About this podcast
The Twelve Songs of Christmas runs from Christmas in July (July 25) to Christmas with weekly conversations about Christmas music. Music journalist Alex Rawls talks with the musicians who make Christmas music and people connected to it, discussing how it fits into their personal, musical and professional lives. Guests come from across the musical spectrum and include such stars of Christmas music as George Winston, Mannheim Steamroller and Robert Earl Keen, as well as such indie artists as Amanda Shires, Mega Ran, Sara Noelle and Eli “Paperboy” Reed.
Visit The Twelve Songs of Christmas page
- Doing All-Christmas Radio Right with Kevin Robinson
by e_xander on October 9, 2025Since streamed playlists and all-Christmas radio are the way most people hear Christmas music, they’re fascinations of mine. This week I’m back on the […]
- Sloanby e_xander on October 2, 2025
Chris Murphy of the Canadian indie rock band Sloan describes them as “a cult band,” but they’re a cult band with legs. They started in 1991 and recently […]
- Christmas at K-Mart with Mark Davisby e_xander on September 25, 2025
Mark Davis has turned the in-store music cassettes he pocketed while working at a K-Mart in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s into “Attention K-Mart […]
- Solo Piano for Christmas with Nick Bhallaby e_xander on September 18, 2025
Last year, Minneapolis-based jazz pianist Nick Bhalla released Saint Nick, a lovely album of solo jazz piano treatments of Christmas classics. His approach is […]
- The “All I Want for Christmas is You” Lawsuitby e_xander on September 5, 2025
The headlines tell a version of the story: “MARIAH CAREY SUED AGAIN OVER ‘ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU’ — BY THE SAME GUY,” according to […]
- Dub Reggae for Holidays with Black Market Dubby e_xander on August 28, 2025
This week’s guests are Black Market and Wise Owl (or Nate Bridges and Brandon Niznik) of the Los Angeles-based duo Black Market Dub. On their Bandcamp page, […]
- The Birth of All-Christmas Radio with Jerry Ryanby e_xander on August 21, 2025
These days, we take the all-Christmas radio format for granted. Every year, countless adult contemporary–AC–stations temporarily change their format and go […]
- Blind Boys of Alabama on Christmas Music (Remixed)by e_xander on August 15, 2025
I think of this episode of Twelve Songs as a remix, a second pass at the same material with very different results. In 2003, The Blind Boys of Alabama […]
- “Cumbia Navideñas” with É Arenasby e_xander on August 8, 2025
Eduardo Arenas surprised me in the first moments of this week’s interview when he revealed that Chicano Batman had played its last gig for now and might be […]
- Donna Summer for Disco and Christmasby e_xander on July 31, 2025
Donna Summer has been a fascination of mine because she was on the cutting edge of electronic dance music, but since “I Feel Love” and other forays into […]