Episodes
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Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks about Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You". The song was recently added to the National Recording Registry, and Ken takes a look at the song's amazing history of chart success, and many of the records it broke along the way!
Nominate songs to the National Recording Registry: https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/nominate/
Previous podcast episode on Christmas music already added to the National Recording Registry: https://soundsofchristmas.buzzsprout.com/1658629/10476711-christmas-music-and-the-national-recording-registry
Listen to the Sounds of Christmas station: https://www.soundsofchristmas.com/listen-now.html
Find the Sounds of Christmas podcast: https://linktr.ee/socmusic -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas has a quick reminder for anyone that might be looking for some musical Christmas spirit (even though it's the middle of March) - the Sounds of Christmas station is still on!
Listen to the Sounds of Christmas station: https://www.soundsofchristmas.com/listen-now.html
Find the Sounds of Christmas podcast: https://linktr.ee/socmusic -
Missing episodes?
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Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to Gerry D from the Totally Rad Christmas about their experiences using the much-talked-about Artificial Intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. They talk about things the AI got factually wrong, some of which seem almost eerily human, and Gerry shares how he uses it for work and for his podcast. And can relates a particular experience where the AI seemed to lie to him, and then lie about lying.
Find Gerry's Totally Radio Christmas everywhere - https://linktr.ee/totallyradchristmas
Some available info on Kagny and the Dirty Rays - https://www.discogs.com/release/1738820-Kagny-The-Dirty-Rats-Kagny-The-Dirty-Rats
Christmas music blog posts in the styles of Stephen King and Jerry Seinfeld - https://www.soundsofchristmas.com/news/chatgpt-blog-posts -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas revisits Christmas music at the Grammys, and then takes a look at Christmas music at the Academy Awards!
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Ken Kessler talks about a computer programmer's blog, logging what a traditional radio station played last year in November and December, compared to what was played on the Sounds of Christmas station.
Matthew J. Fitzgerald's blog - https://mfitz.net/a-tale-of-187-christmas-songs-how-i-logged-nearly-every-song-on-chicagos-christmas-station/
Sounds of Christmas Linktree - https://linktr.ee/socmusic -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas is joined by Sarah and Kristin with their lists of singers and bands that they WISH would put out Christmas music. It should be noted that no one on this podcast has any inside info - this is all just a fun wishlist of Christmas music they'd like to hear and share with you next season!
Find Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spirit_Xmas
Find Kristin and her podcast: https://holidaysafterdark.com/ -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks about the legacy of Jeff Beck, who may not have left us much Christmas music, but he was a legendary artist who did leave us an amazing catalog of music, and who worked with (and influenced) a staggering number of singers and bands!
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Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas highlights segments from earlier podcasts, where artists talk about the possibility of releasing more Christmas music (possibly next year)!
MIke's Patreon Page - https://www.patreon.com/snowinsouthtown
Jane Monheit - https://www.janemonheitonline.com/store/p/the-merriest
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - https://www.trans-siberian.com
Grant Maloy Smith - https://www.grant-maloy-smith.com/christmas
Rhonda Burchmore and Jack Earle - https://snd.click/RB-SwinginXmas
Cliff Beach - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/cliffbeach1/jingle-bells
Sarah Partridge - https://www.sarahpartridge.com/a-partridge-in-a-pear-tree/
Blane Howard - https://lnk.to/ChristmasInTheCar
KEITH - https://keithband.com/christmas-magic/
Bob Sirois - https://bobsiroismusic.com
Kristin Amarie and David Lanz - https://kristinamarie.eu/music-store
The Stephens - https://thestephens.bandcamp.com/releases
All Star Kid - https://allstarkid.com
Michael Brandmeier - https://snd.click/aayw
Guy Maeda - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/guymaeda/the-magic-of-the-season
Suzanne's Band - https://suzannesband.com
Michael Sinatra - https://www.michaelsinatra.com -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks about the musical side of "The Night Before Christmas"!
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Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to JJ from Christmas Music News (link below), who annually tracks all of the major new Christmas music releases each year. They talk about some of JJ's favorites from this season, as well as some of the biggest surprises. They also tease a couple of possible releases for 2023!
JJ's Christmas Music News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NewXmasMusic -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to singer/songwriter Guy Maeda about his new Christmas single "The Magic Of The Season"! They also talked about Guy's work as a background singer in a long list of very popular movies (Top Gun: Maverick, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and all three Santa Clause movies)! Plus, Guy teased that next year he plans to re-released his 1990s album A Froggy Christmas, featuring Christmas songs "performed" by frogs!
Guy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@pianolightmusic2379 -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to singer/composer Kristin Amare and new age instrumentalist David Lanz about their Christmas music collaborations, including their album Forever Christmas and their new singles, "Mary, Did You Know" and "Silent Night". They also share a glimpse of some of their projects for 2023!
Kristin's website: https://kristinamarie.eu
David's website: https://davidlanz.com -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to folk new age guitarist about his new Christmas album, his fifth, Twilight, The Magic Of Christmas. They also talk about his journey from playing guitar in a rock band to John Denver's influence, which led him to a four-album deal (all Christmas albums). Bob also shares the story of how he actually connected with John Denver's family, and was invited to perform with members of John's original band. And he talks about how different the new album is from everything he's previously done (including his cover of the Snow Miser/Heat Miser song)!
Bob's website: https://bobsiroismusic.com/
Bob's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bobsirois6678 -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to Mark Winter about his new single "Christmas In The Air" (which also features his friend Britt Savage, who won Star Search in 1992). Mark also talks about his former band, Ilusion, a couple of firsts he's had in his career (including Roller Disco and Musical Greeting Cards) and his attempt to write the official state song for New Jersey! Mark also shares details about his Pet Podcasts, which reach millions all over the world!
Mark's website: https://wintertainment.com/markwintermusic/
Mark's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@markiac
Pet Life Radio: https://petliferadio.com -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to Michael Brandmeier about his Christmas music, particularly the new single "I See An Angel" (and the story behind it). Michael also shares some details about the book he's writing, inspired by the song and the original event.
Michael's website: https://michaelbrandmeier.com/
Michael's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@silenthwk -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to Bonnie and Diane from KEITH (aka the KEITH Band). They talked about some of the performers KEITH has opened for, including Sam & Dave, Mel Tillis and the Steve Miller Band! They also talked about their trips to the Grammys in support of one of their albums and one of their singles. And they talked about the new single, "Christmas Magic". They also talked about more Christmas music that's on the way!
KEITH's website: https://keithband.com
KEITH's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/keithbandhome
KEITH's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thekeithband -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to Country singer Blane Howard about his new album Christmas In The Car. They also talked about his wedding gift to his wife, which became a viral sensation. They talked about his football songs, one of which became an anthem for the Kansas City Chiefs! And they talked about what led him to record a Christmas album, and the inspiration behind many of the songs he recorded.
Blane's website: https://blanehoward.com
Blane's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BlaneHowardCountry -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to healthy living expert Dr. Fab Mancini about Christmas music haters. They talk about all the stories that come out at this time every year about lists and surveys of the most disliked, or even most hated, Christmas songs, and the reasons why some people feel that way about the music most of the people who listen to this podcast (and the Sounds of Christmas station) love so very much! And Dr. Mancini offers some advice for anyone that loves Christmas music but also has Christmas music haters in their life!
Dr. Fab Mancini's website: https://drfabmancini.com
Dr. Fab Mancini's free gift: https://fabsfreegift.com -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to jazz singer and actress Sarah Partridge about her role in Risky Business (with Tom Cruise), her karaoke performance that launched her music career and her album with Janis Ian. She also talks about her Beautiful Minds album, which celebrated amazing women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. And, of course, they talked about her Christmas album, and her approach to recording Christmas standards alongside a couple of contemporary songs that are on their way to becoming standards.
Sarah's website: https://www.sarahpartridge.com
Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahpartridgejazzvocalist/
Sarah's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SarahPartridgeJazz -
Ken Kessler from the Sounds of Christmas talks to singer/songwriter Matt Molnar about a bunch of his projects, including his children's books (one about buzzards and one about a bear), his other music projects and his album "Some Christmas Songs". Matt talks about the process he went through to come up with fresh takes on some classic Christmas songs, while staying true to the iconic performers who originally recorded them. He also talks about the plans he has for a follow-up Christmas collection, which we could see next year.
Matt's website: https://quirkybirdrecords.com/ - Show more
