Best Country Christmas Releases of 2015: The Ram Report
Country music has a long history with Christmas albums, and this year three releases in particular stand out: Kenny Rogers’ Once Again It’s Christmas, LeAnn Rimes’ Today It’s Christmas and Kristian Bush’s “Thinking About Drinking for Christmas.”
In Bush’s case, his entry is a single song, but it doesn’t lack for holiday punch. The track is a wry look at the best way to deal with visiting aunts, uncles and cousins at the Yuletide: by tipping one back.
“There’s something about your family that can stress you out sometimes, but you still love them,” Bush told Rolling Stone Country recently. “You’re just not around them all year, and you don’t have the skill set to navigate them. Sometimes, you can start thinking about what’s gonna help you deal with all of that.”
“Thinking About Drinking for Christmas” is just the latest in Bush’s carol canon. The singer-songwriter, whose Southern Gravity LP made Rolling Stone Country‘s list of the year’s best country albums, often pens Christmas music year round. In 2009, he assembled a number of originals and classic holiday songs for Sugarland’s Gold and Green release.
Says Bush, “I guess I’m obsessed with writing Christmas songs.”