December 25, 2015
Defunct videos removed.
In keeping with my seven-year tradition of doing nothing useful on Christmas Day, following are some popular 20th-century Christmas songs I can bear:
Nat King Cole sings "The Christmas Song," written by Bob Wells & Mel Torme:
"The Little Drummer Boy," written by Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941 & performed by the Harry Simeone Chorale (1958):
Bing Crosby sings "Do You Hear What I Hear," lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. Regney & Baker, who were then married to each other, "wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis."
So maybe not Christmas music exactly, but from "A Charlie Brown Christmas:
Bob Dylan's version of "Must Be Santa" ended up on my Worst Christmas Songs Ever list for a couple of years. Then I got used to it. Dylan's version sure beats Mitch Miller's original:
Top hillbilly Christmas song: Elvis Presley & Martina McBride sing "Blue Christmas":
My Favorite: The Drifters' "White Christmas"; cartoon by Joshua Held:
Reader Comments (5)
I'm torn between the Drifters and Charlie Brown. And, if one viewing of the Peanuts gang doesn't get you in the dance mood, try this non-stop 10 hour version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOCrBa8peCg
Dylan's "Must Be Santa" is a new side of Bob for me! Fun!
Merry Christmahannukwanzadan to RC'ers one & all!
Nice selection. I got a little depressed looking at the Elvis track - what a shame to compare those days to how he ended.
Charlie Brown Christmas! Maybe it's just my baby boomer sensibilities, but to me it's the most Christmas-y of all Christmas music. We play it at full blast coming out of the outdoor speakers to serenade the whole neighborhood.
Merry Christmas to all - just because you don't celebrate it as a religious holiday (I don't) doesn't mean you can't have a Merry Christmas...
Maybe this one will make it on CW's list next year, An MST3K Christmas.
@Unwashed: Thanks a bunch. That's right up there with Perry Como's "O Holy Night" & Andrea Bocelli's "Ave Maria" (Schubert).
Merry Christmas -- if that's okay.
Marie