of dragging out all of those decorations and putting them up for no one but yourself to look at, it can feel like, ‘what’s the point?’ I know that I’m not alone in feeling that way and that many will go through it this year. So this one’s for them.

“You think it’s going to go somewhere else with ‘there’s a light shining from a church,’ but you’re instantly snapped to attention with the rest of the line — ‘sitting on my coffee table / the rest of the village is packed in a box on the floor.’ You get the entire feeling of the song in that one, singular line. So I wanted to actually get in that village. I wanted to force the perspective of walking the streets of a miniature ceramic village all by myself. A little bit Beetlejuice and a little bit Honey, I Shrunk The Kids!” — Cody Belew

BGS Wraps: Becky Buller, “Last Christmas”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Becky Buller
Hometown: St. James, Minnesota; now Manchester, Tennessee
Song: “Last Christmas”
Album: The Perfect Gift
Label: Dark Shadow Recordings

In Their Words: “Folks react strongly to this song. They either love, love, love it or they absolutely cannot bear to hear it; there is NO in-between. So … was including it on my first-ever Christmas record a risky move? Probably. Is kicking off the album with it complete insanity? Yup! But y’all know how crazy I am by now. It’s our daughter Romy’s fault I even considered trying ‘Last Christmas’ in the first place. She was having a Wham! moment during the 2021 holiday season. I guess I just heard the song so many times, my mind started studying on how I could bluegrass it up. What my guest dream team of that day (Barry Bales, Ron Block, Sierra Hull, Todd Livingston, Stephen Mougin, and Dan Tyminski) came up with is a little bit different from the original version … But I hope you’ll give our rendition of ‘Last Christmas’ a spin and have a Totally ‘80s Christmas party while you’re listening!” — Becky Buller

“Honestly, when Becky brought me this idea, I wasn’t too sure about it. It’s a little far out — on paper. As we all started to arrange it, experimenting with different ideas, the song really blossomed into a FUN bluegrassy track. The more they played it, the more it grew. The players all really brought their ‘A’ game and turned this tune into an energetic cut that puts a unique stamp on the song.” — Stephen Mougin, Producer

BGS Wraps: Hailey Whitters, “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Hailey Whitters
Hometown: Shueyville, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe”
Label: Pigasus Records/Big Loud Records/Songs & Daughters

In Their Words: “My producer and I spent a lot of time last Christmas culling through Christmas albums, and came up with an expansive list of songs we loved. But rather than rerecording standards like ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’ that’ve been recorded by many other artists, we wanted to focus on shedding some light on some of our lesser-known favorites with the hopes of introducing these great songs to a new audience. ‘New Baby For Christmas’ was initially recorded in 1957 and I thought was fun as it’s kind of a honky-tonk heartbreak/cheating song disguised as a Christmas song, and I’m a die-hard Randy Travis fan and have loved ‘Meet Me Under the Mistletoe’ for years — both seemed to be great vehicles for the high-class honky-tonk vibe we were going for.

“We recorded live in historic RCA Studio A with an all-star cast of Nashville session musicians — heavily-featured steel guitar, fiddle and upright bass — using minimal modern post-production techniques, and I even sang on the floor in the same spot Dolly used to sing to capture the natural reverb of the room. There’s so much history in that room we wanted to capture and it felt like everyone was really feeling the spirit.” — Hailey Whitters