Your favorite Christmas tunes...

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Li'l38:
So, I'm asking my fellow SBers to tell me your favs.

I get busy this time of year - playing 3 or 5 nights a week. Parties, services, events, etc... so I have some opinions on this subject.

O Holy Night - its quite simply the finest Christmas song yet written. Its from (I believe) 1847 or 1848 - and like lots of these kinds of tunes, was probably a bar song that got adapted. I prefer it in a laid back 3, traditional arrangement. Playing this song in 3 is often risky, as it gets all sing-songy and turns into some silly waltz, complete with elbows flailing and heads bobbing. Far too undignified for such a song as this. An arrangement in 4 is great, but most singers can't get away from all the bad swingy 3's they've heard this song mangled into, so a laid back 3 is best. This song is from a different time when Christmas songs were serious fare. Its one of the first recorded pieces of music ever, with Enrico Caruso's classic performance that laid the foundation for the next 70 or 80 years to follow. I'm a huge fan of this tune. I have no less than 50 or 60 versions of it, I have wrapping paper, ornaments, sheet music from all eras (1900's, 20's, 30's, etc.) and other OHN stuff. It is the granddaddy of all Christmas tunes. Its quite venerable and is in no pearl of being knocked off by the likes of John Lennon or Bruce Springsteen or Mariah Carey.

What Child is this - the little known, seldom played Roberta Flack version. Piano and her. Unreal. She "Flacks it" as only she can - all minor-y with jazz changes and stalls and very silky vocals. The tag is quite unexpected (unless you kow her) and it just wraps the thing up so wonderfully. I never fail to chill when I listen to this arrangement of this tune. This is one of those songs that gets murdered by most artists. I highly recommend locating her version - its worth the search and will change the way you think about this tune.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - I'm doing a set this weekend where we're playing this stuff. Always fun. Its like a faded photograph, this record. Its a musical snapshot from another era and time that will never be repeated. Anyone over 40 holds this stuff in a special dusty place in their heart.

O Come All Ye Faithful (Take 6) - Until you've heard the Take 6 version of this tune, you've not heard what angels sing at this time of year. Quite simply, its breath taking. Some songs (or arrangements of songs, better) are not only good, but important. This is one of those. I well up even now as I write this - this song is responsible for changing the way I think about more than just Christmas.

OK - I'm back now. Woof.

I must have 200 or more Christmas CD's. All genres and styles. The reggae stuff is silly fun. The vocal stuff is excellent (not the mass chioir stuff, the ensemble stuff.) The classical guitar stuff is always great (well, most always great...) 99% of all the pop stuff sucks. I mean really sucks. There is no shortage yesteryear's "classic rock" acts and tomorrow's 99 cent bin pop artists contributing to the land fill of bad Christmas music that's out there these days. And no shortage of radio stations hawking this sad swill. From the pretentious Starbucks collection yawnfest stuff to the former Stadium rockers meet Billy Mack nonesense, most of it is just bad and bad some more.

The thing is, its such a cheezed out time of year. You have to sift through the crapola that gets thicker every friggen year to get to the good stuff. But its there. The good stuff is there.

I love Christmas.

---
Ken
 
What, unless I missed it, nobody mentioned JINGLE BELL ROCK.
Has to be my all time favorite Xmas song.
 
Ken, what do you play? I'm an aspiring pianist. (at the age of 36, but what the hell, right?) I play lots of ragtime, and have a book of ragtime Christmas carols. "Jolly Ol' Saint Nicholas," and "O Christmas Tree," are fantastic as ragged arrangements. Other than that, I play lots of Joplin, jazz, and blues... :) I'm also hooked on Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas stuff...

Oh yeah: Chuck Berry's, "Run Run Rudolph." (Love that song...) :)
 
Fish_Whisperer:
Ken, what do you play? I'm an aspiring pianist. (at the age of 36, but what the hell, right?) I play lots of ragtime, and have a book of ragtime Christmas carols. "Jolly Ol' Saint Nicholas," and "O Christmas Tree," are fantastic as ragged arrangements. Other than that, I play lots of Joplin, jazz, and blues... :) I'm also hooked on Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas stuff...

Oh yeah: Chuck Berry's, "Run Run Rudolph." (Love that song...) :)

We're playing Sunday on the Santa Monica Pier in the Carousel House. Its gonna be a blast - doing some jazz and swing and funk standards (Cantaloupe Island, Bossa Blues, Autumn Leaves, etc.) with some CBrown Christmas stuff. Its gonna be fun.

Of course, its about a thousand light years from the stuff I usually play. I'm more of a Dream Theater / Genesis / Liquid Tension / Niacin hard edge Prog playah. But its fun to go out and murder some jazz once in awhile.

So long as nobody I know is there... :14:

---
Ken
 
he's a drummer.

my fave is 'christmas rapping' by the waitresses. then again, i just like the waitresses.

one i haven't heard in years & would love to hear again is '12 pains of christmas' which could have been a production of the radio station, i dunno.
 
My favorite Christmas song is "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" by Nat King Cole.

I like all of the oldies, and most of the new ones. There are some that I only want to hear once.

I also like "O Holy Night". I've done that solo at Church once with about 10 minutes notice. The soloist came down with larangitis and Donna, said "Dennis can sing a solo". She didn't know it was one of the most difficult solos you can sing. I did ok, and now I can tell the story where Donna volunteered me to sing "O Holy Night" as a solo.
 
Wow, fabulous post Ken! You're right about the Charlie Brown tunes. I'll have to see if I can find Roberta Flack's What Child Is This? And the rest you suggested.

I heard Vince Gills version of O Holy Night today. He's pretty awesome! I think the one most often played is by John Berry. When someone really nails it, it can be tough to make the bar. Vince Gill makes it seem easy. I'm told the Christmas concerts he does with his wife, Amy Grant are outstanding. Maybe next year...

A few more I wanted to mention here...

Paper Angels- Billy Dean
Where Are You Christmas?- Faith Hill (from the remake of the Grinch, starring Jim Carey)
Only 364 More Days To Go- Brad Paisley
Milk & Cookies- Clint Black
Hard Candy Christmas- Dolly Parton
Christmastime Down South- Charlie Daniels Band
It Won't Be Christmas Without You- Brookes & Dunn



Mo2vation:
I love Christmas.
---
Ken
....and it shows....I love it too, thank you for the great information!
 
Well, the Vince Gill version is great. I think I also remember a Bela Fleck instrumental (banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro) that is sweet. Cant remember which song.

I also Remember Gary Morris doing a Christmas song that was really great. In fact I think he had a Christmas Album that had a lot of great songs.

HossIwantedforchristmaswasanewfrontteeth
 
...but I love Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song" -- it is hilarious! :laughing:
 
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