Singer Bob Dylan reminisces about Christmas past, turkey dinners and his favorite holiday songs in a rare interview in a magazine for homeless people.
The 68-year-old singer has baffled fans and critics with his new album "Christmas in the Heart" -- a collection of carols and traditional yuletide songs delivered in his croaking voice.
All proceeds will go to charities for the homeless and hungry in the United States, Britain and 80 poor countries.
Asked why he picked those organizations, Dylan told the interviewer: "They get food straight to the people. No military organization, no bureaucracy, no governments to deal with."
Dylan -- born Robert Allen Zimmerman -- said that although Jewish, he never felt left out of Christmas as a boy growing up in Minnesota.
He recalled "plenty of snow, jingle bells, Christmas carolers going from house to house, sleighs in the streets, town bells ringing, nativity plays."
The songs on the Christmas album were "part of my life, just like folk songs," he said.
The release of the Christmas album has only added to the enigma of Dylan and caps an eventful year for him.
He played more than 100 shows in Europe and North America as part of his "Never Ending Tour" and topped the charts in Britain and the United States with his album "Together Through Life."
The Christmas album has also renewed speculation among Bob-watchers about his current faith, if any. He was a Born Again Christian from 1979-81 and released three religious-themed albums. He cryptically told the interviewer: "I am a true believer" but did not elaborate further.
Reuters has contributed to the report.
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