A follow up to last year’s list of songs that would appear on my list of twelve Christmas songs, i.e. the dozen top Christmas songs that, for one reason or another, are my favorites. Again, this year, a few popped into my head immediately, and generally the list came together pretty quickly this year. Here they are, in no particular order:
- Coventry Carol/Lo, How A Rose ‘Ere Bloometh, Edgar Meyer, from Sounds Of The Season. An absolutely haunting rendition of a haunting carol, c. the 16th century. I first heard this late one night when listening to WHYY 90.9.
- Christmas Bells, John Gorka, from A Winter’s Solstice, Volume 3. OK, I admit I’m a fan of the early Windham Hill records, and the holiday collections A Winter’s Solstice. Volumes 1 and 2 are so inviting, for me the Christmas season is incomplete without listening to them half a dozen times or more. Volume 3 starts to expand the sound of the collections, and includes vocals for the first time. I’d bought this CD long before I really knew about John Gorka and grew to love his music and voice, but I’ve always loved this song.
- Prelude/Carol Of The Bells, George Winston, from December. Again, this early Windham Hill classic never fails to transport me to some very happy memories of the Christmas season.
- Preiset Dem König! (Praise the King)/Emmanuel/Little Town/Christmas Hymn, Amy Grant, from A Christmas Album. OK, so not really one song, but these 4 string together so nicely on Amy Grant’s first Christmas album. I was not much a fan of Amy Grant when Edith introduced me to this album one day at work. I have to admit; I loved it immediately, and usually play it each year when the tree is being decorated. This album reminds me of how Edith is such a little kid at Christmas, and how she gets so excited, that I can’t help but loving her more when it is playing!
- Il Est Né/Ca Berger, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and The Chieftains, from The Bells of Dublin. A nice mix of a French carol sung to Irish instrumentation.
- On Grafton Street, Nanci Griffith, from The Flyer. Not really a Christmas song, per se, but Christmas themed. A sweet remembrance of Grafton Street in Dublin, Ireland:
It’s funny how my world goes ’round without you,
Oh, you’re the one thing I never thought I could live without
I just found this smile to think about you,
You’re a Saturday night, far from the madding crowd. - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Darlene Love, from A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector. What is Christmas without the wall of sound?
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Cadillacs, from For Collectors Only. I just love the doo-wop vocal stylings of this recording, and I can’t help singing it this way myself.
- Christmas Night in Harlem, Louis Armstrong, from What A Wonderful Christmas. A toss up here, as I could have gone with Christmastime in New Orleans, but I like the big band horns of this just a hair better.
- Christmas Is Coming, Vince Guaraldi, from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Tough choice here, as I could have gone with Skating as well. Fond memories of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas in the late 60’s on my family’s living room floor in North Philadelphia.
- Green Christmas, Stan Freberg, from Green Christmas. Not really a song, but a satirical look at the commercialism and merchandising of Christmas, recorded over 50 years ago in 1958. Even more relevant today, it is a gentle reminder of “who’s birthday we’re celebrating.”
- Medley: Happy Xmas (War Is over)/Give Peace a Chance (Reprise), John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band, from Shaved Fish. Sure, it’s been over-recorded and over-played for decades now, but this is just a beautiful Christmas song. I must have heard this song a million times on the night of December 8, 1980 alone, and cried every time. December 1980 now seems like so long ago…
There are many more songs that could appear on this list, and by no means do I attest that these are the best Christmas songs of all time, but if I had to listen to only these 12 Christmas songs, I’d be more than happy for a very long time.