Christmas Songs

1.

2.

Frank Sinatra “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Frank Sinatra recorded “Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas” three times in 15
years. For the first, which appears on
1948’s Christmas Songs by Frank Sinatra,
Ol’ Blue Eyes covers Judy Garland’s
amended version from the 1944 film Meet
Me in St. Louis; the actress had found
several of the original lyrics too morbid
(“Have yourself a merry little Christmas/It
may be your last”) and so composer Hugh
Martin sweetened up the verses.

3.

The Beatles ‘Christmas Time Is Here Again’
Between 1963 and 1969, the Beatles
treated their fans to a special gift at
Christmas with a record that was
unavailable elsewhere. This six-minute
dose of holiday cheer was originally
recorded in 1967 as a fan-club record but
wasn’t officially released until 1995 as
part of the Anthology project. Released on
the “Free as a Bird” CD single, this version
gets edited down to three minutes but is
still a favored number by fans of the Fab
Four. Chances are, you’ll be humming it
for days. Superimposed near the end of
the song are some spoken word seasonal
greetings that were taped in 1966,
followed by one of John Lennon‘s freeversed poems.

4.

Elvis Presley “Blue Christmas”
“Blue Christmas” was first recorded by
Doye O'Dell in 1948, when Elvis Presley
was 13. O’Dell played it as a straight
country song, providing a blueprint for
Ernest Tubb, who took the song to
number one a year later. Only historians
remember these versions, though,
because Elvis Presley claimed it for good
on his 1957 LP, Elvis’ Christmas Album.

5.

Queen ‘Thank God It’s Christmas’
From: Single (1984)
Christmas songs deserve to be big and
dramatic and who better to deliver that kind of
charisma than Freddie Mercury? Actually, this
number was written by guitarist Brian May and
drummer Roger Taylor, but they had a knack
for writing songs that Mercury could breathe
fresh life into. Never featured on an actual
Queen album, this song can be found on the
band’s Greatest Hits III release and on multiple
holiday compilations.

6.

Jackson 5 “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
Since it debuted on Eddie Cantor’s radio show
in 1934, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” has
been covered by everybody from Perry Como
to Kylie Minogue. It’s a testament to the
Jackson 5’s funkiness and the precocious
charisma of Michael Jackson that their
Motown version is still a gold standard for
anybody born after 1960. Both elements of
their musicality are equally important: The
Jackson brothers freshen the song with a
sophisticated funk arrangement that stands up
to giants of the era like Sly&the Family Stone,
giving it life without ever crossing in dated or
gimmicky showmanship. Still, it’s the sheer
youthful joy of 12-year-old MJ’s irrepressible
vocals that’s made this a true classic and a
guaranteed cure for seasonal blues.

7. Frank Sinatra “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”

“Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It
Snow” or simply “Let It Snow”
This Christmas song was written in
1945 by composer/songwriter Jule
Styne (1905 to 1994) and
lyricist/songwriter Sammy Cahn
(1913 to 1993).
This song was first recorded by
Vaughn Monroe and released in
1946. "Let It Snow" became a huge
hit, so much so that it inspired
other artists to record it. Singers
like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Jessica Simpson and Michael Buble
all covered this song.

8. Wham! “Last Christmas”

In 1984, British pop
duo Wham! released “Last
Christmas,” a song that would be
featured in countless movies and
TV shows for decades to come.
According to Official Charts, the
holiday tune “is the biggestselling song never to get to
Number 1, with 1.8 million copies
sold.”

9. Mariah Carey “All I want for Christmas is you”

Carey's now-classic Christmas
track has received a total of 3.2
million downloads to date,
making it by far the most
downloaded holiday single of all
time. The track is so popular it is
the 11th best-selling single in
the history of music and has
reportedly earned the singer
over $50 million.

10. Darlene Love “Christmas” (Baby please come home)

This song is cursed. It entered the
world in 1963 (as part of ‘A
Christmas Gift for You’) the same
day that President Kennedy left it,
and was withdrawn soon after.
Years later, its producer Phil Spector
was convicted of murder. Still
feeling festive? In typical Spector
style, ‘Christmas’ is the sound of a
huge group of people singing and
playing their hearts out in one take.
Despite the horrific associations, it
radiates fellowship, community and
togetherness and still manages to
shine brighter than the star of
Bethlehem.

11.

Ksenia Artamonova
Daria Zhikhareva