More than any other holiday, Christmas goes hand-in-hand with music.
The LP (as in long-playing) 33 1/3 RPM vinyl phonograph record first became commercially available in 1948, replacing the 78 RPM shellac disc and thereby enabling far more minutes of music per side. Shortly thereafter, popular artists began releasing Christmas albums containing 45 minutes or so of songs. In no particular order, here are just a few of the many timeless releases that have delighted our ears to the present day--
In the wake of 09/11/2001, a radio station or two in many cities started switching over to all-Christmas music right after Thanksgiving. The public heartily welcomed the familiar and soothing sounds, and the format caught on. Then satellite radio followed suit, offering multiple yuletide channels to suit every taste-- traditional, country, jazz, modern, you name it. However, like seemingly just about everything else in this world, radio Christmas music eventually turned to crap... the stations either narrowed their playlists to only a small handful of over-played chestnuts, or the old favorites were replaced by new versions characterized by auto-tuned shrieking in lieu of the talented and well-trained musicianship of yore.
And so this season, your Grumpy Old Mansplainer was finally fed up and got to work.
From the albums shown above and many others AND the plethora of notable one-off singles from various artists, my bride Andrea & I compiled for you, Dear Readers, an eclectic list of Christmas music from the last eight decades or so and from multiple genres... a collection of great songs that you will never, EVER hear played on any one station. This list does not purport to be all-inclusive, nor is it intended to be anything other than a wide variety of Christmas songs that I'm personally always happy to hear while hauling 20 tons of comestibles into Boston every night. If you want, go ahead and call this playlist...
A GRUMPY OLD MANSPLAINER CHRISTMAS
Before getting to the actual playlist, I first share here a few related thoughts...
The Grinch who Stole Christmas has nothing on Mariah Carey.
(See the first song on the list.)
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is, to me, the musical equivalent of fried ice cream at the county fair-- just because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Then again, their over-the-top, ultra-cacophonous carols likely reach a heretofore under-served audience.
The Beatles never released any Christmas music... other than fan-club-only throwaway ditties like THIS. After they split up, however, ex-co-helmsmen John Lennon and Paul McCartney both released hugely popular yuletide singles that are widely played to the present day. (See HERE and HERE.) Fab Four aficionados would likely concur that one cut is a timeless epic while the other is unbearably trite... and yet they might well split 50-50 about which is which.
Of the multitude of Christmas movies out there-- some worth watching every year, many downright horrible-- HERE is the music-related scene I find the most touching... the "Christmas Truce" from JOYEAUX NÖEL. (I'm not crying, you are.)
Furthermore-- in compiling this list I constrained myself to some arbitrary rules:
--A maximum of two songs per artist;
--Only one version of any song, except when both an instrumental and vocal version merit inclusion;
--Actual Christmas songs only. "Pachelbel's Canon in D," "Greensleeves," and "My Favorite Things" are not Christmas songs. Nor are New Year's Eve songs Christmas songs. That being said, we include some songs-- like "Let it Snow," and "Frosty the Snowman"-- that don't specifically reference the Yuletide but nonetheless sufficiently conjure the "white" in "White Christmas" to merit inclusion.
And so here we go, in song title alphabetical order:
Vince Vance & the Valiants All I Want for Christmas is You
Darlene Love Baby Please Come Home
Sia Candy Cane Lane
George Winston Carol of the Bells (instrumental)
Robert Goulet/Carol Lawrence Carol of the Bells (vocal)
Alabama Christmas in Dixie
Nat King Cole The Christmas Song
Mavis Staples/Lindsey Buckingham Christmas Vacation
Amy Grant & Marc Martel The Christmas Waltz
Whitney Houston Do You Hear What I Hear?
Andy Williams The First Nöel
Gene Autry Frosty, the Snowman
Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLachlan God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
Andy Williams Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season
Nat King Cole Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Judy Garland Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Wilson Phillips Hey, Santa!
Natalie Cole The Holly & The Ivy
Greg Lake I Believe in Father Christmas
Johnny Cash I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
The Jackson 5 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Barbra Streisand I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Johnny Mathis It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas
Frank Sinatra Jingle Bells
Ray Smith Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Wham! Last Christmas
Dean Martin Let it Snow
Bing Crosby/David Bowie Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth
Dean Martin Marshmallow World
Kenny Rogers/Wynona Judd Mary, Did You Know?
Elvis Presley Merry Christmas, Baby
Salsoul Orchestra Merry Christmas All
Carpenters Merry Christmas, Darling
Frank Sinatra Mistletoe & Holly
Johnny Mathis The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
Josh Groban/ Mormon Tabernacle Choir O, Come, All Ye Faithful
Dusty Springfield O Holy Child
Celine Dion O, Holy Night
Dolly Parton O, Little Town of Bethlehem
Roy Orbison Pretty Paper
Gene Autry Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Chuck Berry Run Rudolph Run
Beach Boys Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Andre Rieu Silent Night (instrumental, mostly)
Elvis Presley Silent Night (vocal)
Diana Ross & the Supremes Silver Bells
The Boston Pops Orchestra Sleigh Ride (instrumental)
Carpenters Sleigh Ride (vocal)
Stevie Wonder Someday at Christmas
Elton John Step into Christmas
Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme That Holiday Feeling
Robert Goulet There’s No Place like Home For the Holidays
The Who Village Choir Trim Up the Tree
Kelly Clarkson Underneath the Tree
Angela Lansbury We Need a Little Christmas
Dolly Parton We Three Kings
Faith Hill Where Are You, Christmas?
Bing Crosby White Christmas
Eurythmics Winter Wonderland
62 songs and counting... feel free to add links to more songs in the comment section.
NOTES:
The “Christmas Truce” depicted in JOYEAUX NÖEL really happened, though not exactly as in the movie.
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