Where Will You Be Christmas Day?
Following the critical success of Goodbye, Babylon, Dust-to-Digital launched its Holiday Series. Where Will You Be Christmas Day? gathers 24 rare and remarkable tracks recorded between 1917 and 1959, offering a strikingly different picture of the season.
From sacred harp singers praising Christ’s birth to bluesmen lamenting Christmas in jail, these songs span the sacred and the secular, the celebratory and the sorrowful. Featuring a lineup that includes Bessie Smith, Lead Belly, Lightning Hopkins, Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, Butterbeans and Susie, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Kansas City Kitty, Lord Executor, and more, the collection stands as both a joyous gift and a reminder of the many moods that have accompanied Christmas through history.
Highlight Tracks
- “On Christmas Day” — Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers (1927): A fervent gospel shout celebrating Christ’s birth
- “Christmas Morning Blues” — Kansas City Kitty (1930): A sly, swinging lament of holiday heartache
- “Santa Claus Blues” — Bessie Smith with Clarence Williams (1925): A classic blues twist on Christmas cheer
- “The Holy Babe” — Alabama Sacred Harp Singers (1928): Shape-note harmonies resounding with devotion
- “Merry Christmas” — Lead Belly (1940): A personal and heartfelt holiday wish from one of America’s great folk voices
What’s Included
- 24 audio tracks spanning 1917–1959
- remastered, downloadable in high-quality formats
- View the complete tracklist here: [Insert hosted PDF link]
- Illustrated PDF booklet featuring:
- Liner notes and historical context by Dick Spottswood
- Archival photographs and label scans
- Commentary connecting the music to wider Christmas traditions
Praise & Reviews
“The Dust-to-Digital folks just stick the music on a fork for us to gnaw on.”
— Bill Friskics-Warren, Village Voice
“Lord have mercy.” — Chris Morris, Billboard Magazine
