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Austin Christmas CollectionIn 1985, I arrived in Austin, Texas, intent on pursuing my rock 'n' roll dreams in a relatively sleepy town with a burgeoning local music scene. I was also nursing a budding interest in hip Christmas music, spurred in large part by The Book Of Rock Lists, which published an intriguing set of Christmas albums in 1981 that set me on a course still unfolding on this very website.

In the local record racks, I found three volumes of The Austin Christmas Collection, released on vinyl between 1981 and 1984. As promising as it seemed, the series proved to be a trying listen for someone of my loud-and-fast predilections. It presented a wildly mixed bag, sampling every genre this side of punk rock - country, blues, folk, jazz, pop, Latin, reggae, gospel, lounge, and more. Further, despite the presence of some big names - including local patron saints Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker - a lot of the performances were, frankly, amateur, rote, or ill-considered. Altogether, The Austin Christmas Collection was an underwhelming experience considering the growing reputation of the Texas capitol for gutsy, edgy music. None of the city's biggest roots 'n' blues stars of the day appeared, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Joe Ely, the LeRoi Brothers, or Lou Ann Barton (for that, see An Austin Rhythm & Blues Christmas). And, as implied above, Austin's punk rock scene - perhaps the most vibrant in middle America - was ignored altogether.

That said, The Austin Christmas Collection was very much a local effort, and it did a pretty good job of representing the local music scene, past and present - albeit in a very conservative, Chamber-of-Commerce sort of way. In addition to Willie and Jerry Jeff, several lesser names from the "cosmic cowboy" days appear, including Rusty Wier, Bobby Bridger, and Steve Fromholz. The Lost Gonzo Band, who backed Walker, Michael Murphey, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, among others, make an appearance, as do Gary P. Nunn and Bob Livingston, who founded the band in 1972. And, if you lived in Austin in the 1980's, you'd have almost assuredly known about cabaret singer Mady Kaye and saxman Tomás Ramírez, "The Jazzmanian Devil." And then, comedy troupe Esther's Follies and humorist Cactus Pryor brighten up the proceedings - even if they add little to the musical quotient.

Austin Christmas Collection, Second EditionEmerging Stars And The Distant Past

A number of emerging stars pop up on the Austin Christmas Collection series, including Marcia Ball, who would go on to become a leading blues pianist and singer, and Monte Warden, who appeared with his baby band, Whoa! Trigger. With his next group, the Wagoneers, and as a solo artist, Warden would play a big role in the nascent Americana movement. Eric Johnson would shortly become a universally recognized guitar wizard, but his acoustic reading of "What Child Is This?" - a duet with local guitar hero Van Wilks on the first edition of the Austin Christmas series - was his first recording under his own name. Jazz singer Julie Christensen would move to Los Angeles, marry Chris Desjardins (aka Chris D.), join his band the Divine Horsemen, and later become a go-to session vocalist on the Los Angeles alternative rock scene.

And then, somewhat incongruously, two big names from the distant past, Carolyn Hester and Arthur Brown, surface on the Austin Christmas Collection series. Hester was a lovely folk singer born in Waco, Texas, and she was an integral part of the early 60's East Coast scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Hester was briefly married to singer Richard Fariña, who subsequently married (and recorded with) Baez's sister, Mimi. Most famously, Hester met Dylan in 1961 and invited him to play on her self-titled 1962 Columbia album. It was his first official studio session, and it brought him to the attention of producer John Hammond, who quickly signed Dylan to the label - and the rest is history. By the 1980's, Hester had returned to Texas, settling in Austin where she served as a mentor for another Lone Star folkie, Nanci Griffith. Hester wrote "Happy Birthday, Jesus" with her young daughter, Karla, so while it's basically a children's song - which I am predisposed to dislike - it's a disarmingly catchy highlight of the second edition of the Austin Christmas series.

Arthur Brown, meanwhile, was a horse of a different color. "I am the God of Hellfire," he announced in 1968, and he went on to a long career full of psychedelic music pyrotechnics and flamboyantly unhinged theatrics. Formally speaking, the hit single in question, "Fire," was by a band called The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, and he would record under a number of guises over the years. But, he was just "Arthur Brown" by the time he moved to Austin in the 1980's, and his "Lord Of The Dance" (on the third edition of the Austin Christmas series) sounds like Jethro Tull during their heavily synthesized middle period - except for Brown's near-operatic vocal gymnastics. He is accompanied only by John Staehely, formerly a member of Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, on guitar synthesizer.

Austin Christmas Collection, Third EditionLocal Heroes, At Best

However, the rest of the cast of The Austin Christmas Collection were local heroes, at best. Quite a few were party bands that had long careers in and around Austin, including Johnny Dee & The Rocket 88's, Ernie Sky & The K-Tels, Beto & The Fairlanes, the Argyles, Extreme Heat, and 14K. The rest were simply journeymen on the local scene, but they are responsible for some of the best cuts in the series.

  • Pressure was one of several local reggae bands in Austin at the time, second in popularity only to the Killer Bees, who became one of the first American bands to perform at Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica. Pressure's medley of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Do You Hear What I Hear" lends a whole new feel to two tired old carols.
  • Frieda Borth is a now-forgotten blues rock singer, but her "Christmas Tears" holds up well against Freddie King's 1961 original. Borth does a fine job, but the stinging lines of Derek O'Brien - an Austin MVP best known for his work as Antones Records' house guitarist - are a big reason why the track succeeds.
  • Bill & Bonnie Hearne were a folk duo who later relocated to New Mexico. They contribute an original country weeper about "spending Christmas in a honky tonk and New Year's drunk in jail," with Bonnie playing Emmylou Harris to Bill's Gram Parsons. To my knowledge, the song has never been covered, but it's just beggin' for a wider audience.
  • Lisa Rhodes was a sultry singer who would shortly record her one-and-only album, Shivers, for local Spindletop Records. Her muscular treatment of the traditional song "Rise Up Shepherds, And Follow" is driven by the guitar of a young David Grissom, who would go on to play with Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, the Allman Brothers, and Bob Dylan.
  • Judy Price was a singer who racked up just a few recording credits, most prominently as a background vocalist on Joe Ely's 1981 album Musta Notta Gotta Lotta. Her treatment of "The First Noel" is fairly traditional, but it builds to a soaring conclusion, capped off by some impressive fretwork by Van Wilks.

Texas Christmas CollectionDistilled, Yet Diluted

All three volumes of the Austin Christmas Collection series were released by Felicity Records, a label owned by (I suspect) Steve Fromholz. He is also listed as a producer on the first two volumes, and he plays on many of the tracks. Fromholz was many things during his career, including singer, songwriter, actor, and poet. But, his formal role with the label seems lost to history. That said, Felicity Records released little else besides the Austin Christmas Collection series and Fromholz's own music, and his daughter was also named Felicity. So, do the math...

Released roughly 10 years after the fact, The Texas Christmas Collection (1991) was a compact disc by another local label, Amazing Records, compiled largely from the three Austin Christmas Collection vinyl albums. In its spare liner notes, however, Felicity Records is mentioned just once, and Steve Fromholz isn't mentioned at all - though his cover of Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" is included. The vinyl records, by the way, were available only in the Austin area and may be tough to track down. Try Amazon, Discogs, or eBay. The compact disc was distributed nationally, so it should be easier to locate.

Anyway, by sticking mainly to country, rock, and blues, The Texas Christmas Collection holds together better stylistically than any of the Austin Christmas Collection editions - which are all over the musical map. But, it also sticks to the biggest names from the original series, so it disappoints by failing to select some of its best songs - including most of those listed above. Still, it throws in a couple of rare (if unremarkable) 1979 MCA recordings by B.W. Stevenson and B.J. Thomas - Texans, both. The bottom line is that Texas music buffs will enjoy most of what these collections have to offer, and they paint a fairly detailed picture of Austin, Texas, before it became "The Live Music Capitol Of The World." [top of page]

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • - Austin Christmas Collection, First Edition (1981)
  • Christmas In A Honky Tonk (Bill & Bonnie Hearne)
  • Please Come Home For Christmas (Marcia Ball)
  • Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Rusty Wier)
  • We Three Kings (Beto & The Fairlanes)
  • What Child Is This? (Eric Johnson & Van Wilks)
  • - Austin Christmas Collection, Second Edition (1983)
  • Christmas Tears (Frieda Borth)
  • Happy Birthday Jesus (Carolyn Hester)
  • Little Drummer Boy/Do You Hear What I Hear (Pressure)
  • Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Whoa! Trigger)
  • Silent Night (Tomás Ramírez)
  • - Texas Christmas Collection (1991)
  • Little Drummer Boy/Do You Hear What I Hear (Pressure, 1983)
  • Mason Dixon's On The Line (Jerry Jeff Walker, 1984)
  • Please Come Home For Christmas (Marcia Ball, 1981)
  • Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Rusty Wier, 1981)
  • We Three Kings (Beto y Los Fairlanes, 1981)
  • What Child Is This? (Eric Johnson & Van Wilks, 1981)

Further ListeningFurther Listening

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