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The Icons of Outlaw Christmas Radio Show

ByJohn Wesley Karson

Dec 22, 2024

Join us for the “Icons of Outlaw Country Christmas” special, where holiday cheer meets the spirit of rebellion. We’re bringing you a night filled with festive tunes given the outlaw treatment by some of country music’s most legendary voices. Robert Earl Keen kicks things off with “Merry Christmas from the Family”, capturing the chaotic joy of the season, while Billy Joe Shaver spices it up with his 2005 “Feliz Navidad”. The Tractors bring their unique sound with “Santa Claus is Comin’” , and J. Gravelle offers a modern twist in 2023 with “Forget the Milk, Santa Needs A Beer!”. Merle Haggard’s poignant “If We Make it Through December” from 1973 reflects on holiday struggles, and John Prine shares the bittersweet “Christmas in Prison” from the same year.

The celebration continues with Johnny Cash reminiscing about “Christmas As I Knew It” in 1972, his deep voice echoing through time. Johnny Paycheck ensures the party never stops with “Honky Tonk Christmas”, and Jerry Jeff Walker rounds out the night with his Texas-flavored take on “12 Days of Christmas.” This isn’t your grandmother’s Christmas special; it’s where tradition and defiance dance under the holiday lights. So, grab your hat, pour some eggnog, and let’s celebrate Christmas, outlaw-style!

Original Air Date: 12/21/24

Playlist

HOUR ONE
Robert Earl Keen – Merry Christmas from the Family – 2017
Billy Joe Shaver – Feliz Navidad –2005
Sammy Kershaw – Christmas Time’s a Coming –1994
Dale Watson – Honkey Tonk Christmas – 2001
Gary P. Nunn – Christmas Time in Texas –2010
Merle Haggard – Grandma’s Homemade Christmas Card –1973
Bobby Bare – Christmas Time at Grandmas –1994
Waylon Jennings – Away in a Manger – 1993
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Christmas Time Again – 2000
Eagles – Please Come Home for Christmas – 1978
Hank Williams Jr. – Little Drummer Boy –1981
Michael Murphey – Ridin’ Home on Christmas Eve –1991
Willie Nelson – Jingle Bells –1979
Lisa Layne – Santa Drives an Eighteen Wheeler – 2001
Red Simpson – Santa’s Comin’ In A Big Ol’ Truck – 1973
Bill Weaver – How the Truckers Saved Christmas – 2018

HOUR TWO
Merle Haggard – If We Make it Through December – 1973
John Prine – Christmas in Prison – 1973
Christmas As I Knew It – Johnny Cash – 1972
Johnny Paycheck – Honky Tonk Christmas – 1998
Jerry Jeff Walker – 12 Days of Christmas – 1994
Jerry Jeff Walker – I Be Home for Christmas – 1994
Billy Joe Shaver – Merry Christmas to You – 1994
The Bellamy Brothers – Old Hippy Christmas – 2002
Buddy Brown – Redneck Jingle Bells – 2019
Charlie Daniels – Cowboy’s Christmas Gift – 1980
Charlie Daniels – Christmas Time Down South – 1990
Santa Claus is Comin’ – The Tractors – 1994
Forget the Milk, Santa Needs A Beer! – J. Gravelle – 2023
Robert Earl Keen – Happy Holidays to Y’all – 1998

By John Wesley Karson

John Wesley Karson grew up in Texas in the 1960’s and 70’s and was a fan of the country music scene thriving in Austin and Houston. He first began working in radio as a teenager at KPFT in Houston, a listener supported radio station which featured many of the outlaw country artists of that time. He worked on a volunteer basis at first, cleaning up around the station, emptying trash and taking every opportunity afforded him to learn the technical aspects of running the stations equipment. Eventually he was asked to operate the control board for Jerry Jeff Walker one night when he was guest hosting a radio show. It was at that point John was hooked and he knew his future would be in broadcasting. After 45 years in the broadcasting business, working as a commercial radio disc jockey and talk show host, John Wesley Karson retired in Bakersfield in 2020. When his friend Danny Hill bought KVLI radio in Lake Isabella, California in 2021 and launched Outlaw Country Radio 103.7FM, he asked John if he would like to host a weekend show. He gave John Wesley complete creative control over the shows content and John created “The Icons of Outlaw Country”. “It’s a complete labor of love,” John said, “This is the music I grew up listening to in Texas and I just want to share it with people as a way of honoring the contributions these great artist’s made to the world.” “It’s a celebration of the individual, over the collective and the rights as free and sovereign men and women to create what first and foremost pleased them, not some record company executive occupying space in an office building in lower Manhattan or West Los Angeles. “The right of the artist to demand control of their own destiny and their own intellectual property is a sacred right and only when the artist is able to achieve this is the artist truly free to create. Music is practically the only art form where the rights of the artist are superseded by some corporate weasel in a suit and tie sipping decaf lattes from the back of a limo. “As Ayn Rand put it, a 'Right'…means freedom from compulsion, coercion or interference by other men and that applies to record companies and producers as well as governments.” John Wesley Karson had a front row seat long before the term “Outlaw Country” was even used to describe what was known at that time as the “Cosmic Cowboy” revolution. John’s radio career spanned over four decades and each week he shares music and insight into these icons of country music, taking his listeners on a two hour sonic journey through the past and into the present state of the world of country music from his studios in Bakersfield, California.

Uncategorized

The Icons of Outlaw Christmas Radio Show

ByJohn Wesley Karson

By John Wesley Karson

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