Orleans, formed in Woodstock, New York in the early Seventies, found success in the middle part of the decade with “Dance with Me” and “Still the One.” Founding member John Hall left in the late Seventies, scoring a Rock Radio hit with “Crazy (Keep on Falling)“ with his John Hall Band in 1981, while the rest of Orleans hit with “Love Takes Time” in 1979.

Hall became a US Representative for New York’s 19th Congressional District from 2007 to 2011. He documented all of this in Still the One: a Rock n’ Roll Journey to Congress and Back.

Now, Hall and his band mates in Orleans have put together their first-ever holiday album, called New Star Shining, which even features former lead vocalist Larry Hoppen on a couple of tracks.

We chat with John Hall about piecing the album together over email while COVID was raging, and the origins of the songs, some of which date back over 20 years. He also talks about the story behind “Half Moon,” a song he and his ex-wife, Johanna wrote for Janis Joplin.