Charlie Daniels "Christmas Time Down South" (Epic Records, 1990)
(Produced by Charlie Daniels & Lynn Peterzell)

Charlie Daniels Band "A Merry Christmas To All" (Audium Records, 2002)
(Produced by Charlie Daniels & Patrick Kelly)

Jimmie Davis "It's Christmas Time Again" (Decca Records, 1964) (LP)
Decades earlier, former Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis successfully papered over his sinful past as a rowdy young singer of smutty blues tunes and secular twang, refashioning himself as a stuffy, dull, middle-aged Christian countrypolitan crooner. That rebranding obviously also encompassed a Christmas album or two, including this set, which is mainly made up hymns and holiday standards -- no big surprises here.

Jimmie Davis "Going Home For Christmas" (Decca Records, 1967) (LP)
This album showcased a new song, "Forgive Me Santa" as well as lesser-known ditties such as "Going Home For Christmas," "Sniffles (Santa's Pet)" and "Take Me Back To Babyland."

Linda Davis "Family Christmas" (Center Hill Records, 2003)
(Produced by Catherine Styron Marx & Doug Sizemore)
Nashville songwriter Linda Davis, best known for her 1993 duet with Reba McEntire, rings in the holidays along with her husband, Lang Scott and their daughter Hillary. A set of standards that fans should appreciate... (Available through her website, www.lindadavis.com)

Stephanie Davis "Home For The Holidays" (Recluse Records, 2003)
A holiday album with standards and original material, including a duet with Ray Price...

Jimmy Dean "Jimmy Dean's Christmas Card" (Columbia Records, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Lor Crane)
Just terrible. For whatever reasons, Jimmy Dean hovers just next to an acceptable level of country crooning robustness, momentarily floating in our field of vision and then plummeting to abysmal depths, like Wile E. Coyote when his jet pack runs out and he hits the canyon floor, raising a big, old cloud of dust. Dean just sounds fake and insincere, there's no other way to put it. Tacky, trite arrangements, too... Even if you were looking for 'Sixties-era pop kitsch, you could still do much, much better.

John Denver "Rocky Mountain Christmas" (RCA Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Milt Okun & Mickey Crofford)
Fans will be thrilled to see this one back in print... with added bonus tracks, no less! This is a very conventional Christmas set, with Denver singing his heart out on numerous standards such as "Silver Bells," "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Away In A Manger," as well as a couple of country-specific offerings such as a cover of "Please Daddy, Don't Get Drunk For Christmas" and "Christmas For Cowboys," written by a member of Denver's backing band. Denver himself adds "Aspenglow" to the holiday canon, a flowery folk-pop offering typical of his albums of the time. He also delves deep into some older, fairly obscure English carols, including some that date back as far as the 1500s. If you're one of those folks who couldn't stand John Denver when he was riding high in the charts, this album will not win you over or change your opinion of his work... But if you're a fan, or just someone looking for a soft, elegant, super-mellow holiday set, this just might fill the bill.

John Denver & The Muppets "Christmas Together" (RCA Victor, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Milt Okun)

John Denver "Christmas Like A Lullaby" (Windstar Records, 1990)
(Produced by John Denver & Roger Nichols)
This was pretty late in the game for Mr. Denver -- his voice had thickened with age, and may not be instantly recognizable, even to his devoted fans. The song arrangements are predictable florid, but I gotta say... his heart seems in the right place, and if I were really searching for this sort of softcore holiday pop, this album would be high on my list. They could have gone a little lighter on the tinkling wind chimes, though.

John Denver "Christmas In Concert" (RCA Records, 2001)
(Produced by Kris O'Connor)

Diamond Rio "The Star Still Shines: A Diamond Rio Christmas" (Word Records, 2007)

Joe Diffie "Mr. Christmas" (Epic Records, 1995)
(Produced by Joe Diffie, Mike Bradley & Johnny Slate)
Hey, man, I actually liked Joe Diffie, mullet and all. But as pop-country holiday albums go, this one's kinda not that great. The arrangements are just a little too tacky and cutesy-wootsy, his vocals just a little too held-back and controlled. It's just not working for me here.

Jerry Douglas "Jerry Christmas" (E1 Entertainment, 2009)
(Produced by Jerry Douglas)
A nice, mellow, mostly-instrumental holiday album with a few unexpected quirks (is that Tom Waits growling the chorus on "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"? No, apparently it's Douglas himself, but he sure has that Waits-Ribot vibe down to a "T") as well as Maura O'Connell intoning on a song called "New Year's Eve." Several of the instrumental tracks have a John Fahey-esque seasonal feel to them... All in all, a fairly reserved, pleasant album!

Dave Dudley "A Trucker's Christmas" (Cetera Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Key & Jimmy Key)
This holiday set was recorded in Nashville, but released on a small label in Germany. No indication who the musicians were backing Dave Dudley, but this album is notable for its originals, particularly several composed by Dudley himself, including tunes like "Can I Sing A Christmas Song For You," "Lonely Christmas Again," "Old Time Merry Christmas," and "Six Tons Of Toys." There are also a couple contributed by Hayes Carter, "All I Want For Christmas Is You For Me" and "Reverend Nicholas" -- dunno much about Mr. Carter; the only other trace of his owrk I've found was a song of his that Eddie Bond recorded back in the 'Seventies.

Dave Dudley "Christmas Truck Stop" (Music Mill, 2000)
This is a rejiggered edition of the 1982 album above -- same tracks, different order.

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Hick Music Index

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