Music Blog

December’s Here!

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

This week at Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag,
he’s asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month. 
Here’s my December artist and their song.

© Selective Cloud

Here we are in the final month of Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag for 2025. I’m excited to see what he has up his sleeve for next year. Here is my group and their song for the first week of December.

Collective Soul is an American rock band formed in Georgia in the early 1990s, known for their hits like “Shine”, “The World I Know” and “December”. The band, led by principal songwriter and vocalist Ed Roland, initially gained success through their independent 1993 debut album, Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid. The single, “Shine”, became a major hit, leading to a platinum-selling album and a spot at Woodstock 1994. Their 1995 self-titled album was even more successful, spawning five #1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, including my pick for this week, “December”. Despite their success, the band faced criticism, being labeled “bubblegum grunge” and fighting off assumptions they were a Christian band due to some of their lyrics. The band endured significant financial and professional challenges, including a lawsuit from their former manager that forced them to record their third album on a farm due to financial constraints. Collective Soul was inducted into The Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2009, and Ed Roland was inducted as a songwriter in 2014. The band continues to tour and release new music, maintaining a loyal fanbase. 

“December” is a song about the band’s feelings of exploitation and frustration with their first manager, following their initial success. The songs melancholic and powerful sound was recorded for their self-titled album, and became one of the bands, most enduring hits, solidifying their place in the alternative rock scene. Songwriter Ed Roland stated that he felt ”used, criticized, and whatever I did was not good enough, ever”. “December” was the group’s first “proper” debut as the band was unhappy with the release of their previous demo-based album. This song was a major success, reaching the top of the charts, and helping to make the Collective Soul album their highest selling record to date. It confirmed that the band had staying power beyond their debut hit “Shine” and became one of their most popular songs to perform live.

This is “December” by Collective Soul

A Mixed Bag 2025 – Night, night the Cure

Big thanks to Glyn Wilton for hosting Mixed Music Bag each week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today for a look and a listen.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy Richy and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

28 thoughts on “December’s Here!”

  2. I remember liking this band when my buddies didn’t. So, I thought it was safe, my daughter discovered my album and suddenly it disappeared. She still denies it to this day. Thanks for the memory, Nancy. Good choice.

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