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This index lists the essential songs (not all the songs) contained on the albums reviewed in Hip Christmas, plus singles, album tracks, or one-hit wonders not otherwise included on those albums. Whenever possible, the artist's name is linked to my review of the best Christmas album (not necessarily the only or original album) on which to find the song.

Barring that, the names will be linked to a place where you may buy the song (usually Amazon). If there's no link, it means that, to my knowledge, the song is not available on CD or MP3. Of course, the list will expand as I write more reviews. And, nothing's perfect - especially me and my crazy list. Please send additions, corrections, criticisms, and suggestions via email.

  • Baby Brother (Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus) (Kitty Kallen, 1954)
  • Baby, It's Christmas (Jessie James Decker, 2014)
  • Baby It's Cold Outside
  • Baby Jesus (Matthew Sweet, 1991)
  • Baby Jesus Was The First Glam Rocker (Glam Chops, 2008)
  • Baby Just Like You (John Denver, 1975)
  • Baby Sittin' Santa (Barry Richards, 1962) Top 100 Song [close]

    Barry Richards, Baby Sittin' SantaI can't tell you much about Barry Richards, but his 1962 Epic novelty single "Baby Sittin' Santa" is a lot of fun! By all appearances, Barry was a very young man when he recorded it, but he still does a pretty mean Elvis imitation. He essentially narrates the story of an encounter between Santa Claus and a loquacious infant, which culminates in the two doing the twist under the Christmas tree. The record is punctuated with baby talk - its main gimmick - but it's set to a fulsome rockabilly beat.

    I discovered this swell track on an old Rhino LP, Rockin Christmas: The 50's (1984). But, it later appeared on a Sony compact disc, Reindeer Rock (1994), which not only captured a cleanly mastered digital transfer of the song, it rescued the actual ending of the record - something Rhino had apparently (and inexplicably) edited out! After that, "Baby Sittin' Santa" started showing up on public domain collections, like Rockabilly Xmas, but always in the inferior, clipped version.

    Reindeer RockPerhaps the most interesting thing about "Baby Sittin' Santa" is that it's based on an earlier record, "Baby Sittin' Boogie" by Buzz Clifford (Columbia, 1960). Both songs were written by Johnny Parker, a big band singer with Les Brown in the 40's who became a prolific songwriter in the 50's and 60's, and then turned music critic and historian. Epic and Columbia were sister labels, and both records are credited to the same arranger and conductor, Tony Piano. So, it's possible both use the same backing track - they certainly sound similar, though "Baby Sittin' Santa" has been sped up a bit. But, all the vocals - including the baby - are different.

    Again, as for Barry Richards, he's something of a mystery. I have unearthed no biographical data whatsoever. We know, however, that he recorded for more than a decade, cutting a dozen singles for almost as many labels, but only grazing the charts once. His 1974 A&M single, "Come Fill Your Cup Again," made it to #33 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Richards never managed to cut a full album, however, and he seems to have made his living as a songwriter, including some work with Bobby Hart of the famed singer/songwriter duo, Boyce & Hart. Richards placed songs with Herman's Hermits, Chuck Jackson, the New Christy Minstrels, Esther Phillips, and many others - though none seem to have been hits.

    Unlikely as it seems, Barry Richards earned a small spot in punk rock history when the Sex Pistols grew fond of covering his song "Don't Gimme No Lip, Child," which UK pop star Dave Berry recorded in 1964 as the b-side of his biggest hit, "The Crying Game." The Pistols' blistering version shows up on live albums and bootlegs and, most significantly, the soundtrack to the 1980 film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.

  • Baby's First Christmas (Connie Francis, 1959)
  • Back Door Santa
    • Black Crowes (2005)
    • Clarence Carter (1968) Top 100 Song
    • Honeymoon Killers (1989) [close]

      Honeymoon Killers New York's Honeymoon Killers were a relatively unheralded missing link between early, primitive psychobilly groups like the Cramps and the amped-up, garage-inflected blues of latter-day revivalists like the White Stripes. Led by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jerry Teel, the band was also an obvious influence on (and occasionally played with members of) Boss Hog and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - both bands who would end up selling a lot more records than Honeymoon Killers.

      At any rate, their spooky, clattering, and painfully slow reading of Clarence Carter's ribald soul classic "Back Door Santa" is a pretty accurate representation of the band's darker side, and it was first unleashed on We Three Bings, a super-rare Christmas LP released by NYC indie Vital Music. Later, the song was collected on the Honeymoon Killers' compilation album Sing Sing 1984-1994 (1997) - long out-of-print on CD but now available for download and streaming.

    • Jet (2003) [close]

      Jet Any number of groups like Jet could be considered the EMF of the 2000's - that is, they sold a lot of records, and they seemed like a good idea at the time but, um, who? For my money, however, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" is no "Unbelievable," and Jet - while hardly original - rocked with conviction. They rode out of Australia on the coattails of the early 21st century wave of garage rock resurgence led by bands like the Strokes, Hives, Vines, White Stripes, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Jet's straightforward take on "Back Door Santa" is fairly typical of their visceral, grab-you-by-the-throat sound. Opening with a riff baldly copped from Love's "Little Red Book," they kick into a ferociously swaggering rock arrangement of Clarence Carter's soul classic. Barely two minutes later, it's over - leaving us sweaty and begging for more.

      Unfortunately for collectors, Jet's "Back Door Santa" was mostly released as a b-side on a hodge podge of singles, mostly outside the United States, and often promo-only. Perhaps most prominently, it was compiled on Rare Tracks (2003), which was available in just a few countries. "Back Door Santa" was, however, also sold as a download - the very same year that the iTunes Music Store opened for business.

    • Popa Chubby (2015)
    • The Woggles (2014)
  • Back In England For Christmas (David Essex, 1986)
  • Bailout For Santa (Harry Shearer, 2009)
  • Bambino (The Springfields, 1961)
  • Bangle Jangle Christmas (Bangles, 1983)
  • Barefoot Santa Claus (Sonny James, 1966)
  • Barnyard Christmas (Spike Jones, 1952)
  • Be-Bop Santa Claus (Babs Gonzales, 1955)
  • Be Kind To The Street Corner Santa (Yogi Yorgesson, 1954)
  • Beatles Christmas Record (Beatles, 1963)
  • Beatles Third Christmas Record (Beatles, 1965)
  • Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
  • Because I'm Santa (Dollyrots, 2012)
  • (Before You Know It) Christmas Will Be Here (Elton Britt, 1952)
  • Being Home For Christmas (Ivan & Alyosha, 2015)
  • The Bell That Couldn't Jingle
  • The Bells (Bobby Powell, 1971)
  • The Bells Of St. Mary's
  • Best Christmas Ever (Ronnie Spector, 2010)
  • Best Day Of The Year (Bill Champlin, Joseph Williams & Peter Friestedt, 2021)
  • The Best Gift (Mozella, 2007) [close]

    MozellaMozella (née Maureen McDonald) is a lovely and soulful pop singer and musician who is perhaps best known for her association with Madonna. She released her first records, including I Will (2006), on Madge's Maverick Records (a vanity imprint distributed by Warner Brothers), and both women hail from Michigan. They even look a little alike.

    Further, "The Best Gift" (2007) rather closely resembles Madonna's cheeky cover of Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" - and doesn't particularly sound much like the rest of Mozella's catalog. However, where Madonna's track is a paean to lascivious materialism, Mozella's song is a gentle, sexy love song to a lucky young man who she implies (without actually saying so) is member of our brave armed forces. As of this writing, "The Best Gift" remains quite the rarity, having been issued for promotion only, and no one has covered the song - despite the fact that our wars drag on. And on. And on. And on.

  • The Best Gift (Dan Wilson, 2014)
  • Bethlehem (Vigilantes Of Love, 1990)
  • Better Do It Right (Smash Mouth, 2000)
  • Better Than Snow (Norah Jones & Laufey, 2023)
  • Big Bulbs (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, 2013)
  • Big Yule Log Boogie (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, 1992)
  • Biggest Bells (Dressy Bessy, 2020)
  • Birthday Card At Christmas (Jethro Tull, 2003)
  • Bittersweet Noel (Super Deluxe, 2000)
  • Bizarre Christmas Incident (Ben Folds Five, 2002) [close]
    Ben FoldsSony Records released Ben Fold's disrespectful ditty as a promo-only, picture-sleeve, 7-inch vinyl single backed with another original tune, "Lonely Christmas Eve." "Santa, he's a big, fat fuck," Folds explains on the scatological a-side, "he went down the chimney, got his fat ass stuck." The song was also included that same year on the inaugural edition of Nettwerk Record's Maybe This Christmas series - albeit in a censored version. Much later, Folds folded the juicy explicit version into a masive rarities project called Fifty-Five Vault, first issued through MyPlay and later widely offered for download split into three volumes; "Bizarre Christmas Incident" appears on Vault Volume II (1998-2003). The bah-humbug b-side ("How I hate their happy noise!") had been previously released on the soundtrack of Jim Carrey's live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).
  • Black Christmas (Emotions, 1970)
  • Black Christmas [close]

    listen

    Hot Rock Mays' super bad, extra funky "Black Christmas" has bedeviled me for decades. It's a great tune that uses the word "black" as an adjective for the singer's mood. "Gonna be a black Christmas, baby," he tells his lover, "if I'm not there to pull your sled." Now, that's an odd sexual metaphor... Anyway, that means it's not a declaration of racial pride, and it's not the same song as the Emotions' fine Stax recording of the same name from 1970. But, that's about all I know for sure. I don't know when it was recorded, and I don't know who the hell Hot Rock Mays was.

    "Black Christmas" was released on the 1991 CD Merry Christmas Baby which collected obscure R&B sides from the vaults of Jewel Records, an indie label based in Shreveport, Louisiana (read more). Best I can tell, the song was previously unreleased, it's the only recording ever attributed to Mr. Mays, and it was almost certainly recorded decades earlier. No recording information is given, but it was written by Vida Anne Mays, who seems to have written nothing else - and about whom I also know nothing.

    Merry Christmas Baby
    Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party
    Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 2

    The Rev. Oris Mays, a preacher from Memphis, Tennessee, recorded for Jewel in the 60's and 70's, but I don't know if he's related. He did, however, also work for Holiday Inn Records in 1968 as a regional sales and promotion director. Holiday Inn was, indeed, associated with the hotel chain, and it was launched in 1963 by none other than Sam Phillips, the legendary impresario behind Sun Records. Holiday Inn had a subsidiary called Klondike, and a woman named Rose Graham recorded "Black Christmas" for that label, reportedly in 1969. This recording later appeared on Tramp's Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party (2011), and the arrangement is very similar to Hot Rock's recording, but with more Memphis-style horns.

    There's another recording of "Black Christmas" by Don Smith for VJ International, a subsidiary of storied Indiana indie Vee Jay. It's not dated, either, but based on comparison to other catalog numbers, it might be from 1977. This one appears on Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 2 (2013), and its arrangement is similar to the other two, but with a little more slinky 70's soul woven in.

    My working theory? Vida was married to Oris, and Oris cut Vida's oh-so-secular "Black Christmas" himself for Jewel - probably in the early 70's - using a pseudonym to protect his standing in the gospel community. Or not. Any clues? Drop me a line...

  • Black Christmas (Harlem Children's Chorus, 1969)
  • Black Christmas (MDC, 1991)
  • Black Christmas (Red Flag, 2000)
  • Black Christmas (Poly Styrene, 2010)
  • Black Christmas Tree (Midget Handjob, 2000)
  • Black Ice And Bad Advice (Our Time Down Here, 2011)
  • Black Santa (Inner Circle featuring Mikey Spice, 2014)
  • Black Santa (Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds, 2009)
  • Blame It On The Snow (Tiffany Houghton, 2014)
  • Blanca Navidad (White Christmas) (Freddy Fender, 1994)
  • Bling Bling Christmas (Silvertones, 2002)
  • Blink Before Christmas (Phil Moore Four, 1953)
  • The Blizzard
  • Blowfly's Christmas Party (Blowfly, 1980)
  • Blowfly's New Year's Party (Blowfly, 1980)
  • Blue Christmas
  • Blue Christmas (Dead Or Alive, 1990) [close]

    Dead or AliveUnlike the many "Blue Christmas" recordings listed above, this rare Dead Or Alive side is an entirely original composition. That is, it is not the song first recorded by Ernest Tubb and later watermarked by Elvis Presley. Though atypically subdued for the group that brought us "Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," the song is nevertheless what you might expect - the sad lament of a lonely holiday. Accompanied by smooth electric piano and sounding creepily like Boy George on testosterone, androgynous singer Pete Burns croons, "Don't think I'll pull through." It's all so deliciously bad, you'll hope he doesn't....

    Blue Christmas" was first released as the b-side of a Japanese 3-inch CD single, "Your Sweetness (Is My Weakness)," then quickly compiled on another Japanese disc, Fan The Flame (Part 1), an EP of rare tracks (and there was never a second part...). Ten years later, Dead or Alive released a hopped-up disco version called "Blue Christmas 2000" on yet another Japanese exclusive, Fragile.

  • Blue Christmas Tree (Ernest Tubb, 1965)
  • Blue Decorations (Brook Benton, 1983)
  • Blue Grey Christmas (King Coleman, 1958)
  • Blue Holiday (Shirelles, 1961)
  • Blue Lights (Carolyn Wonderland, 1997)
  • Blue Snow At Christmas (Wayne Newton, 1968)
  • Blue Snowfall (Kelly Hogan, 2014)
  • Blue Snowflakes (Ernest Tubb, 1952)
  • Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern) (Miles Davis with Bob Dorough, 1962)
  • Blues For Christmas
  • Bob Kringle (Creamers, 1990)
  • Bobby Wants A Puppy Dog For Christmas (Merle Haggard, 1973)
  • Bonne Année (Happy New Year) (Michael Doucet, 1986)
  • Boogaloo Santa Claus (J.D. McDonald, 1969)
  • Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
  • Boots (The Killers, 2010)
  • Boppin' With Santa (aka Swingin' For Christmas) (Gene Ammons, 1948)
  • Born In A Barn/Away In A Normal Bed (Yobs, 1991)
  • Born In A Manger (Patti LaBelle, 1990)
  • Borning Day (Johnny Nash, 1969)
  • A Bow and Nothin' Mo (Smoking Flowers, 2013)
  • Bow-Wow Wants A Boy for Christmas (Red Buttons, 1954)
  • Boxing Day (I Belong With You) (Darin Murphy, 2001)
  • Brand New Bike (Junkyard Dogs, 1993)
  • Brand New Christmas (Hot Chocolate, 1980)
  • Brand New Year
  • Brazilian Sleigh Bells (Ferrante & Teicher, 1966)
  • Breaking Up At X-Mas (Mother May I, 1994)
  • Bring Me A Beatle For Christmas (Cindy Rella, 1964)
  • Bring My Baby Back For Christmas [close]

    Written by Mitch Goodman, "Bring My Baby Back For Christmas" is a big, brassy pop/rock ballad in the classic 50's tradition, and it's been recorded several times by several artists - though none have broken through. Best I can tell, it was originally recorded as "Back for Christmas" by Alexandra Lawerentz, a big-voiced 17-year-old, in 2005. It got a big push at the time, but went pretty much nowhere, and appears to be just about the only thing Ms. Lawerentz ever did. In 2013, a singer named Poeina Suddarth recorded the song as "Bring My Baby Back (For Christmas)" in much the same style, but she introduced a couple of twists. First, she changed up the lyrics to be nonbinary, and then she filmed a video with, believe it or not, zombies! Finally, an all-female rock band called the Glam Skanks waxed the song in 2018 as simply "Bring My Baby Back For Christmas," nonbinary lyrics intact, but sped up to a suitably punky 21st century tempo. It's my favorite version, 'cause I like things fast and loud.

    Alexandra Lawerentz
    Poeina Suddarth
    Glam Skanks

    Singer Suzie Benson also recorded a demo - pitched at Celine Dion, no less, Goodman says. You can find it on YouTube, uploaded in 2017, but that's about it. As for now, "Bring My Baby Back For Christmas" remains a self-styled classic song in a classic style, waiting for an audience to embrace it.

  • Bring That Cadillac Back
  • Broke On Christmas Again (Mansfields, 2003)
  • Buon Natale (Means Merry Christmas To You) (Nat King Cole, 1959)
  • Butch The Gay Santa Claus (Cherry Poppin' Daddies, 1998)

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