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Bill Adler is…well, you probably already know who Bill is. Publicist, journalist, author, gallery owner, archivist - Bill has done it all. From helping to popularize acts like Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys to defending free speech alongside Luther Campbell to boycotting the Grammys with Public Enemy and the Fresh Prince, there’s very little Bill hasn’t done.

But most importantly, Bill Adler is a Christmas music obsessive. Every year since 1982, he’s created a mix of seasonal music that he actually likes, called the Christmas Jollies. And the past five years, we’ve been lucky enough to sit down with him to discuss the music on it.

You can find this year’s collection here, and several other past volumes can be found elsewhere on our SoundCloud page.

Tracks featured in this episode:

  1. Kurtis Blow, “The Breaks”
  2. VST & Company, “Disco Fever”
  3. Rappin’ Ronnie Reagan!”
  4. Bing Crosby f/Ken Darby Singers, John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra, “White Christmas”
  5. Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)”
  6. Millie Small, “My Boy Lollipop”
  7. “Christmas Greetings from Doctor Dre & T. Reid, the Two Blind Mics”
  8. Sara’s Weeknight Meals, “Louisiana Style”
  9. Wally Gonzales, “Christmas Polka”
  10. Run-DMC, “Christmas in Hollis”
  11. Bruce Springsteen, “Merry Christmas Baby”
  12. The Pointer Sisters, “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
  13. U2, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  14. Run-DMC, “Christmas in Hollis”
  15. Clarence Carter, “Back Door Santa”
  16. Clarence Carter, “Back Door Santa”
  17. Clarence Carter, “Back Door Santa”
  18. The Kinks (introduced by DMX), “Father Christmas”
  19. The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”
  20. The Kinks, “Father Christmas”
  21. The Kinks (introduced by DMX), “Father Christmas” (track 2)
  22. DMX Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
  23. DMX Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
  24. DMX Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
  25. Nicky Russell, Oliver Christopher, & Reuben LaMotta, “Guava Berry”
  26. Mavis Staples, “Every Step”
  27. Ismael Rivera, “El Nazareno”
  28. Kurtis Blow, “KB Christmas Delight”
  29. Kurtis Blow, “Christmas Rappin’”
  30. Paris, “Guerilla Funk”
  31. Jackie Wilson, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher)”
  32. Anthony Hamilton, “Spend Christmas With You”
  33. The Replacements, “We’ll Inherit The Earth”
  34. Anthony Hamilton and The Hamiltones - Donald Trump will Grab You by the Pu**y
  35. Amanda Duncan, “The Cookie Song”
  36. The Prissteens, “Christmas Is a Time for Giving”
  37. Wally Gonzales, “Que Me Entieren En Wal-Mart (Bury Me At Wal-Mart)”
  38. Neville Willoughby - Christmas In Jamaica
  39. Neville Willoughby, “Christmas J.A.”
  40. Prince Buster & the Allstars, “Wreck a Pum Pum”
  41. Ying Yang Twins, “Ho Ho Ho (Dirty Christmas)”
  42. The Persuasions, “You’re All I Want for Christmas”
  43. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, “Joy to the World”
  44. Thank You - Ernie Paniccioli
  45. Marvin Rainwater, “Get Off the Stool”
  46. Butterbeans & Susie, “Papa Ain’t No Santa Santa Claus (Mama Ain’t No Christmas Tree)”
  47. Marvin Rainwater, “Get Off the Stool”
  48. Marvin Rainwater, “Get Off the Stool”
  49. Marvin Rainwater, “Get Off the Stool”
  50. The Youngsters, “Christmas in Jail”
  51. Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”
  52. Chuck Berry, “Merry Christmas Baby”
  53. Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers, “Merry Christmas Baby”
  54. Fats Domino, “I Told Santa Claus”
  55. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, “I Put a Spell on You”
  56. Lee Dorsey, “Can I Be the One”
  57. Lee Dorsey, “Ya Ya”
  58. Lee Dorsey, “Can I Be the One”
  59. Hugh & the New Coventry Carolers, “Kosher for Christmas”
  60. Too Old to Die Young: Ice T
  61. Beastie Boys, “Car Thief”
  62. Robert Parker, “A Letter to Santa”
  63. Robert Parker, “Barefootin’”
  64. Erran Baron Cohen featuring Yasmin Levy, “Ocho Kandalikas”

Show notes:

  1. Bill Adler, The Daily News, November 12, 1980: “Kurtis Blow: rapped up in success”
  2. Bill Adler, People, May 16, 1983, “The South Bronx Was Getting a Bad Rap Until a Club Called Disco Fever Came Along”
  3. New York Times, “An Eclectic Holiday Mix That for Decades Has Skipped the Cheese”
  4. Donwill, Trap Kwanzaa Carols
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