by Scott Turner

Most writers are aware of the fact that most of Christmas projects are done (usually) in late April, May and June to give the pre-promotion department time to gear up an ad campaign. Actually though, I do get Christmas material sent to me in mid-November from writers who aren't aware of that fact. Some, but not all artists, usually do the old standards plus the grandparents' favorites, the immediate family favorites, and in some cases, the family dog's favorite!

Personally, I've done about 20 to 30 holiday projects but one stands out above all - that being one I did on Slim Whitman circa 1968. Slim loved to thumb through sheet music catalogues from major publishers which I had sent to him, and he came into the studio with 12 songs that all of the musicians, myself included, had NEVER heard! Our keyboard player, Hargus Robbins is blind so our trusty leader guitarist Harold Bradley had to play the written notes so we all (and in some cases Slim) could learn the tunes. To add insult to injury, it was mid-May and Nashville was experiencing a vicious heat wave. So there we were in RCA studios cutting Christmas songs amid 98 degree humid conditions. So I had a close friend of mine bring a Christmas tree in the studio, all trimmed and loaded with candy canes (which where all consumed by the third session). It did add a touch of reality and I don't know how we did it, but the 12 songs were completed in 4 - 3 hour sessions and these were the days when we did it all at the same time. No overdubs, in fact, through all my years with Slim, he never overdubbed or re-sung a song once. Quite a feat but that's the hallmark of a seasoned pro. I listened to the album yesterday and it still holds up thanks to the musicians...and Slim.

These days it's difficult to establish a new Christmas standard like "White Christmas" et al because of limited time at radio stations to air that type of product.

Also, the TV "50 Christmas Songs" for $19.95 offered in mid-October doesn't help things and most labels are going back in the vaults and re-releasing prior projects. I did hear from a major label salesperson that last year, the Top 3 sellers were Elvis, Bing Crosby and Andy Williams.

Don't give up though if you've got a killer Christmas song as every artist at some point in their career will do a holiday project. But make sure you send the song to whoever in early March or around that time.