Interview: Rick Lee James
Singer-songwriter Rick Lee James talks to Louder Than The Music about his new Christmas single, Lights of Love, his thoughts on Christmas music in general, and his work as a healthcare chaplain.
Hi Rick, you've just released a Christmas single - tell us a little about the story behind this song?
Every year at the hospital where I serve as a chaplain, we hold a special ceremony called Lights of Love, where we honor people who are important to us and especially remember those who have passed away and are no longer physically with us. This song grew out of that experience.
At its heart, the song is about honoring and remembering the people we have lost during a season that can often feel especially dark and difficult for those who are grieving. The holidays are beautiful, but they can also be painful when someone you love is no longer present to share them with you.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Lights of Love celebration at our hospital, and I wanted to create a professional recording that could be shared with families who have experienced loss. My hope is that it offers comfort, reflection, and a reminder that love remains even when someone is gone.
I'm really proud of how the song turned out, and I'm especially grateful to my longtime producer and publisher, Craig Adams, who generously lent his talents to the project by providing programming as well as additional keyboards and bells.
Since writing it and sharing it at my concerts last year, many people have asked for a copy of this song, and I'm thankful that this recording provides a way to put it into their hands. I also hope it reaches people who have never heard it before but may be carrying the weight of grief and loss during this holiday season.
Did you deliberately set out to record a Christmas single, or did it just come to you?
I originally recorded the song intentionally for our hospital's Lights of Love ceremony last year, but it has really taken on a life of its own since then.
When I submitted it through Play MPE for radio distribution, I was surprised and encouraged by the response. It quickly climbed into the Top 10 for downloads and streams, remained in the Top 20 for seven weeks, and even reached the Number One spot. I'm hopeful that response will lead to more Christmas stations around the world picking up the song and sharing it with their listeners.
I believe deeply in the message of the song, and in some ways it really did just come to me. I was reflecting on the significance of the Lights of Love ceremony that we hold each year at the hospital where I serve, thinking about grief, remembrance, and hope during the holiday season. The song seemed to emerge naturally from those reflections.
Since then, I've performed it at a number of holiday concerts, and I'm looking forward to doing so again this year. Honestly, it's one of those songs that sometimes makes me wonder, "Did I actually write this?" It speaks to me so deeply that it feels more like something I received than something I created. As a person of faith, I would say it felt like a gift and a leading of the Holy Spirit, if that's not too presumptuous to say.
What do you think are the biggest factors that differentiate a "Christmas" song from any other song?
That's a great question, and I'm not sure there's a single right answer. At least in America, though, Christmas music often has a distinct feel to it. Many of the songs we associate with Christmas seem to come from another era. There's a warmth, nostalgia, and musical richness that people immediately recognize.
With this song, I intentionally wanted it to sound like a classic Christmas recording. That's why you'll hear bells, strings, and layered vocals that help place it alongside the holiday songs people have loved for generations.
But beyond the musical elements, I think the best Christmas songs have something deeper at their core. They hold out hope in the midst of darkness and light in the midst of coldness. The Christmas season can be joyful, but it can also be difficult for many people. Good Christmas songs acknowledge that reality while reminding us that hope is still present.
For me, that hope is ultimately found in Christ. Whether a song is explicitly sacred or not, I think the Christmas songs that endure are often the ones that remind us that light shines in the darkness and that we are not alone.
Everyone has their favorite traditional Christmas songs, but is their a modern Christmas song, much like your own one, that you really love listening to?
My friend Jason Gray has written some wonderful Christmas songs, and he has a new Christmas album coming out this year that I'm really looking forward to hearing. I love the way he approaches the genre. His songs feel deeply personal and story-driven, and he has a unique gift for entering into the lives of biblical characters and helping listeners see familiar stories from a fresh perspective.
I'm excited for his new release, but one modern Christmas project that has become an annual tradition in my home is Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson. Labor of Love is a track I find especially meaningful. I listen to it every year and continue to marvel at the artistry, storytelling, and theological depth woven throughout the album.
For me, it's one of those rare Christmas recordings that gets richer with every listen. It has become required listening during the holiday season in our house, and I can't imagine Christmas without it.
What is your favorite Christmas album of all time?
While I love classic Christmas albums like White Christmas by Bing Crosby, and I'm also a big fan of the rich big-band sound of the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Christmas recordings, I think I'd have to choose Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson and Friends as my favorite Christmas album of all time.
It's an incredibly well-crafted project. Theologically, it's deeply rooted and thoughtful. Musically, it's rich and compelling. Artistically, it brings together a diverse group of voices and styles while telling one unified story of redemption through Scripture.
Every year I find something new to appreciate in it. It's one of those rare albums that not only enhances the Christmas season but continues to resonate long after the decorations have been put away. I never seem to tire of it, and it's become a treasured part of our family's holiday traditions.
For you personally, when is it not too early to start listening to Christmas music?!
This may sound a little hypocritical, considering I start promoting my Christmas music at the end of October so that it has time to make its way to radio stations and streaming playlists before the holiday season, but personally, I don't start listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving.
In fact, if I can hold out until the beginning of Advent, that's even better. I like to let each season have its proper place. During Advent, I tend to focus on songs about longing, waiting, and the coming of Christ. Then, when Christmas arrives, I fully embrace the celebration of His birth.
I'm also one of those people who likes to keep Christmas going through the Twelve Days of Christmas rather than packing everything away on December 26th. So my listening habits follow the rhythms of the Church calendar more than the rhythms of the retail calendar.
That said, I have friends who listen to Christmas music all year round. More power to them! I'm glad it brings them joy. For me, though, part of what makes Christmas music special is that I only get to enjoy it for a season. When it finally arrives, it feels special.
Away from music, what Christmas traditions do you look forward to the most with your own family?
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is simply getting in the car with my wife and son and driving around to look at Christmas lights. It may sound simple, but it's something I look forward to every year.
Life is busy. Between work, school, ministry, and all the commitments that come with daily life, uninterrupted family time can be hard to come by. There's something special about those evenings when darkness falls a little earlier, and we can slow down together, drive through the neighborhoods, and enjoy the lights.
I've always loved Christmas lights. In fact, if it were up to me, we'd leave them up all winter long. I think they represent something deeper than decoration. They remind us of hope shining in the darkness. During the coldest and darkest months of the year, those little points of light have a way of lifting the spirit and reminding us that darkness never has the final word.
As a Christian, that's one of the things I love most about Christmas itself. The lights point me back to the promise that Christ is the Light of the World. So for me, a simple drive with my family looking at Christmas lights becomes a small but meaningful reminder of hope, joy, and being together.
As a hospital chaplain, what does your day to day work look like and how do you draw on that with the music side of your life?
That's probably a much longer answer than I have time to give here, but a large part of my day is spent sitting with patients and their families, listening to their stories, sharing in their suffering and their joys, and accompanying them as they navigate questions of meaning, purpose, connection, faith, and hope.
I also spend a significant amount of time caring for our hospital staff. So many people who work in healthcare carry heavy burdens. We often think about the suffering of patients, and rightly so, but many caregivers are fighting difficult battles that no one else can see.
My assigned areas include the ICU, step-down ICU, cardiovascular ICU, labor and delivery, mother-baby, and the emergency department. As you can imagine, those are places where life can feel especially fragile, and the emotional and spiritual needs are often very intense.
Songwriting has become one of the ways I process and respond to what I encounter in those spaces. For me, writing songs is an act of hope. It's choosing to look for life in the midst of death, light in the midst of darkness, and grace in the midst of suffering.
The people I minister to, and the people I minister alongside, have deeply shaped the themes of the songs I write today. In many ways, chaplaincy has become such a central part of my life that music is no longer primarily about performance. It's much more about listening, paying attention, and responding to what I hear in the stories of others and in the presence of God.
If my songs connect with people, I think it's because they are born out of those encounters. They come from real conversations, real grief, real hope, and real people whose lives have left an imprint on my own.
What are your plans, musically, for next year?
Last year, I had the incredible privilege of working with Phil Keaggy on my single, Heaven Is Full of Criminals. I'm delighted to say that we both enjoyed the experience so much that we've decided to work together again.
I've been in the studio with Phil and several other talented friends, including Nathan Lain and Anthony Mora. We recently finished recording a new song called I Bowed My Head and Closed My Eyes, which was inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan. I'm really excited about how it turned out. The song captures themes that have become increasingly important to me: compassion, mercy, and seeing the people around us through the eyes of Christ.
We don't have an official release date yet, but I'm currently looking ahead and trying to determine the best time to share it with the world.
In addition to new music, I'll be making appearances on a few podcasts and returning to television programs such as CFN Live on the Catholic Faith Network. Even though I'm not Catholic, the folks there have been incredibly gracious and welcoming, and I'm always grateful for opportunities to talk with them about music, faith, and the stories behind the songs.
My goal is to continue releasing new singles throughout the year. I'm also considering the possibility of putting together a full-length collection of the spiritual care-inspired songs I've written and recorded over the years. As a chaplain, many of those songs have emerged from encounters with people facing grief, hope, healing, and life's deepest questions. I think there may be a meaningful thread connecting them, and I'd love to share that journey in a more complete way.
Ultimately, my prayer is simply to keep creating music that serves people well. If these songs can offer hope, encouragement, or a reminder of God's presence in difficult seasons, then I feel like they're accomplishing what they were written to do.
And thank you, as always, for supporting independent artists. In a world filled with endless entertainment options, it means a great deal when someone chooses to spend time with a song, attend a concert, share a recording, or tell a friend about music that has touched them. I'm deeply grateful for everyone who continues to support what I do, and I'm excited to share what's coming next.
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