Like us, the rich and famous love rich and timeless holiday tunes

Sure, they thumb through the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog for things they might actually purchase. And they buy them with black American Express cards.

But when they’re wrapping or unwrapping those presents, some local music notables say, they’re listening to some of the same holiday sounds that their 9-to-5 fans do. Here’s a sampling:

“Of course we have all of the Motown Christmas tunes playing at the house. When I hear that [affects deep voice] ‘Merry Christmas from The Temptations,’ the season is official. Love that song [‘Silent Night’]. My falsetto ain’t as good as dude’s —- and I’m a little jealous —- but I gotta love it.”

—- Atlanta R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo

“I remember when I was little, hearing “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway. That was like the official song, like ‘This Christmas’ is on —- turn on the tape recorder!’… But this Christmas season I’m playing Yo-Yo Ma & Friends’ [‘Songs of Joy & Peace’] because James Taylor is on it. I buy everything James Taylor. And of course I’m loving that CD!”

—- Atlanta R&B singer-songwriter India Arie

“I like to listen to all different types of music during Christmas: The new stuff. A little rock here and there. The crackle in that record Nat King Cole made [‘The Christmas Song’]. I try not to be boxed in too much. I mean right now I’m listening to 104.7 [FM The Fish], 24 hours. That’s my station because they’re playing Christmas music all day long. Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole and all of that. What I remember being a very big deal when I was growing up was ‘Rocking Around The Christmas Tree.’ And when I was a teenager, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ was a huge song. These days my family likes to sing the carols too. Ahhh, the carols!”

—- Mark Hall of McDonough Christian rock group Casting Crowns (whose “Peace On Earth” CD is the No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top Christian & Gospel chart )

“We listen to Motown, Jackson 5’s ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and all of that good stuff. Old-school classics. But what I hear when I think of ‘the sounds of the holiday’ is the conversation of friends and family. Like last year was my biggest Christmas ever. We got together at my mom’s, at the house I bought her. And just hearing their loud mouths talking, eating —- especially my auntie, who always has a little too much eggnog. That’s what the holidays sound like at my house. Loud folk —- with little Michael Jackson in the background.”

—- Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy

“Now that I have children of my own, I find myself repeating the same traditions that I celebrated in my own home growing up as a child. Each year, my husband, kids and I look forward to turning on the radio on Thanksgiving afternoon and hearing the classic sounds of Christmas to get us in the spirit of the season as we drive from the house of one relative to another.

“When we’re back home from our Thanksgiving outings and begin to decorate our own house, the first thing is to load CDs and play the sounds of the season through the house. Then, we climb up into our own attic, drag down the tree and countless boxes of lights and ornaments to the sound of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing ‘Christmas Don’t Be Late.’ And we all have to sing along when Theodore sings, ‘Me, I want a hula hoop!’

“The staples that generally make it into our rotation are ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ ‘Christmas With The Chipmunks 1 & 2,’ and ‘Christmas with the Boston Pops Orchestra.’ “

—- Suwanee Christian singer Joy Waters Fowler (who has an independent Christmas CD titled “Joy”)

“I’ve been wearing out my Vince Guaraldi ‘[A] Charlie Brown Christmas.’ I’m a big Vince Guaraldi fan. A sucker for the classics. The old Bing Crosby. Nat King Cole. Real classic Christmas stuff. I’ve also kind of fallen for the bad, cheesy, Christmas music. Wait —- I shouldn’t say ‘bad.’ Less classic. More contemporary. Like that ‘haaang aaall the mistletoe’ song [‘This Christmas’]. I know several different artists have done it, several different ways. And I don’t know which one is best. But it’s one of my favorites in that contemporary category.”

—- Tim Deaux, bassist/keyboardist for Athens rock trio The Whigs

“Coming up, when Christmas and the whole holiday thing were a lot more important to me, groups like Commissioned, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Fred Hammond, Kim Burrell —- I just listened to a lot of gospel… . I was brought up in the church, so around holiday time I think back to my aunt and family, and that’s what I hear.”

—- Atlanta producer Shondrae “Bangladesh” Crawford

“[Our] favorite holiday song is ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ We love the words about hope and joy. It’s the kind of emotion [we] try to capture in our own holiday songs.”

—- Atlanta pop family band Laughing Pizza, who have a CD titled “Holidays —- Songs for the Whole Year!”

“[B]98.5 [FM] all day long —- that’s what I’m playing for me, my three sons, the whole family. Because they play all different types of Christmas songs —- from Mariah Carey ‘All I Want For Christmas’ to Frank Sinatra. It gets me in the Christmas spirit. And you see, I grew up on gospel. My mom is an evangelist. So I couldn’t listen to secular music of any kind for a long time. This is a treat for me!”

—- Atlanta R&B singer Slim

“Growing up we didn’t really have a lot of Christmas albums, we just did a lot caroling. My whole family sings… . Now, right now, I have Tommy Dean and the League of Decency’s Christmas album [‘Swingin’ Christmas’] in the six-CD changer. Mahalia [Jackson]. Of course Babyface. And Nat King Cole.”

—- Atlanta blues singer Francine Reed (who is particularly proud that her “Here Comes Frani Claus” disc is in rotation at Walgreen’s stores around the country)