Rocker Melissa Etheridge is set to release a holiday album titled ‘A New Thought For Christmas’ on Sept. 30th through Island Records.

From an Island Records press release:

What if someone made a Christmas album for everybody else? That’s exactly what Melissa Etheridge has done. Working alongside her producer David Cole, Melissa’s songs celebrate a spiritual time of year where people can rejoice in their traditional, or non-traditional ways, and celebrate a winter solstice filled with love and peace.

This ten song album has newly composed songs such as “Ring The Bells,” “Light A Light,” and “It’s Christmas Time” interspersed with traditional holiday standards such as “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Blue Christmas.”

This album begs the question, “If we’re all talking about peace on earth, what if we all concentrated on peace on earth and made it happen?”

Melissa Etheridge has been a core Island Records artist since the release of her critically-acclaimed eponymous debut, which led to an invitation to sing on the 1989 Grammy Awards broadcast. 

For several years, Melissa’s popularity built around such memorable songs as “Bring Me Some Water” (from her debut), “No Souvenirs” (from 1989’s ‘Brave And Crazy’) and “Ain’t It Heavy” (from 1992’s ‘Never Enough’), for which she won her first Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal.
 
Melissa hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, 1993’s ‘Yes I Am,’ featuring the massive hits “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window,” a searing song of longing that brought her second Best Female Rock Grammy. 

The album went six times platinum and spent more than two and a half years on the album chart.  In 1995, she issued her highest charting album, ‘Your Little Secret’ (#6 on the Billboard Top 200), which included the hit single, “I Want to Come Over.” 

Her astounding success led Melissa to receive the Songwriter of the Year honor at the ASCAP Pop Awards in 1996.
 
Melissa continued to write, record, and tour throughout the ’90s and into the new millennium.  In 2006, she was approached by Al Gore to write a song for his documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth. 

The result was “I Need To Wake Up” and in February 2007, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.  Melissa’s ‘Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled’ was repackaged to include the OSCAR® winning song.  In April 2007, Melissa Etheridge received the distinguished ASCAP Founders Award honoring the anthemic power, compassion, and generosity of spirit of her music, and her enduring status as one of the greatest all-time female rock icons. 

In September 2007, she released ‘The Awakening,’ which was selected by Rolling Stone Magazine as #20 on its Top 50 albums of 2007.

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Kenny Rogers 2008 Tour Dates
8/20/2008 - Vienna, VA - The Filene Center
8/22/2008 - Harrington, DE - Harrington Raceway
8/23/2008 - Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Pavilion
8/30/2008 - Tuskahoma, OK - Choctaw Grounds & Amphitheatre
9/6/2008 - North Myrtle Beach, SC - Alabama Theatre
9/12/2008 - Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
9/13/2008 - Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino
10/1/2008, 10/2/2008 - Minot, ND - Norsk Hostfest All Season Arena Show
10/3/2008 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino/Mystic Showroom
10/4/2008 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino
10/5/2008 - Effingham, IL - The Rosebud Theatre
10/13/2008 - Gillette, WY - The Wyoming Center at CAM-PLEX
10/14/2008 - Great Falls, MT - Four Seasons Arena
10/16/2008 - Victoria, British Columbia - Save On Foods Memorial Centre
10/18/2008 - Kelowna, British Columbia - Prospera Place
10/19/2008 - Prince George, British Columbia - CN Centre
10/20/2008 - Grande Prairie, Alberta - Crystal Centre
10/21/2008 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
10/22/2008 - Lethbridge, Alberta - Enmax Centre
10/24/2008 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
10/25/2008 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
10/26/2008 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
10/27/2008 - Thunder Bay, Ontario - Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
10/30/2008 - Wabash, IN - Honeywell Center
12/1/2008 - London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
12/3/2008 - Sudbury, Ontario - Sudbury Arena
12/4/2008-12/7/2008 - Rama, Ontario - Casino Rama
12/9/2008 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort & Casino Showroom
12/10/2008 - Westbury, NY - Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury
12/11/2008 - Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
12/12/2008, 12/13/2008 - Atlantic City, NJ - Trump Taj Mahal Casino
12/14/2008 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre
12/15/2008 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
12/19/2008 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino Showroom

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Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will open at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre Nov. 23, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the producers announced on Aug. 19.

Tickets will go on sale exclusively to American Express card members starting Aug. 20 through Sept. 17 (visit broadway.yahoo.com). Tickets will go sale to the general public on Sept. 21.

The musical comedy confection based on the Paramount film of the same name has played acclaimed engagements in San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles and St. Paul. As previously announced, previews for the Broadway debut of the splashy Walter Bobbie-directed production begin Nov. 14. Performances will play (sometimes nine times a week) through Jan. 4, 2009.

Casting information will be announced shortly. The company is expected to be drawn partly from past troupes that have appeared in the show regionally.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is produced by Kevin McCollum, John Gore, Tom McGrath, Paul Blake, The Producing Office, Dan Markley, Sonny Everett and Broadway Across America in association with Paramount Pictures.

According to producers, “Every holiday season, audiences of all ages enjoy the uplifting story of [the movie] ‘White Christmas.’ Now, a new generation will be able to experience this holiday tradition in a completely new way — live on stage. With the Broadway arrival of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, the show is poised to become New York’s newest holiday tradition.”

The musical tells the story of two showbiz buddies who put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn, and find their perfect mates — a sister act, no less — in the bargain.

White Christmas has a book by David Ives (Is He Dead?) and Paul Blake, choreography by Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street), set design by Tony Award nominee Anna Louizos (In the Heights, Avenue Q), costumes by Tony Award nominee Carrie Robbins (Grease, Over Here), lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington (Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Annie), sound design by Tony Award nominee Acme Sound Partners (In the Heights, Spamalot), orchestrations by Tony Award nominee Larry Blank (The Drowsy Chaperone), vocal and dance arrangements by Bruce Pomahac, music supervision by Rob Berman, and casting by Jay Binder C.S.A.

The show’s song list includes classics by composer-lyricist Berlin: “Count Your Blessings,” “I Love a Piano,” “Sisters,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and the title song.

Beginning Sept. 21, tickets prices will be $66.50, $91.50 and $121.50 (including $1.50 facility fee), and are available through Ticketmaster by calling (212) 307-4100, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Marquis Theatre box office (1535 Broadway).

For group sales details and pricing call The Group Sales Box Office at (800) 223-7565 or visit www.bestofbroadway.com.

*

Beginning Nov. 14, the show will play the following unique performance schedule per week:

Week of Nov. 10
Friday & Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Week of Nov. 17
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday at 7 PM, Sunday evening at 6 PM (Opening Night), Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2 PM.

Week of Nov. 24
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Weeks of Dec. 1 and Dec. 8
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday & Sunday at 7 PM, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Week of Dec. 15
Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday & Sunday at 7 PM, Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Week of Dec. 22
Monday, Friday & Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday & Sunday at 7 PM, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM. Dark on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

Week of Dec. 29
Monday, Friday & Saturday at 8 PM, Tuesday at 7 PM, Tuesday, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2 PM, DARK - New Year’s Eve & Day Dec. 31 & Jan. 1, 2009. Final performance: Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009.

For more information visit www.whitechristmasthemusical.com.

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The R-e-s-p-e-c-t singer has been put off releasing a festive album for years because her managers assured her such an album would never sell.

But now Franklin is out to prove them wrong as she joins the likes of Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill and Al Jarreau, who will all be hitting the Christmas music market with carols and festive favourites later this year (08).

She says, “It was just so grossly remiss that I have not had a Christmas album. It was just ridiculous.

“I was told at one point that they (Christmas albums) didn’t make any money, but that’s not the point at all.

“I’d be at home cooking and enjoying the holidays and listening to everybody but myself. I wasn’t enjoying that.”

Franklin’s This Christmas album will be released in October.

Wenn

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“The day after Halloween we will be releasing the first-ever HELIX Christmas CD entitled ‘HELIX - Heavy Mental Christmas’. The CD will be available in Walmart stores across Canada, and we have been told it will be front racked, along with the soon-to-be-released AC/DC and METALLICA CDs. The CD will be distributed by Fontana/Universal.

“We are very excited about this project, and with good reason. We’ve done some different versions of traditional Christmas songs, as well as taking a few contemporary numbers and jazzing them up, ie. ‘Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time’ by Paul McCartney. We also found a gem in Bob Segar’s ‘Sock It To Me Santa’ and even penned one of our own, a MOTÖRHEAD-sounding ditty entitled, ‘It’s Christmastime Again’. The CD is being recorded at ‘A’ Studios in London, Ontario. Gord Prior is producing with Aaron Murray engineering.

“The release of ‘Heavy Mental Christmas’ will coincide with a western Canadian tour in November. We also hope to play our hometown of London around the same time period. We will announce our tour dates as we get them.”

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All of the songs, except for two originals, are standard Christmas favorites: “Angels We Have Heard on High”, “Carol of the Bells”, and “Silent Night”, just to name a few, played with a flare for modernizing the sounds of familiar Christmas classics.

The  two original Christmas theme songs, “The Last Christmas” and “Christmas for Two”, add a nice touch to the whole production. “The Last Christmas” is a lofty, slow melody . Thoughtful, touching lyrics express the emotions of an expectant mother, considering the profound changes that the child growing inside her will have in her life.  “Christmas for Two”, another slow track, is the perfect song for newlyweds celebrating their first christmas as husband and wife.

While there’s nothing else original about the album, the production is reasonably well done, and the help from Jars of Clay’s, Dan Haseltine on “Silent Night” is an extra treat for any Christian music fan. As a whole, the CD will make a great stocking stuffer and nice addition to someone’s updated Christmas album collection.

Visit Six Pence None the Richer’s website and MySpace for more information.

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Also on October 14th, Sesame Workshop will release the 2007 television special “Elmo’s Christmas Countdown” on DVD. Christmas finds itself in trouble when Stiller the Elf’s magical Christmas Counter-Downer breaks down. It is now up to Elmo and Abby Cadabby to help find the missing parts and get the official countdown to Christmas back on track. The giant musical extravaganza features many special guests - including Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Brad Paisley, Ty Pennington, Anne Hathaway, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, Kevin James (as Santa Claus), and Ben Stiller (as the voice of Stiller the Elf). The 45-minute feature will make its DVD debut in a special foil embossed packaging, and will also carry a retail price just around $10.

So be sure to mark your calendars for October 14, 2008 and prepare to ring in the holidays with these great new Christmas releases from Sesame Street.

A Sesame Street Christmas:
1. Sesame Street Christmas Overture
2. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
3. Medley: Deck the Halls / Jingle Bells / White Christmas / Winter Wonderland
4. I Hate Christmas
5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
6. The Twelve Days of Christmas
7. True Blue Miracle
8. Medley: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas / Silver Bells / The Christmas Song /Santa Claus is Coming to Town
9. All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
10. A Christmas Pageant
11. Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)
12. We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Reprise)

Elmo Saves Christmas: Holiday Classics:
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
3. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
4. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
5. O Christmas Tree
6. Elmo Saves Christmas
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
8. Jingle Bell Rock
9. Here Comes Santa Claus
10. Most Wonderful Time of the Year
11. Blue Christmas
12. Feliz Navidad
13. It’s Christmas Again

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He continued, “It’s either gonna be called ‘A Twisted Christmas…’ or ‘THE Twisted Christmas – A Musical’. It tells a story, but it’s very much a concert event. But there’s a storyline going on between. The show is about 20 songs. The band are the only actors. There is a narrator, I will tell you that much, who fills in the spaces — he’s on video screen — and he tells — ala ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, to be honest — he helps move the story along and tell the story. If you saw ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’, off Broadway, [a band] performs and then in between there is interaction, which further moves the story along. So it’s pretty involved. It’s a unique combination of things that have been done before and haven’t been done before. And the goal, really — ’cause we’re not playing ourselves, we’re playing a fictitious band in the musical — eventually is to, like the BLUE MAN GROUP, have a whole bunch of casts out there during the holiday season performing the show. So that’s the ultimate goal. So it’s in development, but it’s well on its way. Like I said, I finished the script, everybody loves it, and now I’m sinking my teeth into writing the album which we’ll start recording in January/February for release in 2009.”

On September 25, 2007, Razor & Tie Entertainment released “A Twisted Christmas Live”, a DVD of TWISTED SISTER’s holiday 2006 show at New Jersey’s legendary Starland Ballroom. The DVD features performances of tunes from “A Twisted Christmas” (which features rock n’ roll versions of beloved Christmas classics), as well as TWISTED SISTER’s greatest hits.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ — When you are not only a
Grammy(R) Award-winning and multi platinum-selling artist, but also have three
best-selling Christmas CDs while selling over six million Christmas albums
overall, what do you do?  If you are Amy Grant, you hand-pick your favorites,
record four new songs, and put them all together in one special CD and digital
release.  Such is the case with Grant’s THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, which will
release nationwide on September 30th through AG Productions/Sparrow Records.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080812/LATU541)

Featuring the first new Christmas music recorded by Grant in nine years
(since 1999’s Christmas To Remember) THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION features
favorites including “Breath of Heaven,” “Grown Up Christmas List” and
“Tennessee Christmas,” along with new tracks produced by Brown Bannister
including original tunes “I Need A Silent Night,” co-written with Chris Eaton
(”Breath of Heaven”) including a special cameo from daughter Corrina as well
as “Baby It’s Christmas,” a song Grant co-wrote with husband Vince Gill.  The
result is a classic Christmas album reminiscent of the Bing Crosby, Frank
Sinatra, etc. albums of old (see full track listing below).

In support of the project, Grant will hit the road in early December for a
Christmas Tour that will also feature Vince Gill. Targeting 15 cities, Grant
will bring a festive and nostalgic evening to Baltimore, Atlanta, St Louis,
Nashville and more.

Just before the holiday season kicks into full swing Grant will tape a
“Holiday Celebration on Ice” on November 11th for NBC.  The special will
feature Grant singing Christmas favorites, along with Michael W. Smith, and
the skating talents of Olympic, World and National Champions including Nancy
Kerrigan and Viktor Petrenko.  Taped in HD, the special will be televised
nationally on NBC on Sunday, November 30th, as well as three separate times on
The Style Network between December 1 and 25, 2008, and shown a minimum of 20
times on the Universal HD network between December, 2008 and May, 2009.

For more information on Grant, THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, and her tours,
please go to http://www.amygrant.com.

Amy Grant’s career spans over 25 years and stretches from her roots in
gospel into an iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality, and
philanthropist. Grant has sold more than 30 million albums and won six Grammys
(R) in multiple categories, beginning with the platinum-selling Age to Age in
1982. She also has six #1 hits, including “Baby, Baby,” and “Every Heartbeat”
and is one of only two Christian artists to be awarded a star on the legendary
Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Grant released her first live recording in 25 years
with Time Again…Amy Grant Live in September 2006, and then announced her
first ever label shift to EMI Music Group where her entire music catalog was
re-mastered and released via a GREATEST HITS CD and made available for the
first time digitally.   This fall she will release her first new Christmas
music in 9 years, which in addition to four new songs, features tracks that
were hand-picked by Grant to include the best songs from her previous albums
that result in a classic Christmas album reminiscent of the Bing Crosby, Frank
Sinatra, etc. albums of old.

AMY GRANT: THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION (CD, Digital Album)
1.  Jingle Bells (NEW RECORDING)
2.  It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
3.  I Need A Silent Night (NEW RECORDING)
4.  Winter Wonderland
5.  Baby, It's Christmas (NEW RECORDING)
6.  Sleigh Ride
7.  Count Your Blessings (NEW RECORDING)
8.  Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing
9.  Silent Night
10. Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song)
11. Joy To The World/For Unto Us A Child Is Born
12. Grown-Up Christmas List
13. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
14. Tennessee Christmas
15. A Christmas To Remember
16. O Come All Ye Faithful
17. A Mighty Fortress/Angels We Have Heard On High
18. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

AMY GRANT CHRISTMAS TOUR FEATURING VINCE GILL (all dates subject to
change)
Dec 4Albany, NY/Times Union
Dec 5Augusta, NE/Augusta Civic Center
Dec 6West Point, NY/Eisenhower Hall
Dec 7Mashantucket, CT/MGM Grand @ Foxwoods
Dec 10   Baltimore, MD/Lyric Opera House
Dec 11   Salisbury, MD/Wicomico
Dec 12   Manchester, NH/Verizon Wireless Arena
Dec 13   Worcester, MA/DCU Center
Dec 15   Atlanta, GA/Fox Theater
Dec 16   Charlotte, NC/Ovens Auditorium
Dec 20   St Charles, MO/Family Arena
Dec 22   Nashville, TN/Ryman
Dec 23   Nashville, TN/Ryman

SOURCE  AG Productions/Sparrow Records

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A stage version of the celluloid classic will play New York this holiday season, Nov. 14-Jan. 4 at the Marquis Theatre.

“It’s a quintessential seasonal family show,” producer Kevin McCollum said Monday in announcing the limited engagement. “And hopefully we’ll start making some memories with it.”

The musical is based on the 1954 movie that starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The plot concerns a couple of show-biz veterans who travel to Vermont to put on a show. Of course, there’s romance involved.

“White Christmas” has been adapted by David Ives and will be directed by Walter Bobbie, who oversaw the long-running revival of “Chicago.” Casting and an opening date will be announced shortly, said McCollum, producer of Broadway hits such as “Rent,” “Avenue Q” and “In the Heights.”

The stage show first appeared in 2004 in San Francisco and since then has played cities such as Los Angeles, Boston and Toronto. This year, in addition to New York, other companies of “White Christmas” will be seen in Detroit and St. Paul, Minn., McCollum said.

He called the show “a reinvention of the movie, not a revival — because there is so much more music and the story is enhanced.” In addition to the title song, “White Christmas” includes Berlin standards such as “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “I Love a Piano,” “Blue Skies,” “How Deep Is the Ocean” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”

“White Christmas” is a big dance show with a lot of spectacle, according to the producer — with a cast of 32, nearly two dozen musicians and a large backstage crew. To make it financially viable, McCollum has gotten accommodations from various unions and hopes to have the show do nine performances a week for three of the show’s nearly eight-week engagement.

Broadway shows usually play eight performances each week.

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    Partial track listing (not in sequence):
    "I'll Be Home For Christmas" with Carrie Underwood
    "Blue Christmas" with Martina McBride
    "Here Comes Santa Claus" with LeAnn Rimes
    "Silent Night" with Sara Evans
    "Merry Christmas Baby" with Gretchen Wilson
    "Silver Bells" with Anne Murray
    "White Christmas" with Amy Grant
    "O Little Town" with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big
     Town
    "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" with Wynonna Judd

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“It was so much fun to sing Christmas songs earlier this summer when we were in the studio,” says pureNRG. “Christmas is our favorite holiday so we can sing these songs anytime of the year and we hope they bring a strong message of hope to everyone’s Christmas season.”

In support of A pureNRG Christmas, the group will join Casting Crowns’ Christmas tour that kicks-off in Houston, TX on November 28 and ends December 13 in Reading, PA. Also joining the tour are Natalie Grant, Avalon, Michael English, and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra.

pureNRG recently treated fans in Nashville, TN to a full live concert that was taped for JCTV and will air on July 4th, at 5:00 pm. There will be two additional airings on July 4th at 10:30 pm CST and again on July 5 at 10:00 pm CST. The concert has also been made into a DVD, “Live & More,” that features exclusive backstage interviews and will be available at all Christian retail outlets on July 22nd.

Also on July 22nd, pureNRG will be releasing an interactive devotional, “The Message Behind Our Music.” It offers fans an inside look at all twenty-four of pureNRG’s songs. Each devotional is based on a scripture and has a “call to action” where they are able to do an activity, journal, and interact with each entry. It’s a wonderful way to bring the Bible to life through the lyrics of music.

pureNRG has a busy summer of tour dates that include performances at Creation East and Creation West. This fall, pureNRG will hit the stage at Disney’s World Resort in Orlando, FL for an appearance at “Night of Joy, on Saturday, September 6th. For more updates on pureNRG and their tour dates please visit their website, www.purenrgonline.com.

Song Listing For A pureNRG Christmas:
1. All I Want For Christmas
2. 12 Days Of Christmas
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. Jingle Bell Rock
5. Joyful Joyful
6. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
7. Away In A Manger
8. Joy To The World
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
10. Silent Night

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Meanwhile, the trio, who got back together last year after breaking up in 2004, has plans to work on a follow up to 2002’s Divine Discontent. A tentative release in early 2009 is expected for this fifth album by Sixpence. They have dates scheduled for this summer as well, which is the first tour for the group in four years.

The track listing for Sixpence None the Richer’s The Dawn of Grace is:

1. “Angels We Have Heard on High”
2. “The Last Christmas”
3. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
4. “Silent Night” (featuring Dan Haseltine of Jars Of Clay)
5. “Riu, Riu, Riu”
6. “Carol of the Bells”
7. “Christmas Island”
8. “River”
9. “Christmas for Two”
10. “Some Children See Him”

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Having wanted to record in a cathedral, they’ll be heading out to Transylvania, which is, according to NME.com, “famous city in the eastern European country of Romania”. 

While I’m aware that few eastern Europeans employ articles, it seems excessively accommodating to mimmick that linguistic trait when discussing the slavs et al. in our own (superiour) language. 

And Transylvania is almost as big as England, and is definitely not a city.

Still, a Christmas album - they’re usually good aren’t they?

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Faith Hill threw the coolest party of the scorching CMA Music Festival week for about 130 industry folks who were given an exclusive first listen to her upcoming Christmas album, Joy to the World.

As snow quietly fell on video screens throughout the Global Cafe on Friday, partygoers consumed iced gingerbread men and mini peppermint ice cream cones while festivalgoers sweated in the 90-degree heat outside. Tables were adorned with centerpieces featuring Christmas ornaments. 

“We planned that, a Christmas record on the hottest day in Nashville for the year or maybe the last few years,” joked Hill, who was in the lineup for the Friday night LP Field show. It was her first scheduled appearance at the festival in a decade.

Hill began recording the Christmas album about three years ago, but then took a break to tour for much of two years before finishing it. She recently played the completed album for executives at her label, Warner Bros. Records.

“It’s so very special to me, very spiritual, kind of a throwback to the 1950s-’60s Christmas music,” she said of the album, which has soaring orchestrations and impressive vocals.

She was joined by the Nashville Symphony and conductor David Campbell, as well as producers Byron Gallimore and Dann Huff.

“We just had the best time making this album. You’re going to hear the London Boys Choir and they were phenomenal,” she said.

The album’s single is “A Baby Changes Everything,” which was written by Craig Wiseman; his wife, KK Wiseman; and Tim Nichols. “It’s an extraordinary piece of work,” Hill said. ” … (KK) is a minister and it originated from a sermon that she was going to present to a church.”

Hill was joined at the event by her three daughters. “My daughters Maggie and Audrey were going to come down here and serve you guys ice cream, but they said, ‘They’ve already eaten ice cream. What do we do? This is really boring,’ ” Hill said with a laugh.

The 36-minute album contains songs such as “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Little Drummer Boy.”

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Belmont University Professor Don Cusic says Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville Thursday morning. Arnold was just days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold’s mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” — a crossover hit on the pop charts in 1965 — made him one of the most successful country singers in history.

He became a pioneer of “The Nashville Sound,” also called “countrypolitan,” a mixture of country and pop styles.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. The following year he was the first person to receive the entertainer of the year award from the Country Music Association.

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From when I was very young I have been a fan of Bing Crosby.  His music and movies are some of my favorites.  At a very early age he became my idol.  In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that Bing Crosby is the father of American Christmas music.  I believe that all of the Christmas music that we listen to today, all of the artists that record Christmas albums are all a result of what Bing did with Christmas music beginning very early in his career.  His Recording of “White Christmas” for many years was the highest selling single of all time.  In fact it appeared in the top ten on the charts around Christmastime, almost twenty years in a row, Bing was the only artist to achieve such a fete.  It appeared in the top ten on the British charts as recently as 1998.

I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Bing’s wife, Kathryn Crosby this week and may I say it was one of the biggest thrills I’ve ever had.

She is vibrant and positive, as upbeat and cordial as I remember her on those many Crosby family Christmas specials that were an absolute tradition and event in our house as I grew up.  It was not an interview, but rather felt like I was chatting with an old family friend.  It’s not an uncommon occurrence for Mrs. Crosby, to have someone feel as if she’s an old friend, because she has selflessly shared herself and her life with Bing with all of us in ways that we could never thank her enough for.  She’s written three books about her life with Bing.  The first, “Bing and Other Things” published in 1967.  Next was her book “My Life with Bing” in 1983 and finally “My Last Years with Bing” in 2002. 

As Mrs. Crosby writes, one can truly feel how much she loved Bing and how much he loved her.  As I spoke with her a full thirty years since Bing passed away on a golf course in Spain, it is still clear that she loves him as much, if not more and that she still misses him dearly.  The reverence with which she describes Bing is heartwarming and in many ways humorous.

She shared a story with me where she was actually auditioning for Bing, something that Rosemary Clooney thought she was crazy for doing.  She sang the song from “Peter Pan” that the character of Peter sings about flying.  At the end of the song she asked Bing what he thought, he said, “hey you’re pretty good at that!”  Wanting further information Kathryn asked Bing what his favorite part was.  In typical Bing fashion he answered, “I really loved the way you crowed!”

Bing was a master.  He made everything he touched turn to gold and made it look effortless.  He moved audiences in ways that artists today could only dream of.  Mrs. Crosby described what she saw as one of the reasons. “It’s the songs!  A fine melody, a meaningful lyric” and an artist in touch with the material, those are the secrets.  Bing had that secret down to a science.

One of the things I was most interested in is what the Crosby Christmases were really like.  We as the audience had seen for many years in a row, the gorgeous family all talented and dressed in their Sunday best!  You could see the love that the children and Kathryn had for Bing, Mary Frances in particular.  She beamed at him, arms draped around his neck.  Mrs. Crosby explains in her book that Mary Frances was quite an expert entertainer even at that tender age.  While she loved her Dad, and the feelings we saw were genuine, she’d also figured out that the camera was on Bing for most of the time, so if she was snuggled in next to him, arms around his neck she’d be on camera too!  I wanted to know what the real home Christmases were like!  Mrs. Crosby said that “for us, Christmas could happen at anytime of the year.  We filmed the show at different times of the year and always had the true Christmas spirit.  I remember one year we filmed in Sun Valley, Idaho in April and had all the real snow we could stand!”  She described the Christmases that the family shared in their Hillsborough, CA home as large affairs with as many as sixty guests, all Crosby’s and Grandstaff’s (Mrs. Crosby’s maiden name).  She fondly recalled decorating their Christmas trees with homemade ornaments made from Styrofoam with family pictures glued to them.  And every year, Alan Fisher, longtime Crosby butler, would hoist Mary Frances by the ankles to the top of the tree to place the star.

Bing was truly a man’s man.  He loved hunting and fishing and all things that the great outdoors had to offer.  I remember in the early seventies watching ‘The American Sportsman” on ABC.  Bing and his longtime friend Phil Harris were bird hunting.  Bing seemed so real!  So down to earth!  So incredibly humble and unimpressed with his stature in the entertainment world.  This may have been why we loved him so, his cool and reachable nature, and his everyman persona.  Bing lived everyday of his life, even till his last.  Mrs. Crosby details a conversation that he had with his doctor a short time before he died.  Somehow Bing knew what was coming, and asked his doctor to take care of Kathryn and the kids.  Rather than be afraid to leave the house Bing lived and lived big.  On the day he died, he played a full eighteen holes of golf even beating some of the club champions.  One of his foursome described him favoring his left arm a little but that they had no warning of what was to come.  Bing lived until that moment when he died.  If I could pick the way to go when it was my turn, it would not be any different.  Doing what I loved, living the good life until it was time to go.

I spoke earlier of Mrs. Crosby’s unselfish sharing of her life with Bing.  Currently, with Mrs. Dolores Hope as producer, Mrs. Crosby is rehearsing a one woman show that she will be performing next week at North Hollywood California’s El Portal Theater.  They describe it this way:

 Dolores Hope Presents:“Holiday Memories of Bing with Kathryn Crosby”A Music and Video Celebration ConcertWith Musical Director Edward Sayegh at the PianoNovember 20-25 at the Historic El Portal Theatre, 8pm5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA Relive your fond memories of those classic Christmas television specials with Bing and Kathryn Crosby and hear classic songs: Pennies From Heaven, I’ll be Seeing You, You Made Me Love You, Blue Skies, and, of course, White Christmas. $100 Premium Seating in the first four rows includes champagne and birthday cake reception$35-$50 Standard Seating

Call 1-866-811-4111 or 1-818-508-4200 for tickets, or visit their website:  www.elportaltheatre.com/events.html”

While Mrs. Crosby is in town rehearsing and performing the show, she is staying with Mrs. Dolores Hope, wife of Mr. Bob Hope.  Mrs. Crosby explained that “after Bing died, Bob and Dolores just about adopted me”.  They are still the dearest of friends!  Mrs. Hope is still well and sharp at the age of ninety-eight.  In fact, Mrs. Crosby said that she is so sharp “that she beat me for eleven dollars last night playing gin rummy!”

Mrs. Kathryn Crosby has recently launched a new website through Bing Crosby Enterprises, www.BingCrosby.com.  You can keep up with all things Bing, and get a real glimpse at the great man that Bing was!

To have the opportunity to talk about Hollywood’s greatest star with someone who knew him so well was a dream come true.  And to have the chance to “meet” Mrs. Crosby was a fantastic experience as well.  Don’t be surprised if you run into her around our little Christmas home!  She truly is “one of us” in terms of the love she has for Christmas, well, after all, she was practically married to Santa Claus himself!

11/16/07

Jay Isherwood

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Dolores Hope Presents:

“Holiday Memories of Bing with Kathryn Crosby”

A Music and Video Celebration Concert

With Musical Director Edward Sayegh at the Piano

November 20-25 at the Historic El Portal Theatre, 8pm

5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA

Relive your fond memories of those classic Christmas television specials with Bing and Kathryn Crosby and hear classic songs: Pennies From Heaven, I’ll be Seeing You, You Made Me Love You, Blue Skies, and, of course, White Christmas.

$100 Premium Seating in the first four rows includes champagne and birthday cake reception

$35-$50 Standard Seating

Call 1-866-811-4111 or 1-818-508-4200 for tickets, or visit their website:  www.elportaltheatre.com/events.html

ShareThis