Sirius XM's surprising country airplay for Dylan's 'Christmas In The Heart'

Back cover of 'Christmas In The Heart' (Sony BMG )

The Bob Dylan Examiner has taken a completely unscientific survey of radio stations playing songs from the new Dylan album, Christmas In The Heart. This study was basically just my observations of what I had heard in retail establishments throughout Massachusetts since Thanksgiving, plus a very brief and random sample of music played on radio stations while driving around in my car. I have yet to hear a single track from Dylan's holiday album on terrestrial radio during this, the merriest of all seasons. One place you can hear songs from Christmas In The Heart, however, is on Sirius XM.

It is no surprise that Dylan’s holiday songs would be heard on satellite radio. Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour program is still being played regularly on a variety of satellite stations each week.  When compared to terrestrial radio,  the mostly commercial-free Sirius XM  is known for playing a wider variety of music.

What is surprising is the selection of songs being played, and on which channels they can be heard. According to Dogstar, during a six day period starting on December 14 at 7 a.m. ET, tracks from Christmas In The Heart were played 38 times on a variety of stations. Songs from the album were played over five channels: Holly (the temporary home of holiday music), Little Steven’s Underground Garage, The Loft, Willie’s Place (as in Willie Nelson), and Outlaw Country (another of Steven Van Zandt‘s projects).

Video for Van Zandt's project, Artists United Against Apartheid. Bob Dylan appears in the second half. (For mature audiences)

The channel with the most Christmas In The Heart airplay ? Surprisingly, Outlaw Country  was the clear winner, with 18 spins.  Outlaw Country  was "created by “Little Steven” Van Zandt  (as ) a sanctuary for the freaks, misfits, outcasts, rebels, and renegades of country music, along with brash and outspoken on-air personalities," according to the official web-page.   "Country's Rebels & Renegades" channel played “The Christmas Blues,” “Winter Wonderland,” and “Here Comes Santa Claus” four times each.  “Christmas Island” and “Must Be Santa” were close behind with three spins each .

The results for the other stations were as follows: "Here Comes Santa Claus” was played 12 times on Holly (taking over Sirius XM Love), while Willie’s Place played it once; “Do You Hear What I Hear?” received five spins on Underground Garage,  and The Loft (eclectic rock) played “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”

It is possible that there was additional airplay if the song was part of a program that did not separate individual tracks on the Sirius XM display screen. There also may have been technical glitches in the Dogstar tracking system.

While doing this research, it was interesting to see what a wide array of Dylan tracks are played on the various Sirius XM channels. You can hear Dylan's  music on such diverse stations as Classic Vinyl, Deep Tracks, Radio Margaritaville, The Bridge, The Coffee House, 60s on 6, The Grateful Dead Channel, Jam On, B.B. King’s Bluesville, and Siriusly Sinatra.

The song selection is all over the place. Listed during this same six day period were hits (“Lay Lady Lay”, “Like A Rolling Stone”); album tracks (“Mozambique”, “Jokerman”); recent material (“Jolene”, “Spirit On The Water”); and a few rarities (“Return To Me”, “People Get Ready“.)

Here's wishing Sirius XM a very, merry holiday season !

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