This is an impossible list. There are over a dozen
Christmas songs that could lay legitimate claim to the number 1 spot. But this ain't the Kooz Top 12, so here's our five favorites. Please add your faves in the comments!
5:
Jingle Bells (Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters) - A lot of people like the Gene Autry version, but I defer to Bing , this time teaming up with the Andrews Sisters to bring a slight twist to the classic without changing the spirit of the song. This is one of the most fun songs for the holiday season, and there's a reason why it's one of the first little kids learn to sing--it's a song about sledding!
4:
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (Perry Como) - This paints the perfect picture of Christmas for me--the toys, the family, the maniacal laughter...
3:
I'll Be Home For Christmas (Bing Crosby) - Bing sings about all the things he's looking forward to while home for Christmas, only to reveal that he'll only be home in his dreams. There is a sadness here that most Christmas music lacks, yet there's a sweetness underlying the sadness. This reminds me of all my beloved family and friends with whom I'll never share another Christmas. It's bittersweet.
2:
White Christmas (Bing Crosby) - Bing isn't in the number 1 spot, but there's nobody better than Bing for Christmas music. Nobody. Take that, Elvis. Bing's gentle deep voice lends this song an ethereal quality and takes me back to a time (which I'm fairly certain never happened) when, as a child, this song came on the 8-Track player as snow was falling gently outside on a nice Christmas Eve while I was cozying up to my mom's hot chocolate. What a nice memory. Apocryphal, sure; but still nice.
1:
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (Nat King Cole) - Nat King Cole's smooth, smooth voice melts into this perfect Christmas song. Personally, chestnuts were always a special treat for me when my mom and dad took me to NYC around Christmas when I was a kid, and this year I had the pleasure of taking my (2 year old) son and his friend--his reaction to the chestnut: "Eh, it's okay." Whatever, Nat King Cole still rules.
So Bing is way over-represented. I know. I kept trying to squeeze Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como, Gene Autry, and Frank Sinatra in there, but I couldn't in good conscience choose any of their (admittedly amazing) records over any of the 5 above. So add some of your favorites in the comments below, and
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Personally, I'd have put Little Drummer Boy by the Smoking Popes on there, but then, I LOVE the Smoking Popes, and that particular version...I just have to move to it because its soooo good.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, but there are soooo many good ones to choose from. Everyone is going to have different choices...
ReplyDeleteVery true. Its always a matter of opinion, music. But its always good to have a list of the 'timeless classics' as it were.
ReplyDeleteYeah, honestly, I see this list as a starting point, if anything.
ReplyDeleteI can see Johnny Mathis' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" slipping in there easily over "Jingle Bells." "Jingle Bells" as a song may merit some consideration, but - in my humble opinion - there really isn't an iconic, definitive recorded version... So it's out.
ReplyDeleteNext year, the Kooz Top 5 has to do the best modern (let's say post-1969) or best rock/pop Christmas songs. Start whittling your list now.
We've been working on one for the last two Christmas seasons. It's really tough!
ReplyDelete