Kelly Clarkson – Underneath The Tree
Evin – Love Song For A Snowman (ORIGINAL VERSION)
Bing Crosby – White Christmas
Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You
Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
As soon as you hear the words “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” you can suddenly feel yourself teleported to a comfy chair in front of a fire place. Nate King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” will forever be synonymous with the Christmas season for every American household. As most people may know, the song was written by a man born of Russian-Jewish descent. In 1944, Mel Torme wrote the Christmas Song with his friend in merely 45 minutes during a heat wave as a way to get their minds off of the heat and “keep cool.” In 1946, Nate King Cole recorded the song on Broadway and 52nd St. at the WMCA studio in New York City. His version was eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1974. From covers by James Brown, The Jackson 5, Christina Aguilara, Rod Stewart and New Kids on the Block, the Christmas song has become the single most remade Christmas tune of all times.
The Carpenters – Sleigh Ride
*NSYNC – I Don’t Wanna Spend One More Christmas Without You
Britney Spears – My Only Wish (This Year)
Frank Sinatra – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Wham – Last Christmas
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Burl Ives – A Holly Jolly Christmas
Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas (1984 Version)
Eartha Kitt – Santa Baby
Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
“Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” *NSYNC
Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock
You hear it in Macy’s, you hear it at Starbucks, and you see it performed in the talent show scene of Mean Girls (please do not ask me how I know that …). Indiana native Bobby Healm recorded Jingle Bell Rock in 1957, right when the American music scene was transitioning from its old country styled rock and roll sound to the rhythm & blues twang of the ’60s rock and roll era … a new sound that came to be known as Rockabilly. Healms’ recording of Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe’s composition was so popular that it repeatedly hit the billboard chart every year that it was re-released during the weeks before Christmas.
Judy Garland – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
“Christmas Time Is Here” – Vince Guaraldi (1965)
Winter Wonderland
Jingle Bells
“Merry Christmas Darling” – The Carpenters (1978)
“Wonderful Christmastime” – Paul McCartney (1979)
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” – Andy Williams (1963)
For most millennials, Andy Williams’ Christmas’ hit is commonly associated with a Staples’ commercial that included a father dancing up and down their isles during the start of the school year. But before that, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was merely an after thought for The Andy Williams Christmas Album, which instead made a push to promote his version of “White Christmas.” However, destiny clearly indicates that Williams and writers Edward Pola and George Wyle’s (who also wrote the theme to Gilligan’s Island) Christmas classic made the greatest impression.
“Feliz Navidad” – Jose Feliciano (1970)
It’s every one’s all time guilty pleasure. “Feliz Navidad” is just one of those most addictive songs that you keep telling yourself to skip to the next track or radio station, but cannot restrain from bopping your head or boastfully convincing yourself that your Espanol is improving. In 1970, Puerto Rican song writer and artist Jose Feliciano wrote and recorded one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs to date. Now the song can be heard during any New York City Christmas grocery shopping trip.
“Little Saint Nick” – The Beach Boys (1963)
“Marshmallow World” – Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (1966)
“Grown-Up Christmas List” – Amy Grant (1992)
“All Alone on Christmas” – Darlene Love (1992)
“This One’s for the Children” – New Kids On the Block (1989)
‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ – Perry Como, The Fontane Sisters
Alvin & The Chipmunks — “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry
You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch – Thurl Ravenscroft
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Michael Buble
Santa Clause Is Coming To Town – Jackson 5
Where Are You Christmas – Faith Hill
Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season – Andy Williams
Carole Of The Bells – John Williams
Do You Hear What I Hear – Whitney Houston
Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
Bruce Springsteen – ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’
Let It Snow – Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra will always find himself on any type of music list. Sinatra’s Christmas album could easily be on this list as one long hit song in-and-of-itself. But if we had to pick one serving from the legend’s Christmas menu, his version of “Let it Snow” deserves the most accolade. In a common theme to most Christmas classics, “Let it Snow” was recorded during the hottest day of July by vocalist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in 1945. With quite possibly the coolest swags in musical history, Sinatra owned the song in his 1950 version with The Swanson Quartet.
The Ronettes — “Frosty the Snowman”
Author
