Top 100 Christmas Songs
...and counting
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Darlene Love (Philles, 1963)
The only original song on A Christmas Gift For You, producer Phil Spector's magnum opus, Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is an amazing performance that actually outstrips Spector's amazing studio craft. "They're singing 'Deck The Halls', but it's not like Christmas at all," Love laments during the bridge, saving herself for the searing, explosive crescendo that never fails to raise goose bumps. Very nearly hollering Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich's hormonally-charged lyrics, she pleads, "Please, please, please! Baby, please come home!" We feel every single ounce of her desire, and it's a riveting, indelible experience.
Almost every track on A Christmas Gift For You is essential listening, and two more can be found on my Top 100 Songs. But, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a towering achievement that stands above them all - right up there with other Spector masterpieces like "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Be My Baby," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," and "River Deep, Mountain High." [back to list] [learn more]
- White Christmas, The Drifters (Atlantic, 1954)
Like many songs on my Top 100 list - but more so - the Drifters' interpretation of Bing Crosby's 1942 Christmas classic, "White Christmas" (written by Irving Berlin) transcends the genre. This record (available on Rhino's Doo Wop Christmas) is timeless, serving as a shining example of doo wop singing regardless of the season; further, a case can be made that "White Christmas" is the first rock 'n' roll record ever. The Drifters' amicable, ambling arrangement mimics an earlier recording by the Ravens, and bassist Bill Pinkney begins the song with his best imitation of Der Bingle. But, when tenor Clyde McPhatter makes his startling entrance (singing essentially the same notes as Pinkney), we are treated to a mesmerizing moment of utter originality. It's a legendary, unmatched performance; Elvis Presley's 1957 attempt to duplicate McPhatter's lines sounds positively emasculated in comparison - and that's saying something! [back to list] [learn more] - Back Door Santa, Clarence Carter (Atlantic, 1968)
Mixing the sacred and profane has long been a tradition in Black music, and salacious Christmas records extend as far back as the late 1930s, when Ben Light & His Surf Club Boys thrust their "Christmas Balls" into public view. The double entendre reached its pinnacle, though, when Clarence Carter committed "Back Door Santa" to vinyl, first as a 45, then on the superb Atco LP, Soul Christmas. Dirty jokes and leering asides are scattered throughout, but the lyrical ringer (notwithstanding the anally-fixated title) has to be Carter's assertion that, "I ain't like old St. Nick, he don't come but once a year." Carter plays the role of sexy Santa, bringing his presents to "all the little girls" whose boys aren't taking care of bizness at home. Clarence judiciously leaves the back door open for quick getaways, because "wouldn't ol' Santa be in trouble if there ain't no chimney in the house?" Not incidentally, the record is a sizzling slab of southern soul. Unforgettable! [back to list] [learn more] - Run Rudolph Run, Chuck Berry (Chess, 1958)
I can think of nothing to say about "Run Rudolph Run" that could be more complimentary than that it sounds like Chuck Berry's other records - driving guitar rock accompanying droll, clever lyrics. Nearly middle-aged at the time, Berry spoke intelligently to teenagers in their own language, and he transformed the quaint story of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer into a thrilling, space-age tale. Berry wrote the song himself but, to his eternal chagrin, he had to turn the copyright over to Johnny Marks, the guy who wrote the original "Rudolph." And, it wasn't a huge hit at the time, peaking at #69 on Billboard's pop chart. 100 Regardless, "Run Rudolph Run" went on to become one of rock's first Christmas standards, and it has been covered innumerable times, including by Chuck Berry acolytes like Keith Richards and Dave Edmunds. It can be found along with its b-side (a smoldering version of Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby") on both the MCA compilation, Rockin' Little Christmas - one of my Top 20 Albums, by the way - and Berry's own Chess Box. [back to list] [learn more] - Santa Claus Is Back In Town, Elvis Presley (RCA, 1957)
The controversy that swirled around Elvis during his halcyon "Pelvis" days was largely trumped up, racist crap. Elvis (and rock 'n' roll in general) mixed black and white together in heretofore forbidden ways, which made the sexual frenzy he stirred in young girls more a threat to the segregationist status quo than to the morality of teenaged America. "Santa Claus Is Back In Town," however, was one instance where all the King's critics were dead right. Elvis's performance is pure sex - bumping, grinding, sweaty, sinful sex - dropped right into the middle of the holiest of days.
Written expressly for Elvis by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" comes across as an inside joke, a virtual burlesque of the blues they (and Elvis) loved. That doesn't mean the record doesn't smoke; it is, in fact, one of Elvis' most fiery blues, and it reveals his ability to take silly or mundane material and turn it into solid gold (a talent that would serve him well throughout the sixties). Most of the sexual energy is in Elvis' growling, libidinous vocals and the striptease frenzy of his band (especially drummer D.J. Fontana). The ringer, however, arrives near the song's conclusion with this unabashed couplet: "Hang up your pretty stockings and put out the light, Santa Claus is coming down your chimney tonight!"
"Santa Claus Is Back In Town" was originally released on the wonderful 1957 LP, Elvis Christmas Album, that also includes the delightful "Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me" and the popular "Blue Christmas." It has been included on several fine Elvis Christmas compilations starting with If Every Day Was Like Christmas (1994). [back to list] [learn more]
- Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Temptations (Motown, 1968)
Among the crown jewels at Motown Records, the Temptations were second only to the Supremes, and their 1970 LP, Christmas Card, is the merriest, mellowest of them all. Gene Autry introduced Johnny Marks' timeless tale, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," nearly twenty years before the mighty Temptations transformed it into a lush soul ballad - and the standout track on a standout album. For me, this masterful arrangement - probably by Motown house producers Barrett Strong and Clay McMurray - has become the definitive version. The Temptation's voices (led by tenor Dennis Edwards) swirl and blend in sensuous ways that have little to do with the shiny proboscis of a flying rangifer tarandus. Improbably, the Temptation's "Rudolph" becomes a romantic record, a seductive slow-dance that lends itself to reindeer games of an entirely different sort. The song was released first as a single in 1968, then included on Christmas Card, and finally compiled on the essential Motown Christmas in 1973. [back to list] [learn more] - Happy Xmas (War Is Over), John Lennon & Yoko Ono (Apple,
1971)
Über-producer Phil Spector (read more) developed a cozy relationship with the Beatles, and after salvaging the band's final work as Let It Be, he worked with both George Harrison and John Lennon on their initial solo records. Spector was subsequently at the helm when rock's most controversial couple - Lennon and his wife, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono - waxed their resplendent "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." Given the volatile political environment and the couple's provocative recent work, including Lennon's brilliant and scathing 1971 LP, Imagine, "Happy Xmas" (note the missing "Christ") was a salve for both the record buying public and a war-weary world.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was released only as a single - some on green vinyl - backed with Yoko's lovely, underappreciated "Listen, The Snow Is Falling," and it reached #3 in America and #4 in the UK. Despite that, perhaps due to the controversial nature of the artists and their message, it was rarely included on Christmas collections for a long time. Thankfully, it's become more widely accepted in the years after Lennon's tragic 1980 shooting death. The song is, however, available on most Lennon greatest hits packages, including Lennon Legend (1998), Working Class Hero (2005), and his massive Signature Box (2010). It is also captured on Vigotone's fab Beatles boot, Ultimate Christmas Collection (1998), but good luck finding one of those. [back to list] [learn more]
- Merry Christmas Baby, Charles Brown (Aladdin, 1956)
One of just a few artists earning more than one slot on my Top 100, Charles Brown is one of the greatest figures in the history of modern Christmas music. He first recorded "Merry Christmas Baby" with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers for Swing Time Records in 1947 (later subsumed by Hollywood Records). The song became a huge hit, reaching #3 on Billboard's R&B chart, then charting frequently for decades. But, Charles Brown would return to the well about a dozen times over the years, starting in 1956 with what I think is the definitive version of "Merry Christmas Baby," waxed in New Orleans for West Coast label Aladdin. It was also a hit but, oddly, only when reissued by Imperial, reaching #4 in 1964 and #10 in 1965 on the Christmas chart.
Charles Brown would later release three formal Christmas albums, but the Aladdin recording of "Merry Christmas Baby" appeared on none of them. However, it would be collected on Rhino's Blue Yule and EMI's Legends Of Christmas Past, among others, as well as Driftin' Blues: The Best Of Charles Brown, the definitive survey of his Aladdin years. "Merry Christmas Baby" - credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore despite Brown's claims of authorship - set the prototype for rhythm 'n' blues yule tunes, where romance and seduction all but obliterate the birth of Christ as the reason for the season. The song has been covered innumerable times, including memorable versions by Elvis Presley, Ike & Tina Turner, and Otis Redding. [back to list] [learn more]
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jackson 5 (Motown, 1970)
Haven Gillespie and Fred Coot's holiday standard, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," has been recorded countless times since George Hall & His Orchestra first recorded it for Bluebird Records in 1934. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' screechy but spirited version - with its syncopated hesitation before the chorus - set the template in 1962 for the Crystals' rousing 1963 rendition, and "The Corporation" (a team of elite Motown producers) used that version as a model for the Jackson 5 when arranging the group's marvelous Christmas Album in 1970. That record is arguably the best ever to roll off the assembly line at fabled Motown Records, chock full of treats including several original songs. It's also the last, at least during the label's "Golden Decade." Perhaps most telling, however, is that five years later, Bruce Springsteen copped the Jackson 5 arrangement (sort of) for his now-famous rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Head to head, though, the J5 blow the Boss away, and that's no easy feat. [back to list] [learn more] - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Brenda Lee (Decca, 1958)
While there are few honest-to-goodness rockabilly Christmas records, several top rockin' Christmas platters use rockabilly as a base. Brenda Lee's greatest hit is one of them, and her sprightly vocal - combined with chiming bursts of guitar - made "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" (written by Johnny Marks, who also penned "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer") an instant classic - at least in my mind. To the contrary, it took the public two years to accept Lee's arboreal ode, but when "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" hit, it hit big. First released on 45 in 1958, the song didn't chart till 1960 when it made #14 on the Billboard singles chart, and it charted again each of the next two years. In 1964, Decca built an album, Merry Christmas From Brenda Lee, around it, which reached #7 on Billboard's Christmas chart. Today, the song is spotlighted MCA's superb Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree: The Decca Christmas Recordings, which includes yet another of my Top 100 Songs. [back to list] [learn more] - Jingle Bell Rock, Bobby Helms (Decca, 1957)
Though he remained active through the 1980's, Bobby Helms never had a lot to show for his career besides "Jingle Bell Rock," his rockabilly-flavored smash from 1957. A few months earlier he had launched his career, promisingly enough, with "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel," both of which made the Top 10. Then, "Jingle Bell Rock" zoomed to #6 and charted again four of the next five years. Oddly, Helms never graced the pop charts again, though he remained a fixture on the country circuit. "Jingle Bell Rock," however, became a musical archetype, one which shows up frequently on Christmas albums (such as Rockin' Little Christmas), either with Helms' snappy Decca original, his remakes for Kapp (1965) or Little Darlin' (1967), or in one of thousands of cover versions. The original Decca 45-rpm record, by the way, featured Helm's wonderfully goofy "Captain Santa Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol" on the flipside. Both songs are included on Bear Family's Fraulein: The Classic Years two-disc set, as well as A Bobby Helms Christmas (2024), an EP that almost - but not quite - collects his complete early holiday recordings. [back to list] [learn more] - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Ventures (Dolton, 1965)
The biggest charm of the Ventures energetic instrumental reading of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" lies not in the multi-guitar attack they bring to Johnny Marks' most famous composition, but in the gimmick they use to sell it. On this and other tracks from their classic 1965 LP, The Ventures' Christmas Album, the band grafts popular hits of the day onto Christmas classics. In the present case, they employ the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" (played at warp speed) as an introduction, and the resulting alchemy has always been my favorite song from a consistently great album.
Other than guitarist Duane Eddy, the Ventures were the single most popular group of the rock 'n' roll instrumental craze that ran from the late 50's to the early 60's. That era gave us such immortal songs as the Champs' "Tequila," Link Wray's "Rumble," Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk," and the Surfaris' "Wipe-Out." But, wordless wonders like that began to sound antiquated after the British Invasion led by, ironically, the Beatles, and instrumental songs became novelties. In fact, the Ventures' career had peaked by 1965, and there would be few hits in their future. They would soldier on for decades, however, remaining a performing unit well into the 21st century. [back to list] [learn more]
- (It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas, The Orioles (Jubilee, 1948)
Hailing from Baltimore - where else? - the Orioles were one of the leading "bird groups" (such as the Ravens, Penguins, and Crows) that midwifed the birth of doo wop. After early hits like "Too Soon To Know" (1948), the Orioles greatest claim to fame came in 1953 with the immortal "Crying In The Chapel," a #1 R&B hit that was actually a cover of a country song - though the song is also closely associated with Elvis Presley, who charted a #3 pop hit with it in 1965.
Those of us in the know, however, cherish the Orioles' "(It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas" above all others. It's a picture-perfect expression of holiday desolation (scratchy master and all), as lead singer Sonny Til solemnly intones, "This year I'll be blue and lonely listening to the music from the party across the hall." The song was first issued as a Jubilee single in 1948, reaching #8 R&B. When it was reissued in 1949, it made #5 R&B, and it was backed with a new song, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," which charted #9 R&B - and is another entry in my Top 100 Songs. Both songs are included on Christmas Past, a collection of songs from the Roulette family of labels, as well as Rhino's Doo Wop Christmas. [back to list] [learn more]
- Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt (RCA Victor, 1953)
When Madonna revived "Santa Baby" on the first Very Special Christmas album back in 1987, I hadn't yet heard Eartha Kitt's high octane 1953 original. In fact, though the song was the biggest hit of Kitt's career, it had largely been forgotten. Ostensibly, "Santa Baby" is just pillow talk between a promiscuous gold digger and her sugar daddy. If he comes through with the goods (furs, cars, jewelry), she'll let him "hurry down the chimney." But, my goodness - where Madonna merely teases (in fact, teeters on the edge of parody), the sultry Ms. Kitt positively smolders with honest sexual promise. "Santa Baby" succeeds not just because it imbues Christmas with an all-but-explicit sexuality, but because it unflinchingly ties that sex to money. The listener is offered alternate perceptions: They can hear the song as naughty trifle, or they can interpret it as a profound commentary on the corrupt nature of the the holiday. Either way, it works.
Since Madonna's high profile cover, Eartha Kitt's original RCA single version of "Santa Baby" has gone from rare to commonplace. Rhino's excellent Hipsters' Holiday and utilitarian Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954 were the first of many Christmas collections to include it, and it's usually found on albums like The Essential Eartha Kitt. But, it's worth noting that two associated songs remain quite rare. In 1954, Kitt recorded a sequel, "(This Year's) Santa Baby," and in 1960 she remade the original song for her album Revisited on her new label, Kapp Records. The former can be found on Bear Family's Big City Christmas, while the latter was collected on MCA's The Best Of Eartha Kitt. All three songs can be found on Bear Family's comprehensive Eartha-Quake, a five-disc boxed set.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Pearl Bailey's "Five Pound Box Of Money," a money-grubbing yule tune from 1959 modeled on Kitt's hit. Pearl was just as greedy as Eartha but not nearly as horny, so she comes in a close second in the contest to be Kris Kringle's concubine. It can also be found on Hipsters' Holiday, while the Roulette collection Christmas Past (read more) includes both "Five Pound Box Of Money" and its spicy flipside, "Jingle Bells Cha-Cha-Cha." [back to list]
- Christmas Time's A-Coming, Mac Wiseman (Gusto, circa 1979)
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mac Wiseman isn't well-known outside of bluegrass circles, but within that community, he is a hero of great stature - just short of men like Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs, both of whom he worked with. Written by Tex Logan, "Christmas Time's A-Coming" stands as arguably the most iconic original country Christmas song ever, and it was Monroe who first recorded the song in 1951. And, to most critics, Monroe's rendition is definitive. But, Mac Wiseman puts it across with such panache that I believe it to be just about the greatest country Christmas record ever waxed. Unfortunately, it's also a very obscure recording, and I can't even be sure of the date. I stumbled onto it when I bought a copy of Joe Ward's 1955 King Records hit, "Nuttin' For Christmas," released as a vinyl 45 in 1979 by Nashville budget label Gusto Records, with Wiseman's "Christmas Time's A-Coming" on the b-side. That made me think it was an "oldies" reissue, but the record itself bears no recording dates or other information, and Wiseman's recording appears on no earlier releases that I've been able to locate.
Now, it makes sense that Wiseman would have recorded "Christmas Time's A-Coming" for an independent label like Gusto during the late 1970's, with his long tenure as a major label artist (for Dot, Capitol, and RCA) having come to a close earlier in the decade. And, the recording certainly sounds contemporary with that era. But, while Gusto controlled the vintage masters of King, as well as Starday, Hollywood, and other labels prolific in country music, Wiseman never recorded (to my knowledge) for any of those companies. He did, however, record an album, Golden Classics, for Gusto in 1979 - though he was also recording for CMH and other labels around the same time - and he contributed songs to several Gusto compilations during the late 70's and early 80's. So, 1979 as the actual release date of "Christmas Time's A-Coming" makes about as much sense as anything - I just can't prove it.
Regardless, Wiseman's definitive reading of the song has been released on several subsequent budget albums - most bearing the Hollywood imprint - including Christmas Jamboree (1988), a now out-of-print compact disc, which is comprised mostly of vintage King and Starday recordings. To confuse matters even further, Wiseman's Power Pak album Number One Christmas showed up in 1996 - but did not include "Christmas Time's A-Coming." And then, Wiseman recorded a new version of the song in 2002 with Doc Watson and Del McCoury for the album Christmas On The Mountain: A Bluegrass Christmas. [back to list]
- Christmas Celebration, B.B. King (Kent, 1962)
B.B. King is, by now, the most famous blues musician in history, dwarfing Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf in all but the eyes of academicians. Until late in his career, King recorded but one Christmas record, a strident, brassy rendition "Christmas Celebration," of a song written and recorded in 1951 by Jesse Thomas (with help from Lloyd Glenn, best known for "Christmas Sleigh Ride"). Where Thomas' original is quaint, King's cover is an uptown juggernaut, full of the kind of manly bravado and stinging, single-string guitar leads that have earned him such respect. There is, by the way, much disagreement about when King recorded this classic. The consensus seems to be that he recorded it in 1960, but it was not released until 1962 (Kent 387) and then reissued in 1964 (Kent 417). Furthermore, he cut a new version of the song for his 2001 album A Christmas Celebration of Hope, and the original version can be tricky to locate. I first discovered it on a 1976 compilation called Rhythm & Blues Christmas (read about it), but you can also find it on Pointblank's Best Christmas Ever, House Of Blues' Jingle Blues, Ace's Rhythm & Blues Christmas, or Universal's Lost Christmas 4: Holiday Rarities, among others. [back to list] [learn more] - Father Christmas, The Kinks (Arista, 1977)
The Kinks, of course, are the legendary 60's British Invasion band led by the Davies brothers, singer/songwriter Ray and guitarist Dave. They burst onto the scene with riff rockers like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night," then came of age with nuanced, writerly albums like The Village Green Preservation Society and Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround. By the 70's, however, the band was nearly dissolute, releasing dense, theatrical, critically acclaimed music to an increasing disinterested public - all while the infamously combative brothers fought for control. Thankfully, the Kinks reemerged in the late 70's on a new label, Arista, with a clearly revitalized sound - thanks in no small part to Dave Davies return to the spotlight as a unbridled guitar hero. At the time, punk rock was sweeping the Davies' native England, and it's hard not to think it kicked them in the ass - at least a little. The punks owed a pretty big debt to the Kinks' early work, and fast-and-hard bands like the Damned, Buzzcocks, and Sex Pistols probably reminded Dave and Ray why they got into the game in the first place.
Few songs in the Kinks' repertoire sound more like punk rock than "Father Christmas," striking a perfect balance between Dave's aggressive guitar and Ray's wry, detailed storytelling. It embodies everything I love about rock 'n' roll Christmas music - it defies expectations while embracing the artist's best qualities. The song may be louder and angrier than what we had come to expect from the Kinks, but it also relates an engrossing tale of class struggle that makes it entirely of a piece with the rest of the Kinks' katalogue. Ray's protagonist is a department store Santa Claus (or Father Christmas, in British parlance), and he gets mugged by a gang of street thugs. "Father Christmas, give us some money," they demand. "Give all the toys to the little rich boys."
"Father Christmas" was released as a non-LP single between the Kinks' first Arista album, Sleepwalker (1977), and their second, Misfits (1978). It was not a hit - charting neither in America or the UK - but it slowly became a holiday standard - at least for punk, alternative, and heavy metal bands. "Father Christmas" is often included on Kink kollections like Come Dancing (1986), Picture Book (2008), and The Essential Kinks (2014), and it was added to a 1999 Misfits reissue. It also pops up with some frequency on hipper holiday collections including Billboard Rock 'n' Roll Christmas (1994), Christmas A Go-Go (2008), and A Very Cool Christmas (2019). [back to list]
- If We Make It Through December, Merle Haggard (Capitol, 1973)
The dust bowl imagery Merle Haggard inherited from his Okie forbears was easily supplanted in the early 1970's by modern images of economic recession. In "If We Make It Through December," Merle's been "laid off down at the factory," and he's facing with grim resignation the inevitable disappointment in his daughter's eyes when no presents are found under the tree. Like all working class heroes, though, he tenaciously clings to hope. "If we make it through December, we'll be fine," he insists. I'm not so sure, but the song is an unforgettably harrowing tale, all the more effective for its understated backing track.
"If We Make It Through December" was originally released in 1973 as a single - reaching #1 Country and #7 on the Christmas charts - and on his first holiday album, Merle Haggard's Christmas Present (Something Old, Something New). That album has been reissued on CD as A Christmas Present (1990), Country Christmas With Merle Haggard (1995), and Hag's Christmas (2007). The song also served as the title track of Haggard's next Capitol album in 1974. "If We Make It Through December" is also frequently collected, including on Capitol's 20 Greatest Hits, Razor & Tie's Lonesome Fugitive, and Haggard's boxed set, Down Every Road - all recommended. [back to list] [learn more]
- Christmas Celebration, Weezer (Geffen, 2000)
The story of Weezer is a story of pop redemption, taking the band from their nerdy, self-absorbed 1994 blue album through the painful, navel-gazing 1996 Pinkerton. Then, after a lengthy hiatus, they arrived at their triumphant 2001 green album and haven't looked back since. Just as that story arc was about to conclude, the band issued the two-song, promotional Christmas CD in 2000, featuring the jaw-dropping "Christmas Celebration" and the almost-as-rad "Christmas Song." The former song is exactly what we've come to expect from Rivers Cuomo and company - the loudest, best pop since Cheap Trick, plus ennui out the ass. "The pageantry is such a bore," Cuomo whines, but he turns up the volume and cranks out the riffs - a sure way to cure those holiday blues.
Initially, "Christmas Celebration" was only issued commercially as the b-side of the Japanese CD single of "Photograph" from the green album. Later, the promotional CD single showed up for download and streaming in 2014, only to disappear. Both songs, however, can be found on the odd digital compilation - but you'll have to dig for them. "Christmas Celebration," by the way, is a Weezer original, not the B.B. King song listed elsewhere on my Top 100 Songs. Later, Weezer released an enjoyable, but oddly generic EP, Christmas With Weezer. [back to list]
- Step Into Christmas, Elton John (MCA, 1973)
Any number of songs throughout Hip Christmas can claim Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound as a direct influence. Elton John's irresistible holiday invitation - released on a 45 backed with the wacky "Ho Ho Ho (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas") - has as good a claim as any to such an ambitious declaration. Instruments are piled on excessively, the reverb grows deeper and deeper, and the tempo seems to accelerate until, at last, the song seems about to fly apart. It doesn't (just barely), and we are left with a record equal to anything the bespectacled Mr. Dwight released during his prodigious first decade.
"Step Into Christmas" was later added as a bonus track on a CD reissue of Elton's 1974 album, Caribou, while both sides of the single were included on Rare Masters (1992). Elton later featured it on his own Christmas Party compilation (2005), and he deployed it as the title track of an EP, Step Into Christmas (2023), a digital compilation of holiday odds and sods. [back to list]
