1968 was a very busy year for John Fahey, aka Blind Thomas, aka Blind Joe Death. He had already recorded and released two albums, his 8th and 9th volumes of solo guitar compositions. In the spring came The Yellow Princess with its new found confidence, delicate reworkings of complicated classical themes, and the noise collage: "The Singing Bridge Of Tennessee", which was followed closely by "The Voice Of The Turtle", a spellbinding collection that reportedly cost 15 cents more to manufacture the robust gatefold sleeve and book than they were charging. Fahey then had an idea. "I was in the back of a record store in July and I saw all these cartons of Bing Crosby's White Christmas albums. The clerk said it always sells out. So I got the idea to do a Christmas album that would sell every year."