Maps of Music

Christmas in the Heart (2009)

Where the lyrics of Christmas in the Heart take you, and where it was really made.

Bob Dylan's first Christmas album comes from a Jewish boy who grew up in Minnesota and never felt left out of Christmas.

Key places

Recorded at Groove Masters in Santa Monica (2009)

Recording site Groove Masters — The album was recorded in May 2009 at Jackson Browne's Groove Masters Studio in Santa Monica. Dylan's Never Ending Tour band and several guest musicians took part in the sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Christmas in the Heart: 34th studio album and first Christmas album by Bob Dylan
• Released October 13, 2009 by Columbia Records
• Collection of hymns, carols, and popular Christmas songs
• All Dylan's royalties from sales benefit Feeding America (US), Crisis (UK), and the World Food Programme, in perpetuity
• Dylan produced it himself under the pseudonym Jack Frost, as with most of his 21st-century output

Background

• Dylan was born and raised Jewish but never felt left out of Christmas during his childhood in Minnesota
• He said the popularity of Christmas music is worldwide and everyone can relate to it in their own way
• Royalties from US sales go to Feeding America; overseas sales royalties go to the World Food Programme and Crisis
• Dylan said he was honoured to partner with the World Food Programme and Crisis in their fight against hunger and homelessness

Recording

• Recorded in May 2009 at Jackson Browne's Groove Masters Studio in Santa Monica
• Dylan's Never Ending Tour band took part in the sessions
• Other contributors included Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Chess Records veteran Phil Upchurch
• The choir included Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, better known as folk duo The Ditty Bops
• Hidalgo said the band listened to classic versions by Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Mel Tormé before finding its own arrangements
• Dylan kept the songs in a straightforward style, saying they were part of his life, like folk songs

Cover

• Package design credited to Coco Shinomiya, who had designed Dylan's previous album Together Through Life
• Cover illustration of a sleigh ride in a snowy landscape, taken from an antique print
• Back cover illustration of the Biblical Magi by Edwin Fotheringham
• Inner sleeves include a black-and-white photo by Leonard Freed of four musicians in Santa Claus suits
• Inner sleeves also feature a drawing by Olivia De Berardinis of pinup Bettie Page dressed as Mrs. Claus

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota; raised in Hibbing, Minnesota.
• Moved to New York City in January 1961 to pursue a music career.
• Signed to Columbia Records after playing harmonica on Carolyn Hester's album; debut album Bob Dylan released in 1962.

Members

• Solo artist; backed over the years by bands including the Hawks/the Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and his touring band led by bassist Tony Garnier.

Career

• Breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements.
• Went electric with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966), provoking controversy among folk fans.
• Motorcycle accident in 1966 led to nearly eight years without touring; Basement Tapes recorded with the Band.
• Converted to Christianity in the late 1970s and released gospel albums; won Album of the Year Grammy for Time Out of Mind (1997).
• Has toured since 1988 on the Never Ending Tour; won an Academy Award and ten Grammy Awards; awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 62 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Slant Magazine: critic Jesse Cataldo gave 4 out of 5 stars and praised the sense of exploration in a genre usually turned into an artistic wasteland
• Se7en magazine: critic agreed that the band's arrangements make the songs sound like modern material without becoming cliché
• Tiny Mix Tapes: critic gave 4 out of 5 stars and called the traditional songs aged but not antiquated
• The unexpected move to record a Christmas album was met with skepticism at first, then critics praised its fresh feel
• Critics who read the album as ironic were rejected by Dylan, who said they were on the outside looking in

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone placed 'Must Be Santa' 24th on its 2020 list of Dylan's best songs of the 21st century
• The Big Issue listed 'Must Be Santa' at number 65 among the 80 best Dylan songs that are not greatest hits
• Girl Band's Dara Kiely picked 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' from this album in a Stereogum feature for Dylan's 80th birthday
• Elliott Murphy named Dylan's 'Here Comes Santa Claus' from this album among his top 10 songs of the 21st century
• She & Him (2016) and Kurt Vile (2022) recorded 'Must Be Santa' in versions directly inspired by Dylan's

Records

• Billboard Holiday Albums chart: number 1
• Folk Album chart: number 5
• Rock Album chart: number 10
• Overall album chart (Billboard): number 23

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 'Must Be Santa' video by Nash Edgerton shows Dylan and holiday revelers lip-synching at a raucous Christmas house party.
• Count Smokula appears as an accordion player, miming the part David Hidalgo played on the recording.
• By Christmastime 2024 the 'Must Be Santa' video had over 8 million YouTube views.
• The 7-inch single of 'Must Be Santa' has a B-side of Dylan reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
• The 'The Little Drummer Boy' video premiered on Amazon's '12 Days of Christmas' promotion, linking directly to Feeding America.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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