“Step Into Christmas,” Elton John, 1973
This wonderfully self-aware tune (the first line is “Welcome to my Christmas song!”) was written and composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and would go on to reach #1 on Billboard’s Christmas Singles chart.
TRIVIA: “Step into Christmas” was mixed to imitate Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” technique.
Click here to hear all the songs on YouTube!
Every Christmas for the last few years I have posted a list of some of my favorite Christmas songs. Some classic, some modern, some weird, but all full of Christmas cheer!
Click here to listen to all of them on YouTube!
I tried to pick some of the more eclectic songs and different renditions of classics the first time around in 2014:
Please Come Home for Christmas – The Eagles
Winter Wonderland – The Eurythmics
Little St. Nick – The Beach Boys
If It Doesn’t Snow on Christmas – Gene Autry
Baby It’s Cold Outside – Dean Martin
Christmas Vacation – Mavis Staples
What Child is This – Liona Boyd
White Christmas – The Drifters
Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
Santa Claus and His Old Lady – Cheech and Chong
There’s Always Tomorrow – Janice Orenstein
Feliz Navidid – Jose Feliciano
Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town – Bruce Springsteen
Happy Xmas (War is Over) – John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy – David Bowie and Bing Crosby
Someday at Christmas – Stevie Wonder
Merry Christmas Darling – Carpenters
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” – Barenaked Ladies Feat. Sarah McLachlan
We Need a Little Christmas – Percy Faith
Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack – Vince Girauldi Trio
Christmas at Ground Zero – Weird Al Yankovic
2015 featured more standards but there were still plenty of oddballs to be found.
The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole
Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry
Happy Holiday, Andy Williams
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Andy Williams
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Brenda Lee
You’re a Mean One, Mister Grinch, Thurl Ravenscroft
Frosty the Snowman, Willie Nelson
Winter Wonderland, Huey Lewis and the News
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays, Perry Como
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas, Gayla Peevy
The Twelve Days of Christmas, John Denver and The Muppets
I’ll be Home for Christmas, Fats Domino
The Chipmunk Song, The Chipmunks
Carol of the Bells, Mykola Leontovych
Jingle Bells, The Singing Dogs
Give Love on Christmas Day, The Jackson 5
Chrissy the Christmas Mouse, Debbie Reyonlds and Donald O’Connor
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Elmo and Patsy
Christmas Dragnet, Stan Freberg
Things slowed down in 2016 with only ten songs, with some fairly recent ones catching my ear.
It Must Have Been Ol’ Santa Claus, Harry Connick, Jr.
Where Are You, Christmas?, Taylor Momsen
Chiron Beta Prime, Johnathan Coulton
Merry Christmas (Exclamation Point), Jon Lajoie
All I Want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey
Merry Christmas from Cell Block 2, Matthew Ebel
The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack, Danny Elfman, et al
Welcome Christmas, M-G-M Studio Orchestra & Chorus
Snoopy’s Christmas, The Royal Guardsmen
Another ten for 2017:
Dominick The Donkey, Lou Monte
Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home), Darlene Love
All I Want For Christmas Is You, Vince Vance and the Valiants (feat. Lisa Layne)
Here We Come a-Wassailing, Under the Streetlamp
Hard Candy Christmas, Dolly Parton
Up On The Housetop, Gene Autry
Love on Layaway, Gloria Estefan
The Snow Miser Song, Dick Shawn / The Heat Miser Song, George S. Irving
Another ten for 2018:
Marshmallow World, Dean Martin
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Texas Tornados
Santa Got Lost in Texas, Michael Landon
Here Comes Santa Claus, Elvis Presley
Frosty the Snowman, Flaco Jimenez and Freddy Fender
Santa Claus is Coming (in a boogie-woogie choo-choo train), The Tractors
Jingle Bells, The Ray Conniff Singers
When It’s Christmas Time in Texas, George Strait
Sadly, I missed out last year but I’m going to try and knock out ten more for 2020 because God knows we could use some Christmas cheer!
Christmas Eve is finally here, and with it comes family, food and glad tidings from me!
Need some tunes? Listen to “My Favorite Christmas Songs” on YouTube!
Enjoy this year’s Christmas story, “Middlemen” or better yet, read all of them!
Scroll down and ponder over the Santa-verse!
A while back I mulled over the worlds that my short stories take place in and came up with three distinct ‘universes’ or ‘worlds’ that most of them would probably fit into:
Of course, there’s also boring old “Earth Prime,” which is our reality, such as it is. Most of my science-fiction would likely go here, since I try to make those stories at least somewhat plausible.
And then there are my Christmas stories. I thought it would be cool to tie them together, so in “The X-Mas File,” I had a character make a passing reference to what happened in “Christmas Wishes,” my first Christmas story. In 2017, I decided ‘why the heck not, let’s tie EVERYTHING together,’ so “Evidence,” my 2017 Christmas story, takes place at the fictional mega-corporation ‘Gooplezonsoft.’ Indeed, the events from “As Designed,” the first story to feature Gooplezonsoft, are alluded to there.
Thus, in the world of Gooplezonsoft: Santa Claus is real. He also doesn’t live at the North Pole, either, though you’ll have to read The X-Mas File to find out where he’s hiding. 😉
I’m not completely sure what to call that world, though. “Earth-S,” for Santa, perhaps? Either way, it’s a fun place to be and I already have an idea in mind for next year’s Christmas story, after I post a more upbeat one to make up for “Confession,” tomorrow.
Click here to read my short stories!
Click here to read my Christmas stories!
Click here to listen to this episode on Podomatic.com!
You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number 93, “So This is Christmas,” so let the 300 Seconds begin!
I’ve been in a funk this Christmas season; it just hasn’t been the same as in years past. I sold my house a few months ago and in the meantime, I have been rooming in with some friends. It’s been pleasant for the most part, but not having a place of my own means that I’ve missed out on a few Christmas things. Things like putting up and decorating my little Christmas tree after Thanksgiving, stringing up lights on my house. Even the little USB Christmas tree that I usually keep at my work desk sits somewhere in my storage unit, unused. Granted, I don’t even HAVE a desk these days, but that’s a podcast for another time.
What bums me out the most, though, is that for the first time in years, I won’t be making Christmas cookies for my friends. My work schedule right now includes weekends and I can’t squeeze in a full day of baking and another full day of making deliveries into my schedule. Complicating matters is that it’s a temp job, so I don’t have any paid time off. I’ve also been told that the job is ending soon, but I haven’t been given a definite end date, so every new week at work might be my last. Yeah, thanks, guys.
Otherwise, Christmas has gone on as usual: Gifts have been bought, I have another group of favorite Christmas songs to add to my website, and I have already written a Christmas story. Granted, the story wasn’t quite as happy as those in years past, but that seems appropriate. Funny thing: I’ve actually written a second, more optimistic story to make up for the dreariness of the first one. It’ll be up soon.
My mood will likely improve when I go visit my family for Christmas next week. Cookies will be baked and gifts will be delivered, and that’s always fun. Spending a few days with friends and family always lifts my spirits, but until then, I’ll muddle along as best I can.
This has been 300 Seconds, the next episode will be posted after I wrap my Christmas gifts. I am Eduardo Soliz. For more podcasts, short stories, and my blog, visit Eduardo Soliz dot com. Thank you for listening and a very Merry Christmas to you!
When it’s Christmas Time in Texas, George Strait, 1986
Having lived in Texas for all of my life, I can certainly relate to George Strait’s ode to Christmas in the Lone Star State. While y’all are having turkey and ham, we’re firing up the grill.
Crazy thing: I’ve actually experienced a White Christmas once, in 2004 in Corpus Christi, of all places. That’s it for this year’s additions!
Listen to all of the songs here on YouTube!
Jingle Bells, The Ray Conniff Singers, 1959
Ray Conniff was a bandleader and arranger who had a Top 10 hit in 1966 with “Somewhere My Love,” from the movie Doctor Zhivago. He is best known for “The Ray Conniff Singers,” who released three Christmas albums.
The Singers rendition of “Jingle Bells” is notable because it features not only the rarely-heard second verse, but also a third, possibly written by Conniff.
Listen to all of the songs here on YouTube!
Santa Claus is Comin’ (in a Boogie-Woogie choo-choo Train), The Tractors, 1995
My hometown is criss-crossed by two sets of railroad tracks, so I have a slight affinity for the railroad and trains.
The train in the video is the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, which travels across Canada and the northern United States to raise donations for food banks.
Listen to all of the songs on YouTube!
Sleigh Ride, The Ronettes, 1963
With five Top 40 hits, The Ronettes were very popular in the 1960s and were the only girl group to tour with The Beatles. Their version of “Sleigh Ride” is certainly a product of it’s time, and yet, also timeless.
Frosty the Snowman, Flaco Jimenez and Freddy Fender, 1994
The Father of Conjunto Music and Freddy Fender combined to make some great music, including their rendition of Frosty the Snowman.
Listen to all of the songs on YouTube!
