There's always a story behind the song.
Christmas & holiday music can really set the tone for our gatherings & our overall feeling around this sacred time of year. In this episode, I share some of the favorites that I’ve recorded & performed with my sister, Kelly Brown, first as the duo Frankly Scarlet & now as Local Honey. Enjoy the music of the season & the stories behind the tunes.
All songs in this episodeare available for download on ITunes (links at the bottom of this post).
Show Notes:2:50 - Story: “Holiday Cheer” - originally written by Kelly Brown as a short piece for the National Cheerleaders Assoc. when they performed at the Hula Bowl. It later became a full song that she & I perform at the annual Local Honey Holiday Mix.
4:42 - SONG: “Holiday Cheer” (Live from the Local Honey Holiday Mix) - Get both live & studio version on ITunes!
7:58 - Story of deep family trauma, a “silent” pilgrimage to the Holy Land, & the song that showed up on the bus to Galilee.
12:33 - SONG: “Mary’s Very First Christmas” - written by Wood Newton, Mike Loudermilk, & Daniel Johnson. Performed by Kelly Brown & Local Honey (featuring Kim Brown Cain).
16:03 - On to the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to perform “Mary’s Very First Christmas” - our first rendition, learneden-route to the Bluebird!

18:21 - STORY:  The surreal journey of our mothers passing at the holidays & the beautiful music that resulted.
20:29 - SONG: “Jingle (Oh, What Fun)”
23:26 - Minor keys bring a mystical feel to sacred songs & call up some of the deeper emotions associated with Christmas. “Coventry Carol”, a medieval carol dating back to the 16th Century (or earlier), is from a lullaby sung by mothers of children in the “Massacre of the Innocents”, when Herod ordered the murder of all male children under the age of two. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” conjures the knowledge of “God with us”. We know this, innately, in our spirits.
25:04 - SONGS: “Coventry Carol” & “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
32:27 - SONG: Now for some sexy! “Santa Baby”
36:18 - SONG: “Mary, Did You Know” (Live from the Local Honey Holiday Mix)
41:11 - Intentional awareness of love saves us.
42:15 - No matter what path we’re taking, putting our attention on our spiritual life can make the greatest difference. The most powerful thing I’ve ever experienced is the Christ Consciousness - the boundless love of God.
Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. Be love.
• More from songwriter, Wood Newton, in Ep012 of the Naked Vibes Show.
Songs also available on ITunes:Local Honey album - "Jingle"Frankly Scarlet album - "Rejoice"Local Honey single - "Mary's Very First Christmas"