Top 10 Christmas Song Performances of All-Time (well, this year anyway)
J. C. Loophole over at The Shelf has invited me to a theme. Actually a meme, but I hate the word “meme.” I’m not fond of “blog” either, but I do like “blogosphere.” Anyway, Loophole liked my “wealth of music knowledge and collection,” and invited me to list my 10 favorite Christmas performances. I always have trouble with these lists because I want to add more than what’s called for. However, I’ll try to keep it down to 10 or 11 and mention some others that won’t fit on the list. (insert smiley face here) I also worry endlessly about what I’m forgetting.
A few that will be on my list next year I’m betting: Ray Charles, I just picked up a Ray Charles The Spirit of Christmas
, but haven’t listened to it yet. And Brian Setzer
, I don’t have this CD yet, but anything Brian Setzer does is excellent. Harry Connick Jr.
, which every time I hear his Christmas album I think “We need to get that,” but just haven’t done it yet.
, but haven’t listened to it yet. And Brian Setzer, I don’t have this CD yet, but anything Brian Setzer does is excellent. Harry Connick Jr., which every time I hear his Christmas album I think “We need to get that,” but just haven’t done it yet.
1. Adam Again – Angels We Have Heard on High. If you like moody, mellow tunes, you’ve got to listen to this. It’s from a CD called The Broken Christmas from Broken Records, 1988. Adam Again is one of the best bands of the 1980s. Check them out. Here’s the MP3, but it’s 8.4 MB. I have no idea why it copied so large, I had it set to the smallest size my ripper will rip an MP3. Angels We Have Heard on High.
2. Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song. “Chestnuts roasting over an open fire…” when sung by the smooth Nat King Cole, it’s the perfect intro into the Christmas season. It’s the first song on the first album I play every year while putting up the tree.
3. Elvis – Santa Claus is Back in Town and Blue Christmas. If you haven’t seen Elvis’ ‘68 Comeback Special
, you are missing out on what made Elvis such a huge presence in American Culture. And here he delivers two great Christmas tunes.
, you are missing out on what made Elvis such a huge presence in American Culture. And here he delivers two great Christmas tunes.
4. Burl Ives – not Rudolph, but Holly Jolly Christmas. Especially while he’s a snowman at the North Pole.
5. Pearl Bailey – Five Pound Box of Money. The mischievous joy in her voice makes this song one of my wife’s all time favorites. Here’s the MP3. Hipsters’ Holiday: Vocal Jazz & R&B Classics
6. U2 – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). U2 can do no wrong. Well, they probably CAN, they just haven’t. This is from the Very Special Christmas album from 1987. Also on this album is Stevie Nicks singing Silent Night, but she leaves out the part about the Christ Child, which is the whole reason for Christmas, so that eliminated her from this list.
7. Chuck Berry – Run, Run Rudolph. This one has been a staple for as long as I can remember.
9. Billy Squier – Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You. Don’t like it? Make your own list. This vid is from when MTV was good. I bet you can google “when MTV was good” and get a zillion hits.
10. Thurl Ravenscroft – You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. A classic.
Now I’m going to tag 5 people with the understanding that if they take up the challenge, they will do the standard meme courtesy and link back to the originator of the meme, The Shelf, and link back to me. Let’s see what Gilligan at Retrospace, Chris at Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches, Keith at Coolness is Timeless, Amy at I Love Retro Things, and Dad at Dads Dish Retro Blog do with this. Anyone else can do it too, just drop a note in the comments.
8 Responses “Top 10 Christmas Song Performances of All-Time (well, this year anyway)”
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[...] Charles, The Spirit of Christmas. Columbia 1985. I mentioned this one in my last post, but I’m not as impressed as I’d hoped. It’s too much 80s [...]
Excellent choices! Christmas in our house is not complete without a whole lot of Elvis!
Richard @ The Bewildered Brit´s last blog ..Buckeyes Candy: Horse Chestnuts and Peanut Butter Fear
Pure awesomeness- some I’ve never heard of before as well- which is what I was hoping for – to find some new favorites.
Also- I have eternal shame for not including Thurl Ravencroft on my list- but then that’s the problem with narrowing it down to an arbitrary number like 10.
JC Loophole´s last blog ..pause for the music: 10 favorite christmas music performances
Done. It was a lot of fun. Check it out here if you get a chance.
http://my-retrospace.blogspot.com/2009/12/10-favorite-christmas-music.html
gilligan´s last blog ..10 Favorite Christmas Music Performances
Okay, I’m off to think about this. I tried not to see what you’ve chosen (or any of the other peeps) so that I can be uninfluenced, but I already see you chose “You’re Mean One (Mr. Grinch).”
chris´s last blog ..The Boulder Motel
“U2 can do no wrong.”
You have obviously not heard their covers of Instant Karma or Fortunate Son.
Phew.
Scott Nehring´s last blog ..Avatar – Something Smells Like Hippies
These are great choices. I love them. Thanks for tagging me. I’ll have to make sure I do this before the holiday season is over. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on my blog. I really appreciate it. Hope you’re having a great weekend. Cheers!
Scott, I have not. And I guess now I don’t plan to.