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Carry On Friends: The Caribbean American Experience
Sounds of Christmas: Music that Made the Season Right & Bright
Reggae Carols, Christmas Hymns: Caribbean Christmas Vibes!
In this debut of the Sounds and Color series, I dive into the music that shaped my holidays in Jamaica—from classic hymns and American Christmas staples to Reggae-infused carols and Dancehall riddims. I revisit the music that bring the season alive.
Chat to Mi!
- What's your favorite Christmas hymn from their childhood?
- What's your favorite Reggae Christmas song?
- What was Christmas like "back home" or at home?
Share in the comments!
Check the playlist of songs mentioned in this episode.
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A Breadfruit Media Production
Hello everyone, welcome back to Carry On Friends, the place where we celebrate the stories, voices and vibrant culture of the Caribbean diaspora. Today I am excited to introduce a new and special series within the show called Sounds and Color. I love music. It's a huge part of my life, personality and the way I experience culture. The Sounds and Color series is an exploration of music, storytelling and personal reflections, diving into the music that moves me and us and of course, there'll be commentary from me and guests that adds color to our experiences. I will go through songs, genres, unpack the roots and influences of the music I love and we love, and share how it shapes our experiences and identity.
Speaker 1:I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the series than with the sounds of Christmas. Time and time again, people will say that there's no place like Jamaica during Christmas. Of course these people are in my family or my circle of friends. Maybe it's the same for you back home. Wherever back home is, christmas time is the time when you have the smell of expensive plane fare in the air and the cool Christmas breeze.
Speaker 1:But in this episode I want to share the role music played in the Christmas spirit growing up in Jamaica and the role it played in the season generally. I'm going to be talking about traditional hymns to Reggae, christmas Carol, jackson 5, and even dancehall rhythms All right, so let's dive right in. So some of my favorite traditional hymns that were central to the season included Silent Night Away in a Manger. O Come All Ye Faith faithful, hark all the arrow angels sing. Once in royal David's city, o little town of Bethlehem, while shepherds watched, and O holy night. So for me, these songs were sung during the morning devotions when I was in primary school or high school. Of course, they'll be sung at church and you'll also hear them on the radio. Church was a big part of my childhood, and so Christmas hymns were really the signal that the season has arrived. Hymns are not just about music, but it was part of the community and the communal spirit of the season. So whether you went to church or not, whether it's the man who always drink the rum, the rummed, they are aware of these songs. And so my question for you is what is your favorite Christmas hymn from childhood? Drop that in the comments below, all right.
Speaker 1:So next up is American Christmas classics like Nat King Cole's the Christmas Song, bing Crosby's White Christmas I think they were part of the season because of the movies that we'd watch on TV. So, like growing up, I remembered Home Alone, so you'd hear them and that's how you become familiar with them. And despite the warm, tropical Jamaican climate, we heard this and I'll discuss a little later the reggae versions of some of these songs. That might switch a word or two. Now it's interesting growing up hearing these American classics, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas right, and that is part of the allure that as a little kid growing up in Jamaica you're like I want to see snow, I want to experience snow. Now I've lived in this country and I've experienced a bunch of snow. I'm good, it's fine, it's pretty when it's a fall, once it don't fall, all sorts of moderation.
Speaker 1:But one of my favorite Christmas classics is the Harry Simeone 1965 version of the Little Drummer Boy. It is such a classic, the choir, it just feels really comfy and it really feels like an excitement of Christmas Generally. One of my favorite Christmas songs is the Little Drummer Boy. Maybe it's the Ruppo Pompom, I don't know, but I just love that song. So what is your favorite classic Christmas song that it's not a hymn? And here's some trivia. Take a guess what's the best-selling Christmas song of all time? The answer is White Christmas by Bing Crosby. All right, so now we're going to get into the reggae-infused Christmas carol them and the Christmas music. All right, so of course, growing up we're going to hear reggae versions of carols, right? So Carleen Davis has her version of White Christmas, but instead of saying I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, she says I am dreaming of a bright Christmas. And I love Carleen Davis's Christmas songs. They really really just feel like yeah, they feel like home. One of my other favorite Carleen Davis Christmas song is Santa Claus. I want to break out and sing it right now, but I don't want no copyright problem. But, santa Claus, do you ever come to the ghetto? Wonderful, love the song. Also, jacob Miller's Silver Bell. Jacob Miller has just such a distinctive voice and children, children, I'm not going to even try. So yes, I'll make sure I'll put those in a playlist so you can check them out.
Speaker 1:One of my other favorite Jamaican or reggae flavored Christmas song is from a album by Joe Gibbs, and other artists are on that. It's called Let the Xmas Catch you in a Good Mood. Let the Xmas catch you in a good mood. I know I'm out of tune but anyway I love that song. It is the first song that I'm going to kick off when I want to put myself back in a place of like. I want to feel like when Demsadarty said there's no place like home, there's no place like feeling like you're there at Jamaica upon Christmas, and this song helps me get there. Now, on this Joe Gibbs reggae Christmas album, joy to the World, we Wish you a Merry Christmas. Medley is another one that is a classic, and Berris the Berris Ford Hammond's Winter Wonderland is also on there, which I think is a nice touch.
Speaker 1:But on the comical end, my good, good childhood friend and friend today, denise, we love to sing Santa Catch Up in a Mango Tree. It is the most hilarious and comical Christmas song ever. It is the most hilarious and comical Christmas song ever. But I mean it makes sense right? Santa would not be in a Christmas tree. There's a mango tree, there's probably a plum tree, a breadfruit tree, an ackee tree. So it is the song we love because it's just such a ridiculous song. But I think it just. It brings forth that element of culture that we take things and make it funny. So these are some of my favorite reggae Christmas songs and in 2021, I had a virtual Breadfruit Media Christmas gathering and a lot of these songs were on the playlist and people absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1:Now it's your turn. What is your favorite reggae Christmas song? If you haven't heard of the song, santa Ketchup in a Mango Tree, it is popularized. By which singer Do you know? Her name is Faith Diagilar. All right, so this next category. I'm telling you.
Speaker 1:For years, I tried to find these songs that I knew I heard every Christmas in Jamaica. I tried to sing the song to my family to see if it would bring up some level of familiarity. It did not, and I can't blame them, because what I was really trying to sing was a sped up version of the Rapapumpumpums in the Little Drummer Boy. As I mentioned before, the Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs, regardless of genre. If you want to reggae it, you want R&B it, hip hop it or make it be a classic. It's really one of my favorite songs. So thanks to someone from church who sent it to me in one of their daily WhatsApp message blasts those WhatsApp message blasts, they do have a purpose.
Speaker 1:Last Christmas, I found the song and the entire album that really, really for me, quintessentially made me feel like Christmas of my childhood and I have a feeling that it might be familiar for some of you because the person who sent it to me from church they're from Trinidad and so if they knew this song, minnose, you know Jamaicans and other people in the Caribbean are aware of this song and when I heard it it felt like after 30 odd years, all these memories to just rush right in, putting me back in a place of feeling excited and lively about Christmas, not so much about gifts, because growing up Christmas wasn't about the gifts. Maybe I should do another episode, because I know my family and I talk about Christmas was not about gifts, it was about, okay, the whole place is cleaning from top to bottom. We're going to church Christmas morning cleaning from top to bottom. We're going to church Christmas morning, the roast beef I make. You know my uncle set up for bake the hummus black cake for all and sundry. And you know growing up my friend, her mom, would make guisadas from scratch and you know I was able to participate in that. So it was about the aspect about community around food. And you know even the song I think of class parties. Right, anybody know what class parties are. Remember what class parties are. So, growing up in Jamaica, particularly in primary school, I didn't really have this as much in high school, but in primary school we had class parties and grab bags and all of these little holiday Christmas gatherings and these songs really really just kind of made me feel like home. So, all right, I'm not going to leave it in a suspense anymore.
Speaker 1:What is the song? Well, it's actually more the artist or the performer that's important, because they did versions of, of course, the Little Drummer Boy Christmas Medley and the New Year's Medley. And I discovered that these songs that are so nostalgic for me were sung by the Sal Sol Orchestra, and the Sal Sol Orchestra is really a disco-esque. They categorize them as a disco Christmas album and it's Sal Sol because there's elements of Latin and salsa. But you're probably going to be like Carrie-Anne what kind of mix up is that? But when you hear it, I think for some of you, instantly you will be like I've heard this before Because I know when I shared it with my friends they're like oh yeah, I did remember hearing this. And, fun fact, south Soul Orchestra was the first disco Christmas album.
Speaker 1:So does anyone remember hearing these particular songs that I'm going to put in a playlist so you could listen, because I can't play them in this episode? All right, I think this is one of my favorite parts of this episode because this story is just so near and dear to me. So, growing up in Jamaica, my grandmother I said church is a huge thing. My grandmother is a big part of my life. We went to church a lot, and so when we were about eight or nine years old in Jamaica, my grandmother knew her grandchildren love Michael Jackson and so she brought home the Jackson Christmas album, a little cassette. And when Metellus say I rinse that cassette so much and the cassette would reel out and I would use pen to wheel it back in right Because I played it so much and I it was listening to the Jackson 5's version of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, that I realized that there was no Santa Claus and Santa Claus is really somebody dressed up like Santa Claus.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, it was the whole dialogue and skit that they had within the song. That was just like wait a minute. When little Michael Jackson says I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus and I'm going to tell my dad and I was like wait a minute. When little Michael Jackson says I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus and I'm going to tell my dad and I was like wait a minute. That's how I realized. But that entire album was just such a good album I listened to it to this day every Christmas. It's part of that.
Speaker 1:My grandmother has passed away but I thank her for the gift of that music and that album and allowing us. Yes, she was a church-going person and I know of many people who grew up in church families that they couldn't play secular music. But my grandmother allowed us to play secular music and this Jackson 5 album that's become such a big part of my life and my kids listen to it. So I really cherish this album. Have you heard of the Jackson 5 Christmas album? Is there an album that you cherish the way I cherish this Jackson 5 album? And let me know what's your favorite song off the Jackson 5 Christmas album? I'm pretty sure that you'll know which song is mine. It is, of course, the little drummer boy, little Michael, on. That was really good, but I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is the classic from that Jackson 5 Christmas album.
Speaker 1:All right, so this is a segment where I have some miscellaneous things I wanted to cover. So this episode is about the music that I heard growing up in Jamaica that made me feel like Christmas and I felt the Christmas spirit. I don't remember hearing Donny Hathaway's this Christmas until I moved to the US, and it's not to say that it wasn't played. I just don't remember it as well as I remember the other songs before moving to New York. But when I moved to New York, this Christmas was just such a classic that still holds a lot of meaning, because when we think of Christmas it's a lot of the same things, the same carols all over. There are not many Christmas originals that become classic. Donny Hathaway's, this Christmas is just one of those timeless classics, of course, along with the Mariah one that I remembered as well. And so for you, which modern Christmas song do you think stands the test of time? We know that Mariah Carey's song does damage every year, but which other song do you think stands the test of time?
Speaker 1:I also mentioned Dance All Rhythms at the beginning of the episode. This is another thing that I don't remember paying attention to until I moved to New York. So back in the days and I say back in the days, because I don't know if they do it as much today, but back in the days dancehall songs had like a Christmas rhythm, like they really need to bring back rhythm culture in a dancehall period. But that's another episode. But because then we were such a rhythm driven genre, like you know the rhythms as much as you knew the song and the artist. So there's usually a Christmas rhythm and the Christmas rhythm didn't necessarily mean that there was a Christmas song, it was just the rhythm that came out for the Christmas season.
Speaker 1:For example, miss Ivy Last Son is a Christmas rhythm. Example, miss Ivy Last Son is a Christmas rhythm. So the song of the same name, miss Ivy Last Son, by Bounty Killer is a song on that rhythm, which makes sense, right, there's a lot of times there's a rhythm and a title track off that rhythm, which is usually sometimes there's still the same name. So Miss Ivy Last Son is the rhythm, and the song of the same title by Bounty Killer. Miss Ivy Last Son came out for the Christmas season. I want to say back in our, I want to say back in 94, 5 maybe. But if you listen to the rhythm of Miss Ivy Last Son, it is done to the tune of we Wish you a Merry Christmas. Go back and listen to it. You will hear ding, ding, ding, ding, ding ding. So that's the rhythm and generally we were just kind of looking forward to what's the Christmas rhythm that will come out not dance, all that was going to be a hot rhythm, so I wanted to share those.
Speaker 1:There's some other songs that were a huge part of Christmas the Virgin Mary, little Donkey, christmas Tree, we Three Kings. Those were other songs that I remember as being a huge part of my Christmas and the Christmas spirit and music for me is like a warm, comfortable blanket that just wraps me and envelops me in warmth. And I wanted to do this episode because for me it was important to get back that feeling of Christmas. Yes, we know the reason for the season, but music for me plays a huge part in that, and it was not so much about the gifts. There's a part of me that wanted to go back to a place in time and try to experience that again, or try to recreate that as an adult, and music is a way for me to do that. So I wanted to do this episode about the sounds of Christmas.
Speaker 1:Now it's your turn. Share what your Christmas was like growing up, whether that was back in the Caribbean or it was here. What was Christmas like in your household and how did it shape your experience of Christmas? So, as we wrap up this episode, as I mentioned before, music holds memory for me a place, a date, an event, in this case, the season right and Christmas music is such a powerful genre in holding memories and shaping the holiday spirit.
Speaker 1:I took you on a little nostalgic trip and I would like for you to share your own stories as well. So let me know how Christmas music shaped your experience and I look forward to future episodes of Sounds and Color where we talk about music. On a side note, I really wish that me could just insert music wherever this is playing, but me, no one gets in no trouble, but really and truly it would just add some color to my experience. Not true, gets in a little trouble, but really and truly it would just add some color to my experience, not true. But I will add a playlist so you can hear the songs if you're not familiar, and add that to the description and check it out. I can't wait to hear from you about your Christmas music experience and, as I love to say at the end of every episode walk good.
