Professional singer and Hattiesburg native Melinda Pope DeRocker has released a “unique and creative” holiday album, “Christmas Time is Here,” and will appear in Hattiesburg in early December for CD receptions and signings.
DeRocker, who lives in Tarrytown, NY, will appear from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at T-Bones Café for a “Singing and Signing” reception and later that evening in a private home in Hattiesburg.
“Christmas Time is Here” is the second album for DeRocker, the daughter of the late Yvonne and Moran M. Pope Jr. Her father, who was a former Hattiesburg mayor, attorney, and amateur historian, was “present at the creation” of many Hattiesburg institutions.
The Pope family also has a long history with Southern Miss, where DeRocker got her Master’s degree, going back to her grandparents, Florence and Moran M. Pope Sr., who were among the first graduates of Mississippi Normal College.
Her brother, Moran III, (Randy) is the city attorney for Hattiesburg, and he and his wife, Kathy, are also Southern Miss alumni.
DeRocker’s first recording, “’ll Be Seeing You,” a CD of standards from the Great American Songbook, was released in 2013, and the next June, she and her band performed the songs live in Hattiesburg for a sold-out Festival South cabaret event. She recalled that almost immediately after the first CD hit the market, people were encouraging her to produce a Christmas album.
“At the time, I thought, who needs another Christmas album?” she said. “But about a year ago I was inspired to begin work on one. I knew at the start that it would have to be different from all the other Christmas CDs, and thanks to a superb band of world-class New York City instrumentalists. Along with unique and creative arrangements by some of those same musicians, I believe we’ve achieved that goal.”
The album was produced by DeRocker and Paul Kim.
“Christmas Time is Here,” a mix of 14 sacred and secular holiday songs, is available in select Hattiesburg stores, including Randy Price & Co., Blooms, A Garden Shop, T-Bones Café and Lovie’s Gift Shop. It can also be ordered or downloaded directly from Melinda’s website, www.melindaderocker.com/music.
