“It Must Have Been Ol’ Santa Claus,” Harry Connick Jr, 1993
I thought he was great in the Iron Giant, but I’m otherwise not too familiar with Harry Connick Jr’s work (Christmas and otherwise). After listening to this jazzy little number, I need to change that.
These last two years I have made lists of my favorite Christmas songs. Some classic, some modern, some just out there, but all full of Christmas cheer!
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 Its 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
Last Christmas – Wham!
Happy Xmas (War is Over) – John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry
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” 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
Let it snow, Dean Martin
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays, Perry Como
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas, Gayla Peevy
Mannheim Steamroller
Santa Baby, Madonna
The Twelve Days of Christmas, John Denver and The Muppets
I’ll be Home for Christmas, Fats Domino
The Chipmunk Song, The Chipmunks
Sleigh Ride, Leroy Anderson
Carol of the Bells, Mykola Leontovych
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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
I don’t know that I’ll have another 25 this year, I’m shooting for 12, so stay tuned!
Sorry, Grinch!
Even though these songs and groups are associated with the holiday season, they all have NO mention of Christmas whatsoever!
Of course, once Thanksgiving is over, all bets are off!
“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” Elmo and Patsy, 1979
Say what you will about rednecks and drunk relatives and all that, but what I’d like to know is: How did this song get made into a Christmas special?
“Chrissy the Christmas Mouse,” Debbie Reynolds & Donald O’Connor , 1957
There’s something about fictional animals and Christmas. This cheerful tune tells the story of a mouse that “lives in the middle of Santa’s house,” and even alludes to Rudolph, although not by name.
“Give Love on Christmas Day,” The Jackson 5, 1970
Sure, the message is schmaltzy, the song is highly-refined bubblegum pop, but THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT CHRISTMASY, PEOPLE!
“Jingle Bells,” The Singing Dogs, 1955
Today, this tune is dismissed as a kitschy novelty song, but it was actually an experiment from the early days of tape recording. Recording engineer Carl Weisman would routinely have his birdsong recordings ruined by barking dogs, so he spliced the barks together, tweaked their speed and pitch, and made music with them with assistance from record producer Don Charles. This was before the advent of modern editing equipment, so it took some effort.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 1996+
Not to be confused with that other instrumental group associated with the holidays, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was conceived by Paul O’Neill. In his own words: “The whole idea was to create a progressive rock band that would push the boundaries (of the genre) further than any group before… Way, way further.”
For comparison’s sake, here is the “Carol of the Bells” inspired Christmas Eve/Sarajevo. I posted Mannheim Steamroller’s version on Day 13.
“Carol of the Bells,” Mykola Leontovych (composer), 1987 (Claymation Christmas Special version)
A wonderful song with or without lyrics, easily recognizable by its four repeated notes. One of the featured songs from “A Claymation Christmas Celebration,” this short subject never fails to make me laugh.
“The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”, The Chipmunks, 1958
This was the first and most successful single by the fictional fuzzy trio. Ross Bagdasarian (as David Seville) sped up his voice to create brothers Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. It’s interesting to see how the Chipmunks designs have gone from crude to cute to CGI over the decades.
Eduardo Soliz 