Like a Rolling Drummer Boy

You gotta hand it to Bob Dylan for throwing his fair share of curves to an undyingly loyal fan base. In 1992, the counterculture's poet laureate released a disc of folk ditties including a cover of "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" that had more than a few fans scratching their heads in confused disbelief. Then came the escapade into commercialism when he laid down a soundtrack for that Victoria Secret advertisement, an event that many argued was either self-parody or survivalism. Now comes Dylan's yuletide expedition, Christmas in the Heart, which includes fireside chestnuts like "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Winter Wonderland," and "Must Be Santa."

Will the record sell? Certainly; if we've learned one thing with Dylan over the years, it's that his fans share an unshakable faith, raiding the Dylan bins with incomparable zeal on those holy new-release Tuesdays, buying anything that the maestro attaches his name to. Will he win a Grammy for the album? Probably; Dylan gets nominated for a half-dozen Grammys for everything he records, typically snagging at least one or two. Last year, the man responsible for the American classics "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Blowin' in the Wind" received a Pulitzer Prize for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." Just months after his latest release, Together Through Life, the Christmas album, his 47th, will be released by Columbia Records on Oct. 13, and the rock icon announced Wednesday that all royalties from US sales of the disc will go to Feeding America, the nation's biggest hunger relief charity.

"It's a tragedy that 35 million people in this country alone — 12 million of them children — often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from," Dylan said in a Feeding America press release. "I join the good people of Feeding America in hopes that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need this holiday season."

According to Feeding America, the album's proceeds are expected to provide 4 million meals to 1.4 million hungry Americans this year, with the royalties continuing to go to Feeding America forever after. Moreover, Dylan is partnering with two other hunger-relief charities in the UK and the developing world, and all international royalties will also go to those organizations perpetually.