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.
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- Meet Vince Guaraldi and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (An Encore Presentation)
by e_xander on October 22, 2026I hope this will be the last week that “Twelve Songs” will be affected by my book project. I’ve returned this week to 2022 and an interesting […]
- A Lounge Jazz Christmas with Earl Grantby e_xander on October 15, 2026
This week, Alex digs into vocalist/keyboard player Earl Grant’s 1965 album Winter Wonderland. Grant’s career was varied, starting with one of his biggest […]
- A String Band Christmas With Old Crow Medicine Showby e_xander on October 8, 2026
In 2025, the veteran string band Old Crow Medicine Show released OCMS Xmas, the first Christmas album in their lengthy career. Last season, we ran part of our […]
- An Exotica Christmas with Slowey and the Boatsby e_xander on October 1, 2026
Philadelphia’s Slowey and the Boats revisit the late 1950s and early 1960s when a body of music emerged that celebrated Polynesia and tiki culture, even if […]
- “Merry Christmas Everybody” by Stompin’ Tom Connorsby e_xander on September 11, 2026
Folk/country singer Stompin’ Tom Connors flew the flag for Canadian culture starting in the late 1960s and continued to do so until he died in 2013. His […]
- “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”by e_xander on July 30, 2026
The new season begins with versions of Darlene Love’s Christmas classic. We hear the song we’ve known forever and ones that I think offer an interesting […]
- The 2025 Christmas Partyby e_xander on December 23, 2025
Season eight ends with what I hope will be a tradition–a Christmas party, with a few guests and a lot of music. This week’s guests include comic artist […]
- “Asalto Navideño” with Miguel Zenón, and the Ray Conniff Singersby e_xander on December 18, 2025
This week’s episode features two interviews—one with Grammy-winning jazz saxophone player Miguel Zenón helping us appreciate the salsa Christmas classic […]
- Roland Gift, Old Crow Medicine Show, and The Klezmaticsby e_xander on December 11, 2025
We’re in the last weeks before Christmas and I have more interviews than I can handle. This week starts with a version of “Wonderful Christmas Time” by […]
- William Shatner, Jane Monheit, and Kelly Finniganby e_xander on December 5, 2025
We’re in December now, and this week we have three conversations. William Shatner’s face is on the pop culture Mt. Rushmore, and when I had a chance to […]