''Christmas in the Heart'' is the 34th studio album and first Christmas album by American singer-songwriter

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, released on October 13, 2009, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album comprises a collection of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

carols A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). T ...

, and popular Christmas songs. All Dylan's royalties from the sale of this album benefit the charities Feeding America in the USA, Crisis in the UK, and the World Food Programme in perpetuity. Dylan said that, although he was born and raised

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

(he

converted to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of belie ...

in the late 1970s), he never felt left out of Christmas during his childhood in Minnesota. Regarding the popularity of Christmas music, he said, "... it's so worldwide and everybody can relate to it in their own way". The album opened at No. 1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Holiday Album chart, No. 5 on the Folk Album chart, No. 10 on the Rock Album chart and No. 23 on the overall album charts. As with most of Dylan's 21st century output, he produced it himself under the pseudonym Jack Frost.

Recording

The album was recorded at

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

Groove Masters Groove Masters is a semi-private recording studio owned by Jackson Browne. Located in Santa Monica, California, the studio has been the setting for many of Browne's recordings. The head sound engineer is Grammy-nominated Paul Dieter. The studio occ ...

Studio in Santa Monica. In addition to Dylan's Never Ending Tour band, the sessions featured contributions from other musicians including

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

David Hidalgo David Kent Hidalgo (born October 6, 1954, in Los Angeles.) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. Hidalgo frequently plays musical instruments such as accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requin ...

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

veteran Phil Upchurch, and a choir that included Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald (better known as folk music duo

The Ditty Bops The Ditty Bops were an American band from Los Angeles, California that began with Warner Brothers, and later self-produced recordings. Noted for their tight vocal harmonies by Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett. They incorporated a variety of musica ...

). When asked in an interview if Dylan played classic recordings of Christmas songs for the musicians as reference points, Hidalgo responded: In an interview published by Street News Service, journalist Bill Flanagan asked Dylan why he had performed the songs in a straightforward style, and Dylan responded: When Flanagan reported that some critics thought the album was an

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

treatment of Christmas songs, Dylan responded:

Release and promotion

Nash Edgerton directed an official music video for the song "

Must Be Santa ''Must Be Santa'' is a 1999 Canadian television film that tells the story of Floyd Court (Arnold Pinnock), who is selected as the successor to Santa Claus. Robert Sherrin produced the film while Brad Turner was director. At the time of its rel ...

" that was released on November 16, 2009 and described as "bonkers" by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. The video depicts Dylan and some holiday revelers lip synching the song at a raucous

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

house party.

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makes an unexpected appearance as an accordion player, miming the accordion part that

played on the actual recording. One of the guests instigates a fight and leaves the party by jumping through a living-room window. In the closing scene, Dylan and

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

are on the front porch together watching the rabble-rouser's departure. As of Christmastime 2021, the video had been viewed over seven million times on

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, significantly more times than the next most popular versions of the song (i.e., those recorded by Mitch Miller, Raffi, and Brave Combo). "Must Be Santa" was also released as a music video ecard and a 7" single, the B-side of which is a recording of Dylan reading '''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' that was first broadcast on '' Theme Time Radio Hour''. Dylan released a second music video to promote ''Christmas in the Heart'', for "

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 19 ...

", on December 9, 2009. Directed by artist/filmmaker

Jeff Scher Jeff Scher is a New York-based filmmaker, animator and painter. He was born Jeffery Noyes Scher, on December 24, 1954. Scher graduated from Bard College in 1976. He is married to Bonnie Siegler and they currently live in Westport, CT with their tw ...

, the video features images from classic films (actress Jane Greer appears at the 2:10 mark) and home movies that have been rotoscoped with water colors and crayons in order to tell a modern version of the story of the

Nativity of Jesus The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of Matthew, Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea (Roman ...

in the song's lyrics. The video, described by one critic as "the most beautiful Christmas gift Bob Dylan could give his fans", premiered on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

as part of the company's "12 Days of Christmas" promotion with the site linking directly to Feeding America, one of the charities benefiting from ''Christmas in the Heart'''s royalties. Dylan released a statement on Amazon along with the video, saying, “Happy Holidays Friends. Since this season is all about giving, I’d like to take a moment and mention the good people at Feeding America. They provide meals for over 25 million hungry Americans each year. If you have a moment, you can join me in contributing to this worthy charity”.

Packaging

The package design of ''Christmas in the Heart'' is credited to Coco Shinomiya who had designed Dylan's previous album ''

Together Through Life ''Together Through Life'' is the 33rd studio album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on April 28, 2009, by Columbia Records. The release of the album, which reached number 1 in multiple countries, was unexpected and surprised fans. Dylan ...

''. The album's cover, an illustration of a sleigh ride in a snowy landscape, is from an antique print. The back cover, an illustration of the

Biblical Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

, is by artist Edwin Fotheringham. The inner sleeves feature a black-and-white photo by Leonard Freed of four musicians wearing

suits as well as a drawing by Olivia De Berardinis of pinup Bettie Page dressed as

Mrs. Claus Mrs. Claus (also known as Mrs. Santa Claus or Mrs. Santa) is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition. She is known for making cookies with the elves, caring for the reindeer, and preparing toy ...

Reception and legacy

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the album currently holds a score of 62 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. While the unexpected move by Dylan to record a Christmas album was received with skepticism at first, the outcome of the project was lauded by critics for bringing a fresh breath of air into these classics. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

s critic Jesse Cataldo awarded the album 4 stars out of 5 and said: ''Se7en'' magazine's critic agreed, writing: The critic for ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...

'' rated the album 4 stars out of 5, writing: In 2020, ''

'' placed "

" 24th on a list of Dylan's best songs of the 21st century. '' The Big Issue'' listed the same song as #65 on a list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits". It was the only track included from ''Christmas in the Heart'' and an article accompanying the list proclaimed it to be "the best-ever Christmas album!" Dylan's version of the song has also proven influential on other artists: both She & Him, in 2016, and

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...

, in 2022, have recorded the song in versions directly inspired by Dylan's. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' ran an article to coincide with Dylan's 80th birthday on May 24, 2021 in which 80 musicians were asked to name their favorite Dylan song. Girl Band's Dara Kiely selected "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" from ''Christmas in the Heart,'' noting, "It is earnest yet fun, serious yet joyful. His voice makes sense and he still means every word".

Charity project

Feeding America received Dylan's royalties from sales in the USA, while two further charities, the United Nations' World Food Programme and Crisis in the UK, received royalties from overseas sales. Dylan said:

Track listing

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Tony Garnier –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*George Receli –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Donnie Herron –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

–

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, guitar, mandolin, violin * Phil Upchurch – guitar *

Patrick Warren Patrick Warren (born March 26, 1957) is an American musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Magnolia'', ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', ''Boogie Nights'' and ''Red State'', as well as the television series '' ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

Additional musicians *Amanda Barrett, Bill Cantos, Randy Crenshaw, Abby DeWald, Nicole Eva Emery, Walt Harrah, Robert Joyce –

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Technical *David Bianco – recording, mixing *Bill Lane – assistant

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*David Spreng – additional engineering *Glen Suravech – assistant engineering *Rich Tosti – studio support *Ed Wong – studio support Artwork *Olivia De Berandis – inside cover illustration *Edwin Fotheringham – back cover illustration *Leonard Freed/Magnum Photos – inside photo *Coco Shinomiya – design *VisualLanguage.com – front cover

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics and chords
at Dylanchords
Bill Flanagan interview with Bob Dylan about ''Christmas in the Heart''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas In The Heart 2009 Christmas albums Albums produced by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan albums Charity albums Christmas albums by American artists Columbia Records Christmas albums Covers albums Folk Christmas albums