Fresh Air - Merry Questlove Christmas

Episode Date: December 25, 2023

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson has put together a playlist of some of his favorite Christmas recordings. Questlove is co-founder of The Roots, which is among other things, is the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Also, roots and rockabilly musician JD McPherson plays some of his own Christmas tunes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross. We're going to celebrate Christmas by listening back to Questlove playing songs from the Christmas playlist he put together for us last year. In addition to his many credits, Questlove is perhaps one of the most famous, popular, and in-demand DJs. He even DJed a party for Obama. Last year, Questlove won an Oscar for his documentary Summer of Soul, in which he featured filmed performances from the overlooked 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which was nicknamed the Black Woodstock, and featured performers like Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Nina Simone, and Mahalia Jackson.

Summer of Soul won a Grammy for Best Music Film. In 2021, Questlove was the music director for the Oscar Ceremony. He co-founded the band The Roots, which among other things, is the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He was a producer of the original cast recording of Hamilton. He's also written several books related to music. Questlove, welcome back to Fresh Air. Thanks so much for doing this and choosing music for us. Why don't we start with a song that you selected? And this is a song by Dram and his mother,

who he calls Big Baby Mom, and it's Silver Bells. I have to tell you, there's so much really schlocky Christmas music, and that's why we're so excited to have you on the show doing this, because you're choosing really interesting stuff. Thank you. So the song Silver Bells is kind of high in my list

of just, you know, schlocky and just annoying. It's one of the reasons I don't like a lot of Christmas songs. This is a great recording. So tell us about the recording and why you chose it. Yeah, it's a very unique recording. I always cringe at the older person

that tries to put a tag on someone younger. Like, oh yeah, he represents Gen Z. But I mean, Drom is kind of the post-neo soul set, like one of the artists that I really dig his work. He has a really soulful voice. When I listen to music, I like rawness. I like mistakes. I don't think there's good notes and bad notes or flat notes or sharp or pitchy notes, but this is just, it's almost like they're allowing us, him and his mom are allowing us to eavesdrop at the family gathering where they're just singing to each other. And that's like, I really love the fact that they didn't overproduce this. Like, this is a really raw version of the song. So it kind of hits home to me. Let's hear it. Here we go. So this is Silver Bells, a good version of it. City sidewalks

Busy sidewalks Dressed in holiday style In the air There's a feeling Of Christmas Children laughing People passing Meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner, you hear all those silver bells.

Silver bells. Silver bells. Silver bells Silver bells Silver bells It's Christmas time In the city Oh, wring-a-ling Wring-a-ling Hear them ring

Hear them ring Soon it will be Christmas Day. When you were growing up and you were touring with your father's band, did you spend a lot of Christmases performing? Yeah, like we would often have Christmases in very unusual places, probably one of the best places ever. There was a resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico called the DuPont Plaza. And my father would do a residency down there um and i believe like back in 82 one of my favorite christmases ever like it was real tropical and that was the first tropical christmas i had like i spent two weeks with my family although they were going for like four months i would fly down there occasionally and um this is the year that Michael Jackson's Thriller came out. So

it was a simpler time where buying a mere one record was like the entire world to him. Now I have to buy an entire library's jazz collection from some university. But back in 82, you could just give me a Thriller record, and that was like everything to me. What songs did you have to perform around Christmas when you were touring with your father and his band Leanders in the Hearts? My dad, I believe once. My dad had a voice very similar to Nat King Cole. So I do remember once in 1980, when I was nine years old, kind of as an encore, like he would normally do like either Unforgettable or something like that,

but he actually did the Christmas song. And that stuck with me so good that I remember that the Roots had to fill in for a missing guest on the Tonight Show. And with only like two hours to plan it, I kind of dared Black Thought to put on his best Nat King Cole. And he actually did it, like one of our best performances. And, you know, I know people thought it was like an ironic thing. Like, wait, is this a comedy bit? Like, why are the Roots performing Nat King Cole in these Christmas sweaters? And we totally played it straight. Like, you know, people were expecting like a hip hop version or something like that. But yeah, I wanted to do that just as a memory of performing when I was a kid.

That's the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire song. Yeah, the Christmas song. Natacking Holes, the Christmas song. Yeah. Yes. Well, let's get to another song on your playlist. And this is Disco Claws, which is by Bionic. And it sounds more like Funk Santa than Disco Claws. It is. There's these two really influential DJs that have really inspired my DJ career.

They're from the Boston area. They're called Amir and Akon. And those guys, they're the DJs that your favorite DJ's DJs listen to. And they're always playing really obscure music that's really under the radar. And I believe DJ Amir is the one that put me on to this particular piece, which, you know, it has a good drum break to it. And I think it came out in 1977 by a group called The Bionic. Yeah. Okay, let's hear it. It was the night before Christmas with all two of us had

About a record we're spinning for spinning, things really look bad Disco Claus came into town, honking all the toys around Suze, Q and G I do, honking under the mistletoe Hey, ain't nothing silent about this night Rudolph with your nose so bright Let's go through the town tonight I said get on Rudolph We got to get through this town

Yeah, I said it's about that time It's about that time Fix it up Alright, get under there Disco Disco, disco, disco. I say I'm gone now. That's Disco Claws by Bionic, one of the songs chosen for us by Questlove. You've said that as a creator, you're 98% groove and 2% melody.

And the track you just played is very much groove. Very much so, yes. I mean, drums are, that's my calling card, you know. And for me, there's a lot of really obscure Christmas records that might, like, they'll do their version of, like, Little Drummer Boy or something like that. So kind of on the market when people are shopping for records, they're looking for really good records with a lot of drum breaks on them. So Christmas records are often, you know,

you're guaranteed to find one from a fun group in the 70s. Little Drummer Boy is one of the Christmas songs, the original recording of it that just really really drove me crazy really? yeah they played it so much on the radio when I was growing up

tell me you like it it's hard to escape it all throughout first and second grade every Christmas pageant I think it was expected that I was supposed to play Little Drummer Boy. Oh, because you were the drummer. Because I was a drummer, right. Oh, no.

Exactly. Yeah, no. Did you like the song because you got to play? It wasn't that bad, though. I probably did it like four times in my life. I didn't do it like every year, but, you know, oftentimes in school at the Christmas pageant, even, even if it were like something totally the opposite, like our production of the Nutcracker or something like that, like they will find some sort of excuse to, you know, give eight-year-old Amir a drumming spotlight

in the program. Oh boy. Well, let's hear a song that's lyrically the opposite of It's the Most Happiest Time of the Year. So this is James Brown's Santa Claus, Santa Claus from 1968. This is so hilarious to me. I'm sorry. Why is it hilarious to you? This song, this particular song is my one, this is my introduction to Christmas music. Two, it's my introduction to James Brown.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. So the first time you heard a Christmas song and the first time you heard James Brown was this? Yeah, my first James Brown was this. No, it was just that, you know what it is? I head on the piano like a tortured soul. You know, it was exaggerated. So I used to think it was funny. And James Brown has a voice similar to my grandmother's. So and she's a very animated woman. So, you know, as a baby, I thought that was grandma singing all the songs because like James Brown really belts like a female gospel singer. You know what I mean?

With his high notes and his yelling. So when I hear this very, very depressing song about misfortune, this is the Murphy's Law of Christmas songs. I don't know i think my three-year-old self just thought that grandma was performing like a comedy skit or something like that so i i added that song for the ironic reasons like i think this is one of the most hilarious songs ever because james brown is overselling the he Brown is overselling the, he's really overselling the, the woe is me character of the song. So he's asking Santa and the Lord, why does he have to suffer? So, so. Right. Exactly.

All right. Let's hear it. This is James Brown from 1968. I'd like to know. I've been good. Lord have mercy. So good you know. Well, why? Why do I have to suffer so? Santa Claus, Santa Claus. Please, please, please don't make me Don't make me suffer so Christmas comes

But once a year I want somebody please, please, please Bring me some Christmas cheer I need a Christmas cheer Santa Claus Please, please Don't make me suffer so Can't take it no more Please don't make me suffer so.

Can't take it no more. That was James Brown from 1968. I'm still processing that this is like your introduction to James Brown. Yes. But see, after that, then I wanted to hear all the songs where he's like screaming and crying. This is another very unusual recording with a story behind it. It's called Santa Claus is a Black Man, and it's by Akeem and Teddy Van from 1970.

Teddy Van, her father. Yeah, Teddy Van, her father. And she was, what, five when she recorded this? She was five when she did this. So, you know, Akeem Van, most would know her. She's a staple in the Prospect Heights area because she's like, she's the owner of a really awesome bakery. It's called the Bakery on Virgin, and it's in Prospect Heights. But the weirdest thing was back when Wendy Williams, the personality, Wendy Williams was a DJ on Hot 97. This is like in the 90s.

She had a Christmas-themed show once, and I remember they played this song called Santa Claus is a Black Man. And I called the station and just left a note, like, I don't know if you guys know who I am and whatever, this is Questlove of the Roots, and I got to know the name of that song. And shockingly, I think like two days later, they emailed me back and sent me a cassette copy of the song, because that's the times we were living in. And what's also notable about this song is that I believe that singer Luther Vandross, who at the time was a local singer, and ironically, the one act I had to leave off of Summer of Soul, he's also singing background on the song. Oh, oh. Well, apparently, Teddy Van, Kim's father, wrote one of Luther Vandross's hits. Yeah, Power of Love.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I could see why. Okay. I could see why he was singing backup on this. Okay. All right. So you loved about this song what? Well, I just loved the absolute innocence of it.

Similar to I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, this is Christmas through the eyes of a child. The whole point is that kids don't know that their parents are really Santa Claus. So besides I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, this is sort of another song in that vein where, you know. He looked just like you, Daddy. Yeah, she doesn't realize that her dad is actually Santa Claus. Yeah, that he's dressed as Santa Claus.

Okay, so let's hear it. Hey, you want to hear something dead to the site? You know what I found here last night? Just when my mama turned out the light. I went in the living room to see what the noise that woke up me and I was drawn by the Christmas tree Santa Claus is a black man Santa Claus is a black man

and he can dance like my daddy too Santa Claus is the black man Santa Claus the black man And I found out That's what's telling you So that's one of the songs selected for us by Questlove,

who we asked to select some Christmas songs to play for us, and happily for us by Questlove, who we asked to select some Christmas songs to play for us. And happily for us, he agreed. So what was Santa Claus to you? Did your parents tell you that there was a Santa Claus or that that was somebody who only existed in movies? Yeah, Santa, I was one of those kids. It's weird that if I see a clown, I love it. But if I saw Santa Claus, I was afraid of those kids, it's weird that if I see a clown, I love it. But if I saw Santa Claus, I was afraid of it.

So every time I saw Santa Claus before the age of three, I just get super panicky. And so the effects that, you know, you know, people that are like definitely afraid of clowns. I was definitely afraid of Santa Claus. So and what's weird is that probably the two the two most important gifts that I've gotten were both my drum sets. You know, my drum set when I was three years old and my drum set when I was seven years old. And I definitely know that my parents did this for me, not Santa Claus. We're listening back to the interview I recorded a year ago with Questlove, who among other things is the co-founder and leader of The Roots, the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He won an Oscar last year for directing Summer of Soul and is the author of several books,

including Music is History. After a short break, we'll hear more music from his Christmas playlist and we'll feature an excerpt of the Fresh Air Christmas concert by Roots and rockabilly musician J.D. McPherson and his band. A song from their Christmas album was on Questlove's playlist, Here's That Song. I'm Terry Gross, and this is Fresh Air. Early Christmas morning, sneaky as can be I creep across the carpet and I peek under the tree Pick out a gift from Mom to me and bring it to my ear

Give it a little shimmy shake and what do I hear? Socks This is the worst gift I ever got. It doesn't be for buzz or bop or rattle in the box. Why'd you waste the paper on a lousy pair of socks? Hi, it's Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. Before we get back to our show, the end of the year is coming up, and we're reflecting a bit here at Fresh Air. We've loved sharing conversations with you in 2023.

Leslie Jones, Barbara Streisand, Kerry Washington, Zadie Smith, Ronan Farrow, David Byrne, and so many others. And we're looking forward to 2024, hopefully with your financial support. This is where we want to say a big thank you to our Fresh Air Plus supporters and anyone listening who already donates to public media. Your support is the reason everyone has free access to NPR shows and podcasts. To anyone out there who isn't a supporter yet, right now is the time to start, especially with journalists gearing up for an important election year. Supporting public media now takes just a few minutes and really makes a difference in what's possible moving forward. So join NPR Plus at plus.npr.org or make a tax-deductible donation now at donate.npr.org slash fresh air.

And thank you. Let's get back to Questlove and the Christmas playlist he put together for us. He's a co-founder of the hip-hop band The Roots, the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He won an Oscar last year for directing Summer of Soul, featuring performances from and interviews about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. The film won an Oscar for Best Documentary and a Grammy for Best Music Film. He's written several books, including Music is History.

We recorded this one year ago. So one of the surprises on your playlist is a track from a Marvin Gaye album from 1972. And it's called, the track is called Christmas in the City. It's an instrumental. Why did you choose an instrument? Marvin Graye is such a great singer. Why did you find like the instrumental track that you have no idea is about Christmas. So this song, although it was recorded in 72, it only circulated amongst the bootleg collectors amongst the years. And finally, Motown, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, finally re-released it on a compilation.

But the early 70s was a really interesting time for technology. There's a lot of futuristic, sonic futuristic synthesizer gurus like Raymond Scott, who are developing these new sounds and these groups like this group named Tonto. Stevie Wonder hears the Tonto record, and he actually tracks them down at their house and says, I have these sounds in my head. I want to make music with you. And then Stevie Wonder winds up making five of the most life-changing albums of his career. So there's a point where everyone in black music gets a monophonic synthesizer, which is basically a keyboard device that only allows you to play

one note at a time. So you can't play chords yet. A polyphonic won't come until 1975, 76, with Stevie Wonder's songs in the key of life. But there's this period between 67 and 73 in which one note at a time, you're hearing this weird space music. And leave it to Marvin Gaye to, sort of in that similar way that James Brown paints a hilariously depressing Christmas, Marvin Gaye's, like I can almost imagine Barry Gordy just saying like, look, Marvin, just make a Christmas song real quick. And Marvin's like, all right, hold my beer. And Christmas in the City is just one of the most depressing sounding, like sad, lonely.

I don't know. It's just something hilarious about hearing Marvin Gaye struggle with this monophonic synthesizer, you know, turning it into the blues. So that's why I chose it. So let's hear it. So this is Marvin Gaye, Christmas in the City. ¶¶ That's a Marvin Gaye track without Marvin Gaye singing. And that's one of the Christmas songs, it's called Christmas in the City, chosen for us by Questlove. So let's get to Stevie Wonder. I know you love Stevie Wonder, and he's in your film performing in Summer of Soul.

And this is a promotional disc from Britain. It's a kind of Christmas greetings song. Christmas greetings message. It's not even a whole song. So tell us about the origin of this. You know why I chose this? Stevie Wonder is world famous for his unique jingles for radio stations. You know, if you search the internet high and low, you can find some that he's done over the years and over the decades. So these jingles, there's actually a Philadelphia version of this particular jingle that I grew up with.

And that's the thing that's always close to my heart. So there was a point in time in which Stevie Wonder might take time out to craft maybe somewhere between 30 to 50 individualized, customized radio station jingles for the territories that were playing his music the most. And this is sort of a companion piece to the Marvin Gaye Christmas in the City bit, of which this is Stevie Wonder playing synthesizer. This time he's playing a polyphonic synthesizer, which gives them the ability to hit all the notes together.

So this is kind of the opposite. This is when synthesizers get in the right hands of its creator. Okay, here's Stevie Wonder. Hi, this is Stevie Wonder. On behalf of the Motown family, I'd like to say Happy Holiday From all of us to you I wish I could hear more of that, but I guess there isn't more of that.

Very brief. Sometimes you can make a point in 26 seconds. I i mean look at the vermons they made a life-changing record and not one song is over two minutes so you know i think more artists need to follow suit and figure and challenge themselves to make impactful art in in less than uh you know the normal time do you you think he did his promotional recordings because he wanted to or because the record company urged him to or because it would, like, get him more airplay?

Yeah, I mean, Stevie Wonder came from, Stevie Wonder not only came from, like, the first generation of Motown, but he also came from the first generation of a professional black record company that had to cross every T and dot every I. So not only did you have to release your single, you had to make a mono version of it, a stereo version of it. And then some of these songs, you took time out to sing the Spanish versions of them.

You took time out to sing the Italian version. I have a collection of Stevie Wonder singles in other languages, just maximizing on your appeal. And Stevie Wonder had the means and the technology to just knock this all out. So, you know, I can imagine that this level of creativity was his bread and butter. So I'd like to close with another song. And I'm thinking, like, do you have a favorite, and I guess I'll get a little

churchy here do you have a favorite like real christmas song that is say like a gospel song because i know you love mahalia jackson she's in summer of soul and um mavis staples so is there a song like from that tradition that you'd like to end with? You know, there's so many to choose from. I will say, though, there's a rendition of Silent Night that's done by The Temptations. It's their 73 version with Dennis Edwards singing lead vocals.

And it's almost unspoken. Like it's every black household in the 70s. That's the only version of mine says that if the first three words of any ad lib from a soul singer are the words, in my mind, then you know the abyss levels of deep that that his first three words have nothing to do with Silent Night, which is in my mind, which is kind of like a go-to, like I'm going to get real deep for you here before I start sermonizing. That's a warning that you're about to get something special. The Temptations version, their slow version of Silent Night is damn near a religion in black households.

Oh, thank you for choosing that. Questlove, it's always such a great treat when you're on our show. Thank you so much for choosing music for us. And I wish you a really good Christmas and a very healthy and happy and meditative and fulfilling 2023. Thank you, Terry. Yeah, it's just always such a pleasure to have you on our 2023. Thank you, Terri. Yeah, it's just always such a pleasure to have you on our show. Thank you.

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was staring, not even a mouse. In my mind. I want you to be free. For all of our friends. Free. Would you listen to me? Free. Would you listen to me? Ooh Ooh Now hear what I say

Ooh We wish you a Merry Christmas To me To all of you. Silent night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child Holy infant So tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep, sleep in heaven, heavenly peace.

That session with Questlove was recorded one year ago. Questlove is a founding member of the band The Roots and the band's drummer. They're the house band for The Tonight Show. If you want to hear the complete version of the songs from his Christmas playlist, you can find the link on our website, freshair.npr.org. And if you want to see his Oscar and Grammy Award winning concert documentary, Summer of Soul, it's streaming on Hulu and Disney+. After we take a short break, we'll hear an excerpt of the Fresh Air Christmas concert

by Roots and Rockabilly musician J.D. McPherson and his band. A song from their Christmas album was on Questlove's playlist. This is Fresh Air. A song from Questlove's Christmas playlist is from the holiday album Socks by J.D. McPherson and his band. They performed a Christmas concert on our show in 2018. We thought it would be fun to hear some of that. McPherson is a roots and rockabilly musician who pledged to never make a Christmas album. I'm glad he broke that promise.

His album Socks features his original holiday songs, and they're really fun. Here's an excerpt of the band's Fresh Air concert. Welcome, all of you, to Fresh Air. It's so exciting to have you here, and the new Christmas album is great. Do you want to introduce the first song? Yeah, this is All the Gifts I need.

Happiness is automatic, there's music in the air. Grab the boxes from the attic and haul Harlem down the stairs. Freezing weather's round the corner and everybody knows soon the tree will be all lit up, sparkling as it goes. Today is anything but the same old thing. I can almost hear those sleigh bells ring. Singing all those happy songs While the little ones are dancing along I take a real quick look around

And suddenly I see It's not even Christmas yet I got all the gifts I need Got trout hanging in the mistletoe Somebody stole a little kiss I ain't tied a single bow But I already crossed love off my list I take a real quick look around

And suddenly I see It's not even Christmas yet I got all the gifts I need I take a real quick look around And suddenly I see It's not even Christmas yet I got all the gifts I need Thank you so much for performing that. That is so great.

And this is in our studio. We heard J.D. McPherson on vocals and guitar, Jimmy Sutton, bass and guitar, and also singing backup vocals, Doug Cochran and Ray Hasildo. And that is one of the songs that's also featured on JD's album, which is called Socks. And it's an album of original Christmas songs. And it's really fun, just like the song we just heard. So there's another Christmas song I'd like you to do. And

it's called Ugly Sweater Blues. And a lot of people intentionally wear ugly sweaters to Christmas parties, really hideous ones. So did you have any, like, ugly sweater traditions or real ugly sweaters that you were forced to wear? Well, it was more of, so, you know, I'm a child. I have three older brothers and an older sister, and they were all out of the house when I was born. I was a big surprise. And so it wasn't really sweaters, but my parents put me in these like a velvet, like tuxedos and like little ruffled pirate shirts and things like that. And there's all these really unbelievable pictures of me with this bowl haircut with these tuxedos and things. And, you know, I was three or four at the time, so it didn't bother me, but it's

humiliating, right? For everybody has some point where they're being forced to wear clothes that they don't really want to. So ugly sweaters, I think everybody, even if you haven't worn them, that's a thing that you can always relate to, that at some point your parents are going to make you wear something you don't want to wear. I know the feeling. I knew the feeling. All right. Can you do that song for us? Mm-hmm.

So this is J.D. McPherson I knew the feeling. All right. Can you do that song for us? So this is J.D. McPherson and his band performing in our studio. We're going to hear J.D. on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Sutton on bass, Doug Corcoran is going to be playing steel guitar, and Ray Mama, don't make me wear that old thing again Hand-knitted Christmas trees and a silly snowman No matter if I refuse I got these ugly sweater blues Mama

why can't you see I feel like a fool Green nails with snowflakes and scratchy alpaca wool Maybe you heard the news I got these ugly sweater blues Another year, another sweater and another holiday soiree. Mama hears the people laughing while the presents are unwrapping.

She's not even sorry. Mama, don't make me wear that old thing again. Green elves with sleigh bells and a gingerbread man Corduroy's in pointy shoes I got these ugly sweater blues guitar solo Driving to Atlanta for an interview with Santa I can hear him say Hey, that kid is back again And dig that ugly cardigan

Oh, what a shame Mama, don't make me wear that old thing again Handed it Christmas trees and a silly snowman No matter if I refuse I got these ugly sweater blues Done paid all my dues I'm singing these ugly sweater blues

That sounded great. That's such a great song. Thank you. That song is written by J.D. McPherson, who we heard on guitar and vocals. And this is one of the songs that he wrote that's on the Christmas album Socks that he recorded with his band. And thank you for playing this in the studio for us. This is so much fun. Thank you for having us. This is so much fun for me.

Let's take a short break here, and then we'll hear more music in our studio back after this break. This is Fresh Air. Let's get back to the Christmas concert we recorded with J.D. McPherson and his band in 2018 after the release of their holiday album, Socks. So J.D., I want to ask you a little bit about your past because you grew up on a cattle farm in Oklahoma. So describe it for us. 160 acres or thereabouts, an A-frame house that my dad built up on a hill. Southeast Oklahoma is really pretty, mountainous, kind of Ozark-type landscape. Registered Brangus cattle, a 1940s Massey Harris tractor, and nothing else to do but to obsess over music and draw pictures.

Did you have to do things on the cattle ranch? Oh, yeah. What did you have to do? Well, you have to feed them, first of all. Waking up at five in the morning before school and putting out a round bale or meal and salt mix for the cows and everything. That's an early day for a teenage kid. So you had to do that? Yeah.

And did you have to shovel anything? No, there's plenty of room. You don't have to worry about it too much. Okay. Just watch where you're walking. My knowledge of cattle is kind of like cattle drive westerns, like the TV series Rawhide. No.

Nothing like that. No, you just kind of call them and they come they come up really like you call them and they come oh yeah what's the cattle call oh i can't do it here because it's so loud but it's kind of like wow yeah so um i want to close with another that is i want you to close with another christmas song there's a song I love from the new album, your new album Socks, that I'd like you to perform for us, and it's called What's That Sound? And I think everyone in the band is going to chime in on that one. Yeah.

Well, this one I think is probably getting down to the root of that anti-cynicism sentiment we were just speaking about. This one's about all of those nice things that you can experience during that time of year. So this is J.D. McPherson and his band performing in our studio, and the song is What's That Sound? And it's also on their new Christmas album,

which is called Socks. Okay, here we go. What's that sound at the door I hear? I heard that same merry sound last year Neighbors are caroling around the town Trying to spread a little bit of joy around I hear that sound make me feel so fine Sounds a little bit like Christmas time

What's that sound down the road I hear? I heard that same mighty sound last year Parade drummers marching out two by two. Rocking out the holiday boogaloo. What's that sound? It sounds like Christmas time. If you

listen closely now, you'll hear it in the air. That's the sound of Christmas cheer. I hear it everywhere What's that sound at the mall I hear? I heard that same busy sound last year Shoppers are hopping and humming a tune

Happy holidays and how do you do? What's that sound? It sounds like Christmas time If you listen closely now You'll hear it in the air That's the sound of Christmas cheer I hear it everywhere What's that sound on the roof I hear?

I heard that same pitter-pat last year Jingling bells in big black boots A rattling chimney and 32 hoods I hear that sound make me feel so fine Sounds a little bit like Christmas time What's that sound down the road I hear? I heard that same ringing bell last year Ringing that thing like it's leaving a van

Trying to give a neighbor a helping hand. What's that sound? It sounds like Christmas time. What's that sound? It sounds like Christmas time. What's that sound? It sounds like Christmas time. Ding, ding, ding Well, that was great.

Thank you so much for performing for us in our studio. It's just been wonderful. I wish you all Merry Christmas. Thank you for doing this. Thank you so much. Our pleasure. J.D. McPherson and his band recorded on our show in 2018 after the release of their Christmas album, Socks.

Tomorrow on Fresh Air, we get back to our series of some of our favorite interviews of the year. We'll hear from musician and singer Alison Russell, who performed in our studio. Some of her songs are about being abused by her adoptive father and how she healed from that trauma. Her latest album, The Returner, is currently nominated for four Grammys, including Best Americana Album. I hope you'll join us. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director is Audrey Bentham.

Our engineer today is Adam Staniszewski. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Sallet, Phyllis Myers, Sam Brigger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Anne-Marie Baldonado, Teresa Madden, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelly, and Susan Yakundi. Our digital media producer is Molly C.V. Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co-host is Tanya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross, and all of us at Fresh Air wish you a Merry Christmas.