Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 

Sometimes a Great Notion…

How a Goodyear Tire promotional ploy begat an essential Christmas music franchise of 16 years' duration.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Christmas 1974: Santa (USPS) Brings the 1st Self-Adhesive Stamp

Those self-adhesive stamps we so love? Christmas 1974 brought the first of what were then considered experimental issues, featuring the Dove of Peace weathervane from George Washington's Mount Vernon home. Much trial-and-error ...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Hark the What? Ironies of a Beloved Carol

REV. MARK D. ROBERTS knows 'If you don’t want to tick people off, then don’t change the words of the hymns and carols.' As he explains, 'HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING' is a perfect example of this maxim.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Man With All the Toys

Updated for Yuletide 2020, BRIAN SETZER's 2015 holiday gem, ROCKIN' RUDOLPH, shows off the master showman and ace guitarist at his best, along with his hard-working, gifted elves (the Orchestra), rocks and croons masterfully on...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Christmas in All Hues of Blues

CHRISTMAS IN ALL HUES OF BLUES, an updated review from 2012, spotlighting four classic blues-oriented Yuletide collections: DEATH MIGHT BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS and tBLUES, BLUES CHRISTMAS, Vols. 1-3
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Man With All the Toys

BRIAN SETZER and his ORCHESTRA return for his sixth Christmas blowout, ROCKIN' RUDOLPH, which lives up to the warm , virtuosic and rockin' high standard the Stray Cat has set for himself at Yuletide
by David McGee
 

 

 

In All Weathers, Glad Tidings

The Persuasions were just not any group of a cappella practitioners--they were the best, solid in every way, with lead singer Jerry Lawson standing out as one of the great singers of his time. The group's Christmas album, like...
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Coolest Yule

The Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet's first seasonal outpouring, FOOLS FOR YULE, offers some bracing surprises in its mix of original songs and classic holiday fare.
by David McGee
 

 

 

What Becomes a Classic Most?

Streisand at her apex in recordings made almost three-and-a-half decades apart. Make no mistake--she’s the classic here, and a classy one at that.
by David McGee