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I know that the word "featureless" makes the show sound dull and drab, but even though we're not having our usual special features, Come By The Hills will be chalk full of Christmas cheer this week. We'll discuss some interesting Christmas traditions and of course salute them musically as well, and we'll have a lovely reading of Dylan Thomas's "A Child's Christmas in Wales," performed of course by the poet himself.

To paraphrase Alan Jackson, it’s 3 AM somewhere. So we always try to replay our shows at a time suitable for those who might have been sleeping when they were first heard.

We’ll be replaying the 2016 holiday countdown and Christmas party in its entirety on Christmas eve, starting at midnight Eastern, 5 AM UK.

We’ve had a huge amount of interest in our Christmas Castoffs show, where we featured three hours of songs that didn’t garner enough votes to make the top 100. We’ll replay this on Thursday afternoon at 1 PM Eastern, 6 PM in the UK.

All I can say is wow. I’m still coming down from the high generated by the good cheer and great company we had during our 10 hour countdown. If you participated in any way at all, thank you so very much. The friendships rekindled and established, and the great spirit, is what Mushroom FM has always been all about.

Well actually, we'll be doing pretty much what we usually do on the show: presenting three hours of the best in Celtic music from around the world. However, I can tell you with absolute assurance that no donkies will be invading the studio. There may be a spotted cow or two, but no donkies!

We have a Christmas-themed "What's That About?" song in Gaelic, a commical and tangentially-holiday-related "Celtic Covers" segment, and of course just plenty of good Celtic and folk music from many awesome artists and bands.

Clyde McPhatter had one of the sweetest and most powerful tenor voices in all of Rhythm & Blues and early Rock n’ Roll. His issue throughout his 22 year recording career, was getting the recognition he thought he deserved. After singing memorable leads on many hit records for Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Clyde left because Billy Ward wouldn’t put his name on the records or pay him a fair share of the profits. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records was ready to sign McPhatter and give him his own group, The Drifters.

And it came to pass that there were almost 24 hours before voting closed.

And so it was that the wise men were busy at the myrrh shop buying myrrh, which is in short supply these days. In their absence, a little blind man with a funny accent emerged from the Ether and said,

"Hark!". And because he couldn't think of anything else to say, he said, "Hark!" again, just to give himself time to think.

Hark! Yes hark at once I say! Because things are really ramping up for Christmas now. So hark! I mean man! In just two weeks, I’ll be coming to terms yet again with not getting, yet again, the present I most want, yet again, a Sonos in the bathroom. Meh.

And of course in just one week, one week from this very moment, we’ll be counting down the top 100 holiday songs as voted for by you. Have you voted yet? You’d better hurry up if not, or I’m gonna tell Santa on you. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.

While the holidays are not quite here yet, I find myself in a Christmasish mood just now. So, in addition to some of the usual Celtic music on Come By The Hills this week, I will again be flavouring the show with the sounds of Christmas. We've got carols, songs and other wintry fair on the menu, including a folky version of a beloved holiday novelty classic in "Celtic Covers" and a lovely Gaelic carol from Scotland in "What's That About."

The Drifters would become the most successful vocal group in history, charting hit after hit for over 20 years, with no less than a dozen different lead singers. This week, the “Juke In The Back” spotlights The Drifters’ first chapter with the great high tenor of Clyde McPhatter out front. The group was created by Atlantic Records in order to showcase McPhatter’s beautiful and powerful voice after his 2 year stint with Billy Ward & The Dominos ended.

Yes, it's me, Sara Hillis, back again and this time in shameless self-promotion mode. I wanted to let you know that if you've heard my sequel to "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" called, funnily enough, "I Got a Hippopotamus for Christmas" and are just dying to have it for yourself, or even if you haven't heard it and would like to hear it, it's available for the holidays for free from my web site. Steve Cutway has nominated it for his top pick for the Mushroom FM Christmas Count-down. Want to know why?