Today on World Cafe, we want to introduce you to someone who knows more about Christmas and holiday music than almost anyone in the biz. For the last 32 years, DJ Robert Drake has been hosting an annual marathon celebration every Christmas Eve on WXPN in Philadelphia, where we make World Cafe.

It’s called The Night Before, and for 24 nonstop hours, Drake spins from his collection of holiday tunes. If you’re tuning in, don’t expect “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Last Christmas” on repeat. Drake’s collection is full of unique nuggets, some of which haven’t seen the light of day for decades.

Drake has gifted us an early Christmas present, in the form of a playlist to give us a preview of what happens on The Night Before. This mix includes brand-new music from gospel legend CeCe Winans and her new Christmas record, Joyful, Joyful: A Christmas Album. There’s also tracks with unique perspectives; Alicia Witt’s “Weird Time of Year” is sung from the POV of Witt’s dog. Ilene Weiss’ “Tree,” one of Drake’s favorite holiday songs, is sung from the perspective of a Christmas Tree right after the holidays.

We’ve also thrown in one of Ben Folds’ songs from his new Christmas album, Sleigher. You can check out our session with Folds here.

Oh, and happy holidays from the World Cafe team!

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