Christmas Top-5
Ahh…the holiday season. It’s a time for family togetherness, good times with good friends, presents, tacky lawn decorations, overpriced boxes of sausage and cheese, fruitcakes, and overplayed Christmas carols. Bah humbug.
I like Christmas music just as much as the other jolly fat man but when radio stations play the stuff 24/7 from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day…it brings out the Grinch in me. And not only that—these stations play the same fifteen songs over and over! Can anyone honestly say they enjoy Michael Bolton’s cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, played every hour on the hour? I sure don’t.
So in the spirit of the season, this is my gift to you—a top 5 list of top-notch holiday music to get you out of your Bing Crosby-induced doldrums.
This song, first performed in November of 1934, has been recorded by so many artists that I could reach my 500-word limit by just listing them all. None of those covers count, though. Nobody beats the Boss. This is what Christmas sounds like on
2. Ray Charles – Winter Wonderland
Brother Ray could have sung the phone book and made it soulful. This tune has it all—great keyboard work, funky rhythms, and so much soul your head might just explode…a typical Ray Charles track. Fun fact: Back in the day, traveling evangelists were known as parsons so the mysterious Parson Brown is probably just a generic name the people in the song gave to the snowman they want to officiate their marriage.
3. Merle Haggard – If We Make It Through December
December’s a difficult month for many, Merle Haggard included. You see, he got laid off down at the factory and their timing ain’t the greatest in the world. Heaven knows he’s been working’ hard, and he wanted Christmas to be right for daddy’s girl. This country-downer might have you cryin’ in your beer by the time the jukebox stops playing, but I guarantee you’ll be humming it for days.
4. Louis Jordan and Ella Fitzgerald – Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Okay, this isn’t technically a Christmas song…I just like it, especially when it’s snowing outside.
5. Vince Guaraldi Trio – Christmas Time is Here
If I was picking my top five Christmas albums, the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas would be my #1 pick. I’m a Peanuts fan from way back and I just can’t imagine a holiday season without Snoopy and the gang. “Christmas Time is Here,” my favorite track on the album, is the perfect song for the Christmas Eve drive home from Grandma’s house…soft and a little melancholy, but still fun thanks to the horribly out-of-tune kids singing the vocals.