A single with a story: Sufjan Stevens' Christmas single

Sufjan Stevens: Lonely Man Of Winter
(Asthmatic Kitty Records, AKR378, USA, 45 rpm, small hole, translucent green vinyl, 1000 copies)

It took Sufjan Stevens 18 years, ten Christmas EP’s and two Christmas compilations before he finally released his first Christmas 45. The A-side of the single was a song that he originally had recorded in 2007. The B-side has, a recent reworking of that same song. His previous output earned him the nickname the prince of indie Christmas, a well-deserved title, give the enormous amount of Christmas songs that Sufjan recorded over the years. Many of which were his own compositions, to make it even more impressive.

Michigan born singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer and laber owner Sufjan (we have another renaissance man here) debuted in 1999 with the album ‘A Sun Came’, that was released on the Asthmatic Kitty label, the label he started with his stepfather. When Sufjan started his ambitious plan to record for every state in the United States an album with folk songs inspired by that state (he so-called ‘Fifty States’-project) with the release of 2003’s album ‘Michigan’, the state he was born in, his name was set. The second album in the series, ‘Illinois’, was widely praised by critics and even gave him sort of a alternative hit with ‘Chicago’ – after which he put his plan aside – that, he later admitted, was never really serious, to focus on other themes for his next albums.

Sufjan started recording Christmas songs early in his career: his first EP with Christmas songs, ‘Noel’, recorded with Matt Morgan, was released in December 2001. According to Sufjan, he started the project as an exercise to make himself appreciate Christmas more. Many of the Christmas songs Sufjan recorded over the years were traditional carols and hymns and also some of the originals he wrote were religious in nature, although he wrote many more secular themed Christmas songs. Sufjan burned Cdr’s of the EP’s, to send them to friends. Every year from 2001 on, with the exception of 2004 (when he was too busy recording ‘Illinois’), Sufjan recorded a Christmas EP. In 2006, the first five EP’s were compiled on the five box CD set ‘Songs For Christmas’. The box set included a poster of Sufjan, an animated short for the song ‘Put The Lights On The Tree’ by Tom Eaton, an essay by Rick Moody, two original short stories by Sufjan, stickers, comics and a sing-a-long book for all five discs – and 42 Christmas songs. The compilation reached 122 in the US album charts.

Sufjan’s Christmas EP’s projec ended after 10 years, in 2010- with the second bunch of EP’s being compiled in 2012 on again a box set: ‘Silver & Gold: Song For Christmas, Vols. 6-10’. This second album reached 70 in the US album charts. Put together, the two volumes contained a total of 100 Christmas songs. Sufjan promoted the album with a 24 city tour, ‘The Sirfjam Stephanapolous Christmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Spectacular Music Pageant Variety Show Disaster’. In December he also released a Christmas-themed hiphop mixtape featuring music from ‘Silver & Gold’, ‘Chopped And Scrooged’.

In 2007, Sufjan came up with the idea to organize a ‘Xmas Song Exchange Contest’. Sufjan asked fans to send in their own Christmas songs. Sufjan would choose his favorite song from those send in, and the winner would acquire the recording of and the rights to a Christmas song Sufjan would write and record especially for the occassion, as a response to the winning song. Alec Duffy turned out the lucky winner with his song ‘Every Day Is Christmas’ and he won Sufjan’s song ‘Lonely Man Of Winter’ – indeed, the song that appeared on the A-side of this single. In return, Sufjan acquired the rights and to ‘Every Day Is Christmas’. Duffy had the initial idea to premier the song in a show in his theatre Hoi Polloi, but when that show never happened, he and his friend, composer Dave Malloy, decided to organize listening parties. For every party four people were invited. After talking for a while, each one of them got headphones on and the song was played. After listening to the song, the four could discuss the song. In a way, it was a return to the pre-internet days, when listening to new music was much more special, something you shared with friends, while these days most people first hear new songs through internet platforms like Spotify, Youtube or internet radio.

First, the listening parties took place in Alec’s home in Brooklyn, New York. Later, Alec also started to organize listening parties in other parts of the United States and even some in Europe. When he did not have the time anymore to do the listening parties, Alec decided it was time to share the song with the rest of the world, but to also use the song to gather money for the Brooklyn non-profit venue JACK, aimed at fueling experimentation in art and activism and be a launch pad for the next generation of artists. Alec is founder and artistic director of JACK. Alec contacted Asthmatic Kitty with his plan, and they were up to release the song on a 7” for him, as a benefit for JACK.

For the first time in 11 years, Sufjan heard the song again, and this inspired him to do a new version of the song. This new version was produced by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and Sufjan invited Melissa Mary Ahern to supply additional vocals. This is the version that appearred on the B-side of the single. The single was pressed in an edition of 1000 copies on translucent green vinyl, and came with a note of Alec Duffy, that explained the story behind the song and reasons for now releasing the song on a 45, and with a download of the two songs on the single and Alec’s Christmas song that won the contest.

On the original version of ‘Lonely Man Of Winter’, Sufjan accompanies himself on an acoustic guitar and some sleighbells. The 2018 version replaces the acoustic guitar and sleigh bells with subtile beats and electronics, and has the same aura of stillness as the original, as if recorded quietly in the middle of the night, to not wake up the neighbors. The single sold out in no time, as could expected, given the popularity of Sufjan.

Listen to the original, the 2018 remixed version and the song that made Alec the winner of the 2007 contest on Sufjan's Bandcamp-page