Christmas

There are dozens of wonderful bluegrass Christmas albums. Here are some of the best:

• Darin & Brooke Aldridge “Hometown Holiday” (Billy Blue)
• Antique Persuasion “Christmas Time’s a Comin'” (Voxhall)
• Butch Baldassari “Evergreen” (Sound Art)
• Banjomania “Christmas Remembered” (BM)
• Becky Buller “The Perfect Gift” (Dark Shadow)
• Chosen Road “Appalachian Christmas” (Thoroughbred)
• Norman & Nancy Blake “Americana Christmas” (Winter Harvest)
• Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers “A Rambler Christmas” (SGM)
• Alison Brown Quartet “Evergreen” (Compass)
• The Cluster Pluckers “A Cluster Pluckers Christmas Album” (CP)
• Country Gentlemen “Christmas Time Back Home” (Rebel)
• John Cowan “Comfort & Joy” (Koch)
• Dan Crary “Holiday Guitar” (Sugar Hill)
• Charlie Daniels “Joy To The World – A Bluegrass Christmas” (Blue Hat)
• Bob Dick “Tidings of Comfort and Joy: A Christmas Collection” (Appleland)
• Dr. Elmo “Dr. Elmo: Bluegrass Christmas” (Time/Life)
• Jerry Douglas “Jerry Christmas” (E1 Music)
• Raymond Fairchild “Smokey Mountain Christmas” (Rural Rhythm)
• 5 for the Gospel “Christmas Time in Eastern Kentucky” (Hay Holler)
• Emmylou Harris “Light of the Stable” (Warner Bros./Reissued on Rhino)
• Iron Horse “Small Town Christmas” (B Sharp/CMH)
• The Isaacs “Christmas Spirit” (Horizon)
• The Isaacs “Christmas” (Gaither Music)
• Rick Lang and Friends “Season of My Heart” (Haley Anna Music)
• Rick Lang and Friends “That’s What I Love About Christmas” (RLM Records)
• Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver “Merry Christmas from Our House to Your House” (SSK)
• The Lewis Family “20 Bluegrass Christmas Favorites” (Benson)
• Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum “Winter’s Grace” (Signature Sounds)
• Loose Ties “Yule Ties” (Snake River Records)
• Patty Loveless “Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas” (Epic)
• Claire Lynch “Holiday!” (ThrillHill)
• Jimmy Martin “To Mother, At Christmas” (Gusto)
• Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers “Because It’s Christmas Time” (Billy Blue)
• Nixon, Blevins and Gage “Picking on Christmas” (Clover Productions)
• Nothin’ Fancy “A Nothin’ Fancy Christmas” (Virginia Dreams)
• Nu-Blu “Christmas in Dixie” (Pinecastle)
• Jesse McReynolds “A Mandolin Christmas” (Double J)
• Jeff Parker It’s Christmas Time (Lonesome Day)
• Don Reno and Red Smiley “True Meaning of Christmas” (King)
• The Roys “Bluegrass Kinda Christmas” (Rural Rhythm)
• Jerry Salley “A Very Jerry Family Christmas” (Very Jerry)
• Larry Sparks “Christmas in the Hills” (Rebel)
• Ralph Stanley “Christmas Time with Ralph Stanley” (Freeland)
• The Stoneman Family “A Stoneman Christmas” (MGM)
• Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa “Praise His Holy Name: A Christmas Celebration” (Raincoe Music)
• Trinity River Band “On a Morning Like This” (Orange Blossom)
• Tony Trischka “Glory Shone Around: A Christmas Collection” (Rounder)
• Rhonda Vincent “Beautiful Star: A Christmas Collection” (Rounder)
• Rhonda Vincent Christmas Time (Upper Management)
• Ricky Skaggs & Family “Skaggs Family Christmas” (Skaggs Family)
• Various Artists “A Pinecastle Christmas Gatherin” (Pinecastle)
• Various Artists “A Very Merry Bluegrass Christmas” (Rural Rhythm/EMG)
• Various Artists “A Very Special Acoustic Christmas” (Lost Highway)
• Various Artists “A Very Joyful Bluegrass Christmas” (Engelhardt Music Group)
• Various Artists “Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas” (Pinecastle)
• Various Artists “Christmas at Doobie Shea” (Doobie Shea)
• Various Artists “Christmas in Carolina” (Blue Circle)
• Various Artists “Christmas Grass” (Audium)
• Various Artists “Christmas Grass, Vol. 2” (Audium)
• Various Artists “Christmas Grass, Vol. 3” (Koch)
• Various Artists “Christmas Jamboree” (Highland Music)
• Various Artists “Christmas on the Mountain: A Bluegrass Christmas” (Universal South)
• Various Artists “Christmas Time Back Home” (Rebel)
• Various Artists “O Christmas Tree” (Rounder)
• Various Artists “Pickin’ On Christmas” (CMH)
• Various Artists “Sugar Plums – Holiday Treats From Sugar Hill” (Sugar Hill)
• Various Artists “Tinsel Tunes” (Sugar Hill)
• Robin and Linda Williams “First Christmas Gift” (Red House)
• Williamson Branch “Very Merry Christmas” (Pinecastle)

And here are some good Christmas songs that appear on other albums:

• A Song for Christmas
  • Jackson Hollow (single/Mountain Fever)
• Babe of Bethlehem
  • The McLain Family Band “Sunday Singin’” (CLR)
• Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
  • James Alan Shelton “Road to Coeburn” (Copper Creek)
  • Ralph Stanley & Connie Smith “Clinch Mountain Country” (Rebel)
• Call Collect on Christmas
  • Del McCoury “35 Years of the Best in Bluegrass, Disc Two” (Rebel)
• Christ Was Born in Bethlehem
  • Billy Joe Foster and Special Edition “Before the Prairie Met the Plow” (Hay Holler)
• Christmas Country Style
  • Larry Stephenson “Close My Eyes to Heaven” (Webco)
• The Christmas Guest
  • Grandpa Jones “Poems and Songs” (Country Always)
• Christmas Mandolin
  • Johnny Staats on Various Artists, “Believe: A Christmas Collection” (Giant) also on Prime Cuts, Vol. 48.
• Christmas on the Farm
  • The McLain Family Band “McLain Family Band” (CLR)
• Christmas Time Back Home
  • Various Artists “Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey” (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Christmas Time in My Home Town
  • Wil Maring “An Ocean From Home” (Bear Family/Prime Cuts Vol. 36)
• Christmas Time in the Country
  • Carson Peters & Iron Mountain (single/no label)
• Christmas Time is Coming
  • The Flat Ridge Boys “Christmas with the Flat Ridge Boys” (Heritage/Prime Cuts Vol. 12)
• Christmas Time’s a Comin’
  • The Bluegrass Band “Once Again, From the Top” (Hay Holler)
  • Bill Monroe “Bluegrass Memories” (MCA)
• Christmas Time in Texas
  • The Overall Boys (“The Overall Boys”; also on Prime Cuts, Volume 84)
• Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over
  • Fiddlin” John Carson on “Back Roads to Cold Mountain” (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Coal in My Stocking
  • Williamson Branch “Branchin’ Out” (Enrichertainment)
• Cradle to Cross to Crown
  • New Tradition “Cradle, Cross, Crown” (Mountain Home)
• Daddy’s Old Guitar (Randy’s Christmas gift one year was his father’s guitar.)
  • Randy Waller “Randy Waller” (Lendel)
• Dancing in the Snow
  • Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz (single/Mountain Fever)
• Fall Down Children
  • The Whites “Doing It By the Book” (Canaan)
• Father I Know Why
  • Blue Highway “Blue Highway” (Ceili)
• Follow the Light
  • The McLain Family Band “Kentucky Wind” & “Sunday Singin’” (CLR)
• Follow the Star
  • Larry Sparks “The Last Suit You Wear” (McCoury Music)
• Food on the Table
  • The Dillards “Take Me Along for the Ride” (Vanguard)
• From the Manger to the Cross
  • The Stanley Brothers “The Early Years 1958-1961, Volume 2” (King)
• Gettin’ Ready for a Baby
  • Volume Five “Gettin’ Ready for a Baby” (Mountain Fever Records)
  • Jerry Salley “All God’s Children Sing” (Very Jerry)
• Happy Birthday Little Baby Jesus
  • Irene Kelley (single, Mountain Fever)
• Heartbeat
  • The Rarely Herd “What About Him” (Pinecastle)
• Here We Go A-Going
  • Frances Mooney & Fontana Sunset “I Didn’t See It Coming” (Blue Circle)
• Hills of Old Judea
  • Wade Spencer “Grass Covered Tracks” (Model Music, Also Prime Cuts, Vol. 59)
• I Still Pray
  • Kristy Cox “Ricochet” (Mountain Fever)
• I Wasn’t There
  • Paul Williams “Ain’t God Good” (Rounder)
• It’s Christmas Time
  • The Boys from Indiana (single/Rebel)
• It’s Time to Hear Those Jingle Bells Again
  • The Larry Wallace Band (on Prime Cuts, Volume 84)
• Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
  • Bluegrass Etc. “Travelin’ Band” (Sierra)
• Let’s Live Every Day Like It Was Christmas
  • Randall Franks & Friends “Christmas Time’s a Comin’” (Sonlite)
• Let’s Make a Baby King
  • New Grass Revival “Friday Night in America” (Capitol)
• Light of the Stable
  • The McLain Family Band “Big Hill” (CLR)
• Little Baby Child
  • Jim Hurst “Box of Chocolates” (no label)
• Little Star
  • Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver “Sing Me a Song About Jesus” (Mountain Home)
• Little Stranger
  • The Rochesters “Heaven’s Gift” (Mountain Home/Prime Cuts Vol. 30)
• Lonesome Christmas
  • Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz (single/Mountain Fever)
• Mary, Merry Christmas
  • Ralph Stanley II “Listen to My Hammer Ring” (Rebel)
• Mary Rocked Her Baby
  • Becky Buller (with the Fairfield Four) (single/Dark Shadow)
• Mary’s Song
  • Cornerstone “Out of the Valley” (Folk Era/Prime Cuts Vol. 12)
• My Greatest Christmas
  • Bill Grant “My Pathway Leads to Oklahoma” (KMB)
• New Star Shining
  • Ricky Skaggs (with James Taylor) “Love’s Gonna Get Ya” (Epic)
• O! Santa
  • Chatham County Line “Live from Yep Roc Sawyer Sessions” (Yep Roc)
• Oh Christmas Candle
  • Stony Point Quartet “Christmas Time Back Home” (Cracker Barrel) Also Prime Cuts, #66
• Old Fashioned Christmas
  • Jimmy Martin, Various Artists “Christmas Jamboree” (Highland Music)
• On Christmas Eve
  • John Hartford “Headin’ Down into the Mystery Below” (Flying Fish)
• On Christmas Eve (different from the Hartford tune above)
  • Wolfe Brothers “2001 An Old Time Odyssey” (Copper Creek)
• One Christmas
  • Steve Kaufman “Circles” (Sleeping Bear)
• Our Christmas Tree
  • Bill Price “Honoring the Father of Bluegrass” (Lanor Records)
• Our Gingerbread House
  • Becky Buller “The Christmas 45, Volume 1” (Dark Shadow)
• Santa, Baby
  • Patty Mitchell (Promotional Parody, No Label)
• Santa Claus
  • Bill Monroe “Bluegrass Instrumentals” (Decca/Bear Family)
• Santa Got Picked Up for D.U.I / Christmas Time
  • The Boys from Indiana (45 rpm single–Old Heritage Records)
• Season of Joy (instrumental)
  • Scott Vestal, et al “Bluegrass 2000” (Pinecastle)
• Set Apart
  • The Bullas “Set Apart” (Dominion Records)
• She Cries
  • The Isaacs “Increase My Faith” (Horizon)
• Song for Christmas
  • Jackson Hollow (Mountain Fever)
• Strangest Christmas Ever
  • Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers “The Long Awaited Album” (Rounder)
• That’s Christmas Time to Me
  • Bill Monroe “Bluegrass Memories” (MCA) Also on Bear Family Boxed Set 1970-79, Vol. 4
• That Old Familar House on Christmas Day
  • Robin and Linda Williams “Back 40” (Red House Records)
• The Box
  • Becky Buller (single/Dark Shadow)
• The Christmas Train is Coming
  • Tommy Edwards “The Christmas Album” (Salisbury Street) Also on Prime Cuts Volume 90.
• The First Time I Saw Mary
  • The Doug Dillard Band “What’s That” (Flying Fish)
• The King as a Babe Comes Down
  • Cherryholmes “Cherryholmes III:Don’t Believe” (Skaggs Family)
• The Savior Is Born
  • Becky Buller “The Christmas 45, Volume 1” (Dark Shadow)
• Very Merry Christmas
  • Williamson Branch (single/Pinecastle)
• Welcome Christ the Lord
  • Dan Boner (Daysight)
• What’s the World Coming To?
  • Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out “Prime Tyme” (Rural Rhythm) Song’s first verse is about Christmas.
• When the Time Had Fully Come
  • Northern Lights “Can’t Buy Your Way” (Flying Fish)
• You and Christmas Cookies
  • Kim Robins (single/Pinecastle)