Twelve Songs of Christmas
Episodes
The 2025 Christmas Party
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ar...
"Asalto Navideño" with Miguel Zenón, and the Ray Conniff Singers
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode features two interviews—one with Grammy-winning jazz saxophone player Miguel Zenón helping us appreciate the salsa Christmas ...
Roland Gift, Old Crow Medicine Show, and The Klezmatics
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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"...
William Shatner, Jane Monheit, and Kelly Finnigan
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
AI for Christmas
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial Intelligence (AI) made itself part of this year's music story with AI acts The Velvet Sundown, TaTa Taktumi and Breaking Rust making news o...
Remembering Brian Wilson Pt. 2: "What I Really Want for Christmas"
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Multi-instrumentalist Probyn Gregory remembers playing and recording with Brian Wilson from 1999 until he retired from live performances in 2022. We t...
Remembering Brian Wilson Pt. 1: "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album"
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I started thinking about how to address Brian Wilson’s death on the podcast since we learned of his passing. “Little Saint Nick” and The Beach B...
A Ping Pong Kung Fu Christmas with Shawn Lee
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee has a history of making recordings that hover uncertainly in time. Sounds from different eras and genres ...
Kristian Noel Pedersen
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Toronto's Kristian Noel Pedersen has released 27 EPs or albums of Christmas music, 26 of which are on his Bandcamp page. What started as a goof became...
Steve Lukather's "Santamental" (an encore presentation)
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I've been out of town this week, and when I thought of an episode from the archives to revisit, this one from 2021 with guitar hero Steve Lukather cam...
Doing All-Christmas Radio Right with Kevin Robinson
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since 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...
Sloan
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 recent...
Christmas at K-Mart with Mark Davis
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Bhalla
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Minneapolis-based jazz pianist Nick Bhalla released Saint Nick, a lovely album of solo jazz piano treatments of Christmas classics. His ap...
The "All I Want for Christmas is You" Lawsuit
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Dub Reggae for Holidays with Black Market Dub
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Birth of All-Christmas Radio with Jerry Ryan
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
These days, we take the all-Christmas radio format for granted. Every year, countless adult contemporary--AC--stations temporarily change their format...
Blind Boys of Alabama on Christmas Music (Remixed)
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Alaba...
"Cumbia Navideñas" with É Arenas
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 mig...
Donna Summer for Disco and Christmas
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 in...
Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson on AI And Christmas
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A new season of Twelve Songs begins with a conversation that is, frankly, more about AI—artificial intelligence—than it is Christmas music, but si...
Ha-Sizzle, G*ddammit Jeremiah, Superchunk
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season seven of 12 Songs comes to a conclusion with three very different conversations and artists. Ha-Sizzle is one of the finest examples of the New...
Porcupine Tree, É Arenas, and Ever More Nest
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're approaching Christmas, so this week I have excerpts from longer interviews that I'll run at full length next season. Steven Wilson is the drivin...
Blind Boys of Alabama, Donna Summer, and Sia
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're officially in December, the Christmas season, and I have more interviews than I can get through in the weeks leading up to Christmas. From here ...
"Do They Know it's Christmas" at 40 with Midge Ure
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Midge Ure from The Rich Kids, Ultravox and Visage co-wrote and produced "Do They Know it's Christmas" 40 years ago this week on November 25, 1984. He ...
Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Husband and wife duo Dean & Britta have a sound that suits contemporary Christmas music beautifully. They've done a few movie soundtracks includin...
Carpenters Legacy and Christmas Novelty Songs with April Brucker
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve Songs goes to Las Vegas this week, first to talk with Sally Olson and Ned Mills of the tribute act Carpenters Legacy about The Carpenters and t...
Jay Gonzalez and Christmas/Not Christmas Songs
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this season, I interviewed The Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood about his ambivalent relationship with Christmas music. This week I talk to t...
Jim Brickman and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (an encore presentation)
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I've been out of the country, so this week is an encore presentation with two very different artists--pop instrumental piano player Jim Brickman and J...
The Christmas Blues with Jontavious Willis
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week I'm talking with blues artist Jontavious Willis, who recently released his album West Georgia Blues. I wanted to talk to Jontavious not b...
A Cajun Christmas at the Holiday with Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This season has featured surf Christmas music, calypso Christmas music, Sicilian Christmas music and smooth jazz Christmas music, so it can't be too m...
Mindy Smith
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Americana artist Mindy Smith has been referred to on 12 Songs before. At some point in the COVID years I talked about my love of "Santa Will Find You"...
Behind the Christmas Songs with Annie Zaleski
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Music journalist Annie Zaleski returns to 12 Songs this week. She last appeared in 2022 to talk about Wham!'s "Last Christmas." In 2023, she wrote Thi...
A Drive-By Truckers Christmas with Patterson Hood
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I've long believed that if you can't get a good interview out of the Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood, you should hang up your keyboard and mic. The ...
Boney James
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Saxophone player Boney James has two Christmas albums, Boney's Funky Christmas and Christmas Present. Both make sense as the place where jazz and R&...
Calypso Christmas with Charlie and the Tropicales
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our surf Christmas episode inadvertently laid the groundwork for this week’s, which focuses largely on Calypso Christmas music. New Orleans’ Charl...
Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick (an encore presentation)
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, I interviewed Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, a band I've only grown to appreciate more over the years. They released their first three albums-...
A UFO-Friendly, Spotify-Protesting Christmas with The Pocket Gods
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I don’t usually get to end a conversation on Christmas music with memories of radio legend Art Bell and his late night deep dive into the paranormal...
“La Notti Triunfanti” with Michela Musolino
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michela Mussolino introduced me to a new body of Christmas music this week. The New Jersey-born Memphis resident specializes in Sicilian folk music, a...
Surf Christmas with Hunter King
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I have so little surf Christmas music in my collection that I turned to WTUL DJ Hunter King, host of "Storm Surge of Reverb" to see if there was a sub...
Whamageddon!
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The new season of Twelve Songs starts with an interview with Thomas Mertz, one of the founders of the social media game Whamageddon. To win the game, ...
Season Seven Starts Soon
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last Christmas, I promised that 12 Songs would return with Christmas in July 2024. Since July 25 falls on a Thursday, it seemed like an appropriate da...
New Orleans Hip-Hop for Christmas with Raj Smoove and 504icygrl
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season six of 12 Songs comes to a close with some of the highlights from the 2023 holiday season and a conversation with DJ/producer/business guy Raj ...
Mother Mother ”Cry Christmas”
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's show is a lot about the backstage of the music business as the Vancouver-based alternative rock band Mother Mother talks about finding a dar...
Christmas Down Under with Imogen Clark
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This holiday season, Imogen Clark released "Not Christmas Here," talking about how all the wintery signs that Christmas is coming don't mean as much t...
”Holly Happy Days” with The Indigo Girls
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode has been a few years in the making, but I was finally able to find a quiet moment in the busy lives of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of The I...
”A Dave Brubeck Christmas” with Matt Lemmler
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Unfortunately, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck is no longer around to talk about his 1996 solo piano album A Dave Brubeck Christmas. Craft Recordings reiss...
Merry Christmas from Japan with ”Holly Jolly Xmasu”
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I listened to one episode of Scott Leopold's "Holly Jolly Xmasu" podcast and I was sold. As a Stereolab and High Llamas fan, I felt like there had to ...
Christmas with the Blue Man Group
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Blue Man Group started in 1987 as a performance art concept by guys who also harbored rock 'n' roll dreams. It has grown into an institution that has ...
A Soul Christmas with Eli ”Paperboy” Reed
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I love when episodes overlap. Today, soul singer Eli "Paperboy" Reed talks about--among other things--his love of Huey "Piano" Smith's Christmas album...
A D.C.Go-Go Christmas with Chuck Brown
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck Brown has been dubbed "The Godfather of Go-Go," the distinctive Washington D.C.-based funk sound that has its own aesthetics and culture. This w...
A New Orleans R&B Christmas with Huey ”Piano” Smith
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New Orleans venerates its R&B royalty from the early days of rock 'n' roll, and many of them stayed active until they died, including Dr. John, Al...
”Christmas Cocktails” with Brad Ross-MacLeod
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Capitol Records tried to cash in on the '90s lounge revival with its "Ultra-Lounge" series--albums that pulled tracks from the label's vaults that fel...
Sara Noelle
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The name "Sara Noelle" sounds like something made up for Christmas music, but she had been a recording artist since 2010, 10 years before she released...
The Christmas Music Manfesto
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018 when I launched Twelve Songs, I published "The 12 Songs Manifesto," a statement of my core beliefs about Christmas music. Now that we're in ...
”Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Marchand's blog post "On the Importance of Sad Christmas Songs" makes the argument its title promises, using "Have Yourself a Merry Little Chris...
”Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Pt. 2
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, I started the story of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," taking the song from being written by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots, to the fir...
”Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Pt. 1
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is an orphan, a Christmas song without a singer attached. "White Christmas" has Bing Crosby, "It's the Most Wonderful ...
OutKast’s ”Player’s Ball”
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Player's Ball" is a contemporary Christmas classic, but it's not very Christmas-y by design. Today, Big Boi of OutKast talks about why the song is th...
The ”Santa Baby” Story
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, I talked with music journalist Alison Fensterstock and singers Dayna Kurtz and Alexandra Scott about versions of Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby." ...
Terre Roche of The Roches
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Roches' 1990 We Three Kings is the Christmas album you'd expect from the folk trio as sing a set of holiday classics gorgeously, often a cappella...
Indie Christmas Music with Amerigo Gazaway, Charlie Darling, and ”Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas”
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode features indie Christmas music--indie hip-hop with DJ and producer Amerigo Gazaway, British indie rock with Les Bicyclettes de Bel...
The Smithereens and ChristmasUnderground.com
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With Christmas approaching, it's time when I have more good conversations than I have weeks until December 25. Today, I have two conversations that I ...
Joss Stone
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
British pop/soul singer Joss Stone released Merry Christmas, Love earlier this year, and it's a bit of a departure for her as she set out to make a "...
Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips - An Encore Presentation
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, I had a good conversation with Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips about the surprising amount of Christmas music they have, starting with Atla...
Children’s Music at Christmas with Laurie Berkner
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laurie Berkner had one of those days when we got together to talk. A plumber came to work on her bathroom while we did our interview, and his work is ...
Low and ”Just Like Christmas”- an Encore Presentation
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, I interviewed Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of the indie rock band Low, whose 1999 album Christmas is one of the great indie Christmas album...
”A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Derrick Bang
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vince Guaraldi scholar Derrick Bang wrote the liner notes for the 2022 Super Deluxe edition of the soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas, and this...
Bruce Cockburn
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Canadian folk artist Bruce Cockburn belated launched a tour celebrating 50 years in music. When we ran an excerpt from this interview last ...
Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, the garage rock legends The Fleshtones released a Christmas album, Stocking Stuffer, and in true Fleshtones fashion, they made Christmas sou...
José James
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favorite Christmas albums of 2021 was Merry Christmas from José James, which featured the jazz vocalist in a classic quartet that included...
Julian Koster and His Singing Saws
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world met Julian Koster as part of the Elephant 6 Collective in the 1990s, when he played a variety of instruments with Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia...
Susan Cowsill of The Cowsills
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Cowsills answer a number of pop culture trivia questions, starting with "What real life family pop band inspired the 1970 television show, The Par...
Filmmaker Mitchell Kezin and ”Jingle Bell Rocks!”
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Documentary filmmaker Mitchell Kezin released the movie Jingle Bell Rocks! in 2013. In it, he focused on the human side of Christmas music, whether ...
Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve Songs returns after a life-induced hiatus with a good interview with Ray Benson from the Austin-based Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. W...
A ”Molto Groovy Christmas” with Carlo Poddighe
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, Molto Groovy Christmas remade holiday favorites inspired by Italian and French movie soundtracks from the 1960s. Tracks also reference Esqu...
”Last Christmas” with Annie Zalenski
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve Songs returns to regular programming this week with writer Annie Zaleski joining me to talk about Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and our favori...
Highlights of the First 100 Episodes, Pt. 5
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I started to look back at the highlights of our first 100 episodes, I envisioned it taking an episode or two, but once I started, I couldn’t ke...
Looking Back at the First 100, Pt. 4
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're in the home stretch of the look back at highlights from the first 100 episodes of Twelve Songs, with this episode getting into interviews durin...
Looking Back at the First 100, Pt. 3
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My look back at the highlights of The Twelve Songs of Christmas this week come from from a transitional period. I had good and very different convers...
Looking Back at the First 100, Pt. 2
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, I started a look back at some of the highlights from the first 100 episodes of Twelve Songs of Christmas. This week, Scott McCaughey of Th...
Looking Back at the First 100, Pt. 1
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The previous episode with singer Meryl Zimmerman was number 100, and now that I've made it that far, I think it's time to stop and help some of you ca...
Meryl Zimmerman
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the 100th episode of The Twelve Songs of Christmas, and I’m spending it with New Orleans' jazz vocalist Meryl Zimmerman. In late November 20...
Nochebuena with Patricia Vonne
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One sidebar in the last few years of 12 Songs has been the role of COVID in the creation of Christmas music. Some artists recorded Christmas albums to...
A Latin Music Christmas with Arthur Hanlon
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How does a white guy from Detroit end up playing Latin music? Pianist Arthur Hanlon, one of the stars of the HBOMax concert film Piano Y Mujer, talks ...
Mitchell Kezin of ”Jingle Bell Rocks,” Jim McCormick, and Bailey James
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is the last episode of the Christmas season, but The Twelve Songs of Christmas is a year-around affair, so the conversations will continue in J...
Amanda Shires, Rodney Atkins and Rose Falcon, and Julian Koster
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a few guests again as Christmas nears. Americana artist Amanda Shires is on hand to talk about For Christmas, and the way it refle...
Bonus Episode: Twelve Songs x Ranking the Beatles
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Twelve Songs did its first crossover episode with Jonathan and Julia Pretus of the Ranking the Beatles podcast. During the COVID shutdown i...
Kristin Chenoweth, Ronnie Milsap, and Paul Gilbert
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Kristin Chenoweth was part of the episode focused on A Sentimental Christmas, an album of remakes of songs by Nat "King" Cole. Today, we c...
Jay Landers, Kristin Chenoweth, and Calum Scott on ”A Sentimental Christmas with Nat King Cole & Friends”
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For this Christmas season, producer Jay Landers put together "A Sentimental Christmas with Nat "King" Cole," an album that refreshes some of Cole's ho...
José James, Bruce Cockburn, and The Twangtown Paramours
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode drops on Thanksgiving, and if you're listening on Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving. Friday is Black Friday, the official, incontrovertible st...
Bonus Episode: Who Dat Jedi Crossover
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve Songs of Christmas is based in New Orleans, so in the spirit of the season and podcaster camaraderie, I recently recorded a crossover episode ...
The Fleshtones, Susan Cowsill, and Numero Records‘ ”Christmas Dreamers”
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, some time after Thanksgiving I had to change format and use excerpts from a few interviews to get to everybody I've talked to about Christm...
Mannheim Steamroller
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's mid-November, and with COVID numbers trending in the right direction, Mannheim Steamroller will return to the road soon. One of the Monsters of C...
Quad City DJs
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is bittersweet for me. The things I love on Quad City DJs' All-Star Christmas make me very happy, and this week one half of the Quad Ci...
”Christmas Jollies” with Bill Adler
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The impulse to share my findings while collecting Christmas music led me to this podcast, and it led Bill Adler to Christmas Jollies, an annual Chris...
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has worked to be more than just the jazz band your parents knew. Creative Director and tuba player Ben Jaffe has worke...
A Family-Friendly Christmas with Dan and Claudia Zanes
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We met Dan Zanes as the singer of The Del Fuegos in the first generation of America's indie underground in the mid-1980s. As he explains in our conver...
Santa Baby
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Santa Baby" has gone through some changes. When Eartha Kitt recorded it in 1953, it was controversial because women--and particularly black women--di...
A Blues Christmas with Alligator Records
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Iglauer didn’t plan to celebrate Alligator Records’ 50th anniversary the way he has. Iglauer started the blues label in Chicago in 1972 and ...