skip to content
home > navigation > songs > this page

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, though used copies may be in circulation. 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.

  • S-N-O-W (Jordin Sparks, 2024)
  • Saddest Time Of The Year (Spooner, 1991)
  • Santa (Lightnin' Hopkins, 1962)
  • Santa Ain't Santa (Woofing Cookies, 1986)
  • Santa And The Doodle-Li-Boop (Art Carney, 1954)
  • Santa And The Purple People Eater (Sheb Wooley, 1958)
  • Santa And The Satellite (Parts 1 & 2) (Buchanan & Goodman, 1957) Top 100 Song [close]
    Dickie Goodman
    listen / buy

    With "Flying Saucer" in 1956, self-proclaimed "King Of The Novelty" Dickie Goodman launched a career that fitfully spanned four decades. It was, to my knowledge, the first-ever "break in" record, a form of humor in which an interviewer (portrayed here by Goodman and partner Bill Buchanan) plays straight man to snippets of recently popular songs. Buchanan & Goodman continued their space age theme - made all the more relevant by the Soviet launch of Sputnik - with "Santa & The Satellite," a wonderfully bizarre holiday treat: Santa is kidnapped by Martians but escapes disguised as Elvis Presley. Later the same year, the duo would release "Santa & The Touchables," a Christmas-flavored sequel to their spoof of TV's The Untouchables, and Goodman would continue to produce break-in records under a variety of names until his death in 1989.

    "Santa & The Satellite," however, stands as his best record ever. While it appeared on Rhino's long out-of-print LP, Rockin' Christmas: The 50's, most of Dickie Goodman's records have become sought-after collectibles. In the CD era, Hot Productions released two compilations, Greatest Fables Vol. 1 and Greatest Fables Vol. 2; the first contains his Christmas sides. Later, Rockbeat Records compiled Long Live The King. All of them have nearly have disappeared off the face of the earth, but his estate has put a lot of music up for streaming and download. Whatever the case, you'll have to hunt down original vinyl copies to hear the original, unexpurgated versions - i.e. versions with the original artists' recordings of the "answers" to Buchanan and Goodman's questions. [back to list]

  • Santa And The Sidewalk Surfer (Crossfires, 1963) Top 100 Song [close]
    Crossfires
    listen / buy

    The Crossfires were an early 60's surf rock band that transformed into the Turtles, the revered band responsible for "Happy Together" and many more sunshine pop classics. While the Crossfires are best remembered for tough surf instrumentals like "Fiberglass Jungle" and "Out Of Control," they featured Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, a famously madcap duo who went on to perform with Frank Zappa as the Phlorescent Leech & Eddie (aka Flo & Eddie). Long before that, Kaylan & Volman's twisted humor came to the fore on the Crossfires' "Santa & The Sidewalk Surfer."

    The scene: A department store Santa Claus is efficiently dispatching greedy tots until confronted with an avaricious, amateur skateboarder. The would-be sidewalk surfer unfurls a seemingly endless list of requirements for his new hobby, entreating Santa for everything from a "genuine Waimea Bun Buster Skateboard" to a "Fender electric twangy surf guitar" to peroxide, cut-off blue jeans, huarache sandals, and a subscription to Surfer magazine. On and on he goes till Santa finally breaks down in a paroxysm of ho ho ho's, amused by the surfer's last request - a box of band-aids for when he "busts his buns."

    "Santa & The Sidewalk Surfer" was recorded for the b-side of a Christmas single, "Living Doll," that got scuttled for some reason - and both songs are tough to find. "Santa" sat unreleased until 1974, when Sire Records included it on their Turtles compilation, Happy Together Again. It also appeared on Rhino Records' Rockin' Christmas: The 60's (1984), and both songs appear on Sundazed Records' 1995 expanded CD reissue of Out Of Control, Rhino's 1981 collection of mostly unreleased Crossfires masters. [back to list]

  • Santa And The Touchables (Dickie Goodman, 1961)
  • Santa Baby
    • Cynthia Basinet (1997)
    • Dollyrots (2008)
    • Kim Kardashian (2024)
    • Eartha Kitt (1953) Top 100 Song [close]
      Eartha Kitt, Santa Baby
      listen / buy

      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, reaching #4 on Billboard's Hot 100, 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 a naughty trifle, or they can interpret it as a profound commentary on the corrupt nature of the holiday. Either way, it works.

      Since Madonna's high-profile cover, Eartha Kitt's original RCA recording 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 on Revisited, her first album for 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, includes both "Five Pound Box Of Money" and its spicy flipside, "Jingle Bells Cha-Cha-Cha" (read about it). [back to list]

    • Madonna (1987)
    • Me First And The Gimme Gimmes (2018)
    • Kylie Minogue (2000)
    • Kellie Pickler (2007)
    • R.E.M. (2009)
    • Rev. Run & The Christmas All Stars (1997)
    • LeAnn Rimes (2010)
    • Sheila E. (2001)
  • Santa Baby (Gimme Gimme Gimme) (Willa Ford, 2001)
  • Santa Be Good
  • Santa Bring Me A Surfboard Please (Surfisticats, 2023)
  • Santa Bring Me Ringo (Christine Hunter, 1964)
  • Santa Bring My Baby Back Home (Brian Hyland, 2010)
  • Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)
  • Santa Bring My Soldier Home (Stunners, 2010)
  • Santa Came Home Drunk (Clyde Lasley & The Cadillac Baby Specials, 1960)
  • Santa Can't Stay (Dwight Yoakam, 1997)
  • Santa, Can't You Hear Me (Kelly Clarkson & Ariana Grande, 2022)
  • Santa Claus (Lee "Scratch" Perry, 2008)
  • Santa Claus
  • Santa Claus (Throwing Muses, 1989)
  • Santa Claus (Sonny Boy Williamson, 1960) [close]
    Blue Yule
    listen / buy

    Recorded in 1960 but unissued for many years, Sonny Boy Williamson's lecherous single "Santa Claus" was probably just too twisted for release in the pre-psychedelic era. Vamping to a funky "Fannie Mae" beat, Sonny Boy (aka Rice Miller) improvises endless variations around a theme of "looking in my baby's dresser drawers." Ostensibly, he's up to nothing more naughty than trying to find out what his baby bought him for Christmas. He's looking for his "Santa Claus," a dialectical euphemism for Christmas present. But, Sonny Boy makes it sound like much, much more. Soon, the landlady shows up, gets mad, and "calls the law." The police demand to know what he's up to, but Sonny Boy plays it cool. Not yet satisfied, he walks out on the street and commences "pulling out all the ladies' dresser drawers." Impressive.

    "Santa Claus" was first released on Williamson's Chess LP, Bummer Road (1969). It was later compiled on The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson (1993), as well as Rhino's Blue Yule: Christmas Blues And R&B Classics (1991) and Universal's The Best Of Blues: The Christmas Collection (2003), one of their endless "20th Century Masters" series.

  • Santa Claus Ain't Comin' This Year (Swingin' Neckbreakers, 1999)
  • Santa Claus Ain't Coming To Town (Jim Breuer, 2013)
  • Santa Claus And His Old Lady (Cheech & Chong, 1971)
  • Santa Claus And Popcorn (Merle Haggard, 1973)
  • Santa Claus Baby (The Voices, 1955)
  • Santa Claus Blues
  • Santa Claus Blues (Keb' Mo', 2019)
  • Santa Claus Boogie (Hasil Adkins, 1993)
  • Santa Claus' Daughter (Charlie Rich, 1965)
  • Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto) (Carlene Davis & Trinity, 1981)
  • Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto (James Brown, 1968) Top 100 Song [close]
    James Brown, "A Soulful Christmas"
    listen / buy

    Thanks to some high-profile reissues, James Brown's Christmas music has become widely accepted. When I first began collecting, it was rare stuff, and copies of Brown's original King Christmas LP's went for big bucks. Now, as much as I love his Yuletide jams, I'd have to say that they don't quite measure up to his best work - an admittedly high standard. What really sets them apart is their good humor and eccentricity. "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" is, if anything, one of the most normal Christmas songs he recorded, and that makes it a natural choice for my Top 100. Over a cool, lazy funk, Brown gently pleads with ol' St. Nick to serve the needs of impoverished ghetto residents - though, interestingly, Brown emphasizes that he used to be one of them. "Jingle Bells" it ain't, but it's a fun example of the way the Godfather liked to insert positive messages into unlikely places. (Listen closely towards the end - Brown drops Hank Ballard's name for no apparent reason).

    "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" is from James Brown's second holiday album for King Records, A Soulful Christmas, released in 1968. Also issued as a single, it reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Christmas chart both that year and the next. It appears on most collections of Brown's holiday music, including the perrenial favorite, Funky Christmas (1995), as well as The Complete James Brown Christmas (2010), a phenomenal package containing just about every seasonal track the Godfather of Soul ever committed to wax during his prime. [back to list] [learn more]

  • Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto
  • Santa Claus Got The Blues (Denise LaSalle, 1985)
  • Santa Claus Got Stuck (In My Chimney) (Ella Fitzgerald, 1950) [close]
    Yule Be Miserable
    listen / buy

    For many years, "Santa Claus Got Stuck (In My Chimney)" was a song about which I'd only read - never heard. Ella's gynecological Yuletide misadventure was, by all accounts, pretty filthy - so much so that Fitzgerald and her attorneys successfully blocked its reissue for years. Only after her death in 1996 did "Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney" start to show up on CD - including Verve's excellent compilation of Christmas jazz and blues, Yule Be Miserable (2003) - though it had been circulating in the European public domain for a while.

    And, it was worth the wait! There's something about Ella's girlish coo (or maybe it's just my filthy mind) that turns this simple and innocent song into an orgy of innuendo. Santa, who is "fat and round," got wedged in the poor singer's "chimney" (heh heh) when he came (heh heh) last year. But, she had such a good time (one assumes he stayed in there a while) that she invites him to "come back to her chimney" next year. Ella sings the song, in fact, with such an absence of guile that I have to wonder if the songwriters (William Hardy and Billy Moore) didn't pull one over on her. Fitzgerald, though, was a grown woman in her 30's when she waxed this cunt-centric classic in 1950, and I suspect her chagrin was merely a matter of convenience as she moved into the mainstream during the coming years.

  • Santa Claus Hop (Jimmy Ashby & The Treble-Tones, circa 1957)
  • Santa Claus Is A Lie (New Duncan Imperials, 1993)
  • Santa Claus Is Back In Town
    • Joe Bonamassa (2010)
    • James Durbin (2012)
    • Foghat (1986)
    • Mavericks (1996)
    • Elvis Presley (1957) Top 100 Song [close]
      Elvis Presley
      listen / buy

      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]

    • Whoa! Trigger (1983)
    • Robin Trower, Maxi Priest, and Livingstone Brown (2020)
    • Rusty Wier (1981)
    • Dwight Yoakam (1987)
  • Santa Claus Is Coming (Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, 1963) Top 100 Song [close]
    Get Ready For A Groovy And Bluesy Christmas
    listen / buy

    Despite having some wonderful records - several of them hits - Hank Ballard is best remembered for having been the man who fell off the "Twist" bandwagon. Ballard wrote and recorded "The Twist," releasing it as the b-side to his Top 10 "Finger Poppin' Time" in 1960. His version made the Top 30 just weeks before Chubby Checker's more celebrated cover entered the charts in August, 1960, and zoomed towards #1. Checker's record officially kicked off the dance craze that held sway in America for several years, and poor Hank Ballard was left (relatively speaking) in the dust. Chubby Checker's "Twist" actually reentered the charts in 1961 and made #1 again - the only record other than Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" ever to do so.

    So in 1963, when Ballard released "Santa Claus Is Coming" - which has no sexual overtones, despite what some wags insinuate - he was all but past his prime, and the record made little splash. It's a peach of a platter, though, all blaring sax and driving beat, focusing nevertheless on Ballard's exuberant vocal and lyrics, which anticipate the arrival of St. Nick with child-like innocence. Backed with the powerful, James Brown-styled ballad, "Christmas Time For Everybody But Me," it stands as one of the greatest lost 45's in the history of Christmas rock. Both sides of the single were included on Hollywood's hard-to-find, poorly-constructed Rhythm & Blues Christmas, as well as on Bear Family's Get Ready For A Groovy And Bluesy Christmas (2024). [back to list]

  • Santa Claus Is Coming To My House (Karla DeVito, 1982) Top 100 Song [close]
    Karla DeVito, Santa Claus Is Coming To My House
    listen / buy

    Karla DeVito was cute as a bug and possessed of a voice the size of a house when she emerged fully formed on an unsuspecting pop scene in the early 80's. Sadly, the world proved unready for a brash, quirky, diminutive howler from New York City. That would all change when Cyndi Lauper broke large just a few years later - doing largely the same shtick - but Karla DeVito's recorded output would slow to a trickle after a brief period of notoriety. She recorded just two albums, served a stint in Broadway's Pirates Of Penzance, and, perhaps most famously, stood in for singer Ellen Foley, Meatloaf's fiesty foil in "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" - both on tour and in the video.

    Karla Devito's debut LP, Is This A Cool World Or What? (1981), was a brilliant pastiche of new wave rockers, big-hair ballads, and theatrical melodramas - a lost classic, in my mind, at least. "Santa Claus Is Coming To My House" was released the following year as a non-LP single, and it threw yet another style into the musical blender - jump blues. Written and produced by DeVito and her husband, actor Robbie Benson, "Santa Claus" was an irresistible flute of bubbly camp. The song tells a sexually-charged tale with a surprise ending worthy of O. Henry.

    Claiming she's been nice (but sounding very naughty), Karla confesses, "Even though it wouldn't be right, I want Santa Claus to come and stay all night!" The sassy Ms. DeVito tries to seduce ol' Santa ("Put down your bags and kiss me!"), only to have him counter propose, "Karla, let's trade gigs for a day!" Santa Claus wants Karla to deliver toys so he can jam with her band - which he proceeds to do with much abandon. So, while Santa toots his own horn at Karla's house, she grabs "the keys to his sleigh," and now Karla's coming to your house - lucky you! It's an unforgettable performance, but it's lost to the ages - never reissued in the digital age and long out-of-print. [back to list]

  • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
  • Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay (James Brown, 1970)
  • Santa Claus Is From The South (Benny Martin, 1988)
  • Santa Claus Is Getting Down (Jesse Ed Davis, 1988)
  • Santa Claus Is Not a Number (Little Kicks, 2012)
  • Santa Claus Is Ska-ing To Town (Granville Williams Orchestra with Ernest Ranglin, 1964)
  • Santa Claus Is Smoking Reefer (aka Santa's Secret) (Squirrel Nut Zippers, 1996)
  • Santa Claus Is Surfin' To Town (Soupy Sales, 1963)
  • Santa Claus Is Watching You (Ray Stevens, 1962) [close]

    Ray StevensRay Stevens is most famous for the 1974 novelty smash "The Streak," but he was no one-hit wonder. Rather, he was the rare musical comedian who enjoyed a long, full career, and "Santa Claus Is Watching You" (1962) is one of his earliest hits. It's pretty typical Stevens schtick, with Santa Claus portrayed as a menacing figure ("He's everywhere, he's everwhere!"). The song is more notable for its cultural references, including a callback to Steven's earlier 1962 hit, "Ahab The Arab." Rudolph, it seems, has dislocated his hip in a twist contest, and his role will be filled by Ahab's camel, Clyde... Interestingly, the original Mercury 45 ran only about 2:20, but an unedited version that runs about 3:20 popped up later. The longer version includes an additional verse, an extra bridge, and various bonus goofiness throughout - but much less reverb, thankfully. Otherwise, it sounds way too similar to be a different recording. I do not know the back story, but it first appeared on Rhino's Christmas Classics (1988) and then on Holidays In Dementia (1995) and The Best Of Ray Stevens (1997). Stevens did, however, record a new version of "Santa Claus Is Watching You" for his 1984 MCA album I Have Returned, and in 1985 he made a video for it and released it as a single. In 1997, he recorded yet another version for his MCA album Christmas Through A Different Window.

  • Santa Claus Looks Like My Daddy (Danny Kaye, 1951)
  • Santa Claus Never Comes To The Ghetto (Yellowman, 1998)
  • Santa Claus' Party (Les Baxter, 1952) [close]

    Merry Christmas To You!The inimitable Les Baxter carried on dual careers - one as an easy listening bandleader (known for irresistible fluff like "The Poor People Of Paris") and another as a brilliant composer of dark, glamorous exotica (most famously with "The Quiet Village"). "Santa Claus' Party" is most definitely in the former camp, bouncing merrily along like the soundtrack to some unseen Christmas cartoon. In fact, "Santa Claus' Party" is blissfully utopian in its vision, as Baxter's white-bread chorus declares, "You may be sure that rich and poor are welcome at Santa's door!"

    'm sure Lester thought he was composing the next great Christmas standard, but what he gave us instead (however now obscure) was a glimpse into the powerful optimism and willful innocence that transformed America after World War II. A few years later, rock 'n' roll helped shatter that dream (and rendered musicians like Baxter obsolete), setting the stage for the Civil Rights Act, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate - now that's a party!

    Originally released both as a single and as part of the Capitol LP, Merry Christmas To You! (pictured), "Santa Claus' Party" has rarely been reissued. It has been included in medley form on albums like Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Part Two (read more), but the unedited original version is fairly scarce. It's shown up on European budget collections like EMI's Christmas Selection (2002) and The Original Christmas Album (2007), and Bear Family included it on their compilation Here Comes Santa Claus: 29 Swinging Chestnuts (2021).

  • Santa Claus Please Listen To Me (Artie Fullilove, 1968)
  • Santa Claus, Santa Claus (James Brown, 1968)
  • Santa Claus, Santa Claus (Louis Jordan, 1968)
  • Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'
    • Creeper (1975)
    • Albert King (1974) Top 100 Song [close]
      Christmas In Soulsville
      listen / buy

      Many Christmas songs have blended together the sacred and profane, creating a sexual feast where once was just turkey and cranberry sauce. But, no yuletide lothario has ever been quite as blunt as bluesman Albert King in his 1974 single, "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'." His sensuous guitar lines are but a harbinger of the hardcore jollies King hopes to unleash as he all but demands satisfaction. Tough luck, though, as he complains, "I ain't had no lovin' and it's worrying me!" The cause? Albert and his woman are preoccupied with holiday preparations. He is "trying to fix this ol' bicycle" while "Mama's in the kitchen cooking." So, he plans to make his move before "Mama... gets that sleep in her eyes." True, "Christmas is for children," but King wants his wife to "make her Pappy happy... before the children wake." Sounds reasonable enough, but a good guitar solo is all the pleasure Albert receives before the record fades. Sadly, Santa Claus won't be coming tonight...

      "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" was released as a non-LP Stax single in 1974, about a year before the label was forced into bankruptcy. Not too surprisingly, King's horny masterstroke sank like a stone, and it wouldn't see the light of day until 1982, when the label - by then wholly owned by Fantasy Records - compiled It's Christmas Time Again. That album also contained a previously unreleased version of the song by its author, Mack Rice, probably recorded in 1972. Finally, be aware that King's recording exists in both a three-minute single edit and a four-minute album version. Most compilations use the stereo album version, including It's Christmas Time Again and Christmas In Soulsville (2007). The mono single version can be found on The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Vol. 3: 1972-1975 (1994) and The Definitive Albert King On Stax (2012). In 2023, a stereo single version finally popped up on Stax Christmas. [back to list] [learn more]

  • Santa Claus Was My Lover (Culturcide, 1986)
  • Santa Claws (Sit n' Spin, 1994)
  • Santa Comes 'Round (J. Tex & The Volunteers, 2011)
  • Santa Doesn't Come To Little Jewish Children's Houses (Yid Kids, circa 1988)
  • Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope
  • Santa Dog (Residents, 1972)
  • Santa Don't Go (Farrah, 2008)
  • Santa Don't Like Bad Boys (Adam Sandler, 1993)
  • Santa! Don't Pass Me By (Freddy Fender, 1977)
  • Santa Done Got Hip (Marquees, 1959)
  • Santa God (Pearl Jam, 2007)
  • Santa Goes Rockin' (Mick Clarke, 2020)
  • Santa Got Soul (Better Off Dead, 2007)
  • Santa Got Stuck In The Chimney (Jimmy Boyd, 1953)
  • Santa, How Come Your Eyes Are Green When Last Year They Were Blue? (Louis Prima, 1966)
  • Santa, I Got Your Number (Tommy Tutone, 2008)
  • Santa Is An Anagram (Rick Springfield, 2017)
  • Santa Is Comin' Down Again (Psycho Daisies, 1986)
  • Santa Is Coming (Ho, Ho, Ho) (Woggles, 2007)
  • Santa Jaws (Homemade Theater, 1975)
  • Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy (Buck Owens, 1965) Top 100 Song [close]
    Christmas With Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
    listen / buy

    In short order, Buck Owens recorded two Christmas albums, Christmas With Buck Owens & The Buckaroos (1965) and Christmas Shopping (1968), consisting almost exclusively of original songs, most written by Owens and/or Buckaroo guitarist Don Rich. "Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy" (from the first album) is the best of the bunch, and it's prime Bakersfield country - twangy, energetic, and brimming with attitude. In this case, that attitude services a wry joke - a twist on "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - but it's a hoot all the same. Young Buck witnesses some hanky panky between his mama and a suspiciously skinny Santa. "If Santa Claus ain't Daddy," he resolves, "Then I'm a-gonna tell on them!"

    "Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy" was also released as a single, and it nearly topped Billboard's Christmas chart, peaking at #2, then reaching #18 two years later. The albums themselves have been reissued many times in all formats, but Omnivore's 2020 reissue of Owens' 1970 compilation A Merry Hee Haw Christmas merits special mention. The original two-LP set - released to capitalize of Owens' popular-but-cornpone TV show, Hee Haw - included nearly all the songs from Owens' two holiday albums. Omnivore's CD version restored the rest of those songs, plus two "Toys for Tots" bonus tracks. Or, as Buck's little boy told Santa in another song, "One of everything you got"... "Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy" was also appeared on Rhino's sterling Hillbilly Holiday (read about it), along with "Christmas Time's A-Comin'", another crackling track from Christmas With Buck Owens. [back to list]

  • Santa Mouse (Bob Morrison, 1966)
  • Santa, Oh Santa (Brian Hyland, 2002)
  • Santa Please (Lisa Mychols & Super 8, 2022)
  • Santa Please Bring Me A Surfboard (Kung Fu Monkeys, 1999)
  • Santa Santa (Rocky Fellers, 1962)
  • Santa Says (Christmas Pandemic) (Hamell On Trial, 2020)
  • Santa Song (Jud Strunk, 1969)
  • Santa Stole My Baby (Leroy, 1991)
  • Santa Stole My Lady (Fitz & The Tantrums, 2010)
  • Santa Teach Me To Dance (Debbie & The Darnells, 1962)
  • Santa Tell Me
  • Santa Town U.S.A. (Lonnie & The Crisis, 1961)
  • Santa We're Through (Stratocruiser, 2012)
  • Santa Won't Be Blue This Christmas (Jimmy Charles, 1960)
  • Santa's A Fat Bitch (Insane Clown Posse, 1994)
  • Santa's Beard (Beach Boys, 1964)
  • Santa's Beard (They Might Be Giants, 1988)
  • Santa's Big Parade (Louvin Brothers, 1961)
  • Santa's Calling (Sun Kings, 2009)
  • Santa's Coming (Meri Wilson, 2002)
  • Santa's Coming In A Whirly Bird (Gene Autry, 1959)
  • Santa's Coming Over (Low, 2008)
  • Santa's Gift Of Love (Martha And The Muffins, 2010)
  • Santa's Going South
  • Santa's Going To Kokomo (Mike Love, 2006)
  • Santa's Gone Surfin' (Malibooz, 1981)
  • Santa's Gonna Shut 'Em Down (Untamed Youth, 1989)
  • Santa's Got A Bag Of Soul (Soul Saints Orchestra, 1994)
  • Santa's Got A Brand New Bag (Gary Walker, 1965)
  • Santa's Got A GTO (Ramonas, 1990) Top 100 Song [close]

    listen / buy

    An all-girl rocker about Santa and a boss ride - what could be cooler? In a vengeful frenzy, San Francisco punks the Ramonas warn that Santa Claus is coming to town in a souped-up Pontiac to defend their honor against a boy who broke their hearts: "You better not cry, you better not frown, Santa's gonna run you down!" Despite their assertion that, "All I want for Christmas is to see you die," the group sounds positively gleeful as they chant "Ho ho ho! Ho ho ho! Santa's got a GTO!" dozens of times in a scant two minutes.

    Formed in 1987, the Ramonas started as good friends who loved the Ramones, and they literally drew straws to see who would play what instrument since none of them were musicians! The Ramonas claimed to be "the first all-female Ramones tribute band in the world," and they recorded "Santa's Got A GTO" for a fan club cassette tape in a limited edition of 100. It's reputation grew as it got picked up by dee jays like Dr. Demento looking for cool stuff to play at Christmas. It finally earned a slice of immortality when it served as the title track for Santa's Got A GTO: Rodney On The ROQ's Fav X-mas Songs, a 1997 CD compiled by influential L.A. disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer - and then served double duty for the second volume in 2017. Part of Bingeheimer's schtick was that he cruised around Hollywood in a blue 1967 Pontiac GTO, and that probably didn't hurt.... [back to list] [learn more]

  • Santa's Got A Mullet (Nerf Herder, 2000)
  • Santa's Got His Baby Something Good (T. Graham Brown, 2023)
  • Santa's Got Something For You (Stratocruiser, 2009)
  • Santa's Knee (Lenny Kaye, 2023)
  • Santa's Lament (Father Guido Sarducci, 1991)
  • Santa's Little Helper (Evan Johns & The H-Bombs, 1990)
  • Santa's Little Helpers (Pipsqueeks, 1966)
  • Santa's Messin' With The Kid (Eddie C. Campbell, 1977)
  • Santa's On His Way (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, 1949)
  • Santa's Rap (aka Xmas Rap) (Treacherous Three featuring Kool Moe Dee, 1984) Top 100 Song [close]
    Beat Street
    listen / buy

    The Treacherous Three is a storied trio of hip hop pioneers best remembered for two things - spawning rap star Kool Moe Dee and performing "Santa's Rap" in Beat Street (1984), one of several hip hop flicks from the early 80's. Like many great rap records, "Santa's Rap" (which also features Doug E. Fresh - not a regular member of the crew) is both scabrous and side-splitting, a bleak tale of ghetto holidays leavened by ribald jokes and well-played dozens. In the hood, we learn, Christmas is tough. "The last so-called Santa that came in with a sack," explains group member Special K, "wasn't giving out presents, he was taking 'em back." Kool Moe Dee asks, "If the economy is getting better, getting better for who?" Before we're done, Santa is on welfare, reduced to eating his own reindeer.

    Interestingly, "Santa's Rap" was originally released under the title "Xmas Rap," an R-rated, six-minute jam on a Sugar Hill 12-inch single. For the movie, it was renamed "Santa's Rap," and edited down to less than four minutes. But, weirdly, while the curse words are heard in the movie - there's one "ass," one "fuck" and two "shits" - they are bleeped on all the Atlantic soundtrack releases, including a 7-inch single and a 12-inch LP. What's more, when the track started showing up for download and streaming, it was still censored! Thankfully, the full-length, unexpurgated version was reissued in 2000 by Sequel (an English label) on their Turn It Up compilation under the original title,"Xmas Rap." It was worth the wait, and it's worth hunting down.

    It's worth noting that there were two Beat Street soundtrack albums, and "Santa's Rap" was on the second volume. Also, to confuse matters even further, the song was reissued in 1990 under the title "Christmas Rap" as the b-side of Kool Moe Dee's Sugar Hill single "The Down Beat." Then, a three-minute edit of that was included on The Greatest Hits (1991), a compilation of old Treacherous Three recordings issued under Kool Moe Dee's name to capitalize on his newfound popularity as a solo artist for Jive Records. [back to list]

  • Santa's Sack (Diaboliks, 1997)
  • Santa's Secret (aka Santa Claus Is Smoking Reefer) (Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, 1944) [close]

    Mr. Santa's Boogie"Santa's Secret" is a bizarre jive number by New York jazz pianist Johnny Guarnieri. Recorded in 1944, possibly as an inside joke but most definitely as a cheeky tribute to Fats Waller, it sat unreleased until 1985 when it appeared on Mr. Santa's Boogie, an amazing compilation on Savoy Jazz. And no wonder, as it was later recorded by the Squirrel Nut Zippers under its more intuitive title, "Santa Claus Is Smoking Reefer." Guarnieri goes into great detail about Santa's affinity for sticky herb. "Kris Kringle's got a reefer 100 feet long, smokes it from end to end," Johnny reveals. "He's so high in the sky, loaded all the time. He stays up there loaded for a year, comes on down, he's got the stuff for the kiddies - and the kids are hep these days!" So it would seem... Guarnieri is joined by drummer Sammy Weiss and bassist Slam Stewart, who played with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, and many others. Stewart was renowned for his ability to sing along with himself while bowing his bass, and if you listen very carefully, you can hear him doing so on "Santa's Secret."

  • Santa's Supersonic Flying Rocket Sled (Hollyberries, 2012)
  • Santa's Wish (Hawaii Mud Bombers, 2004)
  • Santa, You Owe Me (Antigone Rising, 2013)
  • Santacide (Toadies, 1994)
  • Santafly (Martin Mull with the Sondra Baskin Glee Club, 1973)
  • Save Christmas Day For Me (Red Sky July, 2015)
  • Saving Up Christmas (Captain & Tennille, 2005)
  • Saviour's Day (Cliff Richard, 1990)
  • Say It Ain't So, Santa (Stop Calling Me Frank, 2022)
  • Say Merry Christmas For Me (Donna Hightower, 1972)
  • Season's Freaklings (Bunnygrunt, 1996)
  • Season's Greetings (Cix Bits, 1973)
  • Season's Greetings (Robbers On High Street, 2007)
  • Season's Upon Us (Dropkick Murphys, 2012)
  • Senor Santa Claus (Louis Prima, 1966)
  • Senor Santa Claus (Jim Reeves, 1962)
  • Senseless Lass (Yobs, 1991)
  • Sentimental Christmastime (Birthday Kiss, 2012)
  • 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night (medley)
  • 77 Santas (Gayla Peevey, 1955)
  • Sex Toys for Christmas (Vegas DeMilo, 2001)
  • Sexy Christmas Baby Mine (Morphine, 1995)
  • Sexy Santa (Steel Panther, 2009)
  • Shake Hands With Santa (Louis Prima, 1951)
  • Shake Things Up (Lisa Loeb & Rob Morrow, 2023)
  • Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time) (Sha La Das, 2013)
  • Shadrack, The Black Reindeer (Loretta Lynn, 1974)
  • Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry) (Marion Worth, 1962)
  • Shake Up Christmas
  • She Came Home For Christmas (Mew, 1997)
  • She Feels Like Christmas Day (Critics, 1991)
  • She Won't Be Home (Erasure, 1988)
  • She's A Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas (Patent Pending, 2007)
  • She's All I Want For Christmas (Lloyd, 2011)
  • She's Coming Home (Wailers, 1965)
  • Shepherds And Wisemen (The Free Design, 1968/2023) [close]
    Free Design, Shepherds And Wisemen
    listen / buy

    The Free Design was a family vocal group from New York similar to the Cowsills, but with a sophisticated approach that owed a lot to the jazz acts like the Swingle Singers and the Hi-Los, as well as pop groups like the Association and the Beach Boys, circa Pet Sounds. Between 1967 and 1972, the Free Design released seven fine albums with psychedelic overtones, and they sometimes bore a striking similarity to the baroque pop that would make the Carpenters rich and famous. But, the Free Design never saw much chart action - "Kites Are Fun" bubbled under in 1967, but that's as close as they got.

    These days, we call the Free Design "sunshine pop," and the term certainly fits. Thanks to reissues by Varèse Sarabande and Light In The Attic, the group experienced something of a renaissance in the late 90's, parallel with the lounge revival that sprang up in reaction to the loud, abrasive, alternative rock then dominating the airwaves. Any number of bands from the time can call them an influence, including Belle & Sebastian, the High Llamas, and Stereolab. The Free Design even got the band back together and, in 2001, recorded a new album, Cosmic Peekaboo.

    For Christmas geeks, the Free Design created two points of interest, both in 1968. First, they recorded a non-LP single, "Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)," that is almost (but not quite) a unicorn: a full-blown hippie flower-power song about the holidays. I can cite a few more examples - say, Shirley Ellis' 1965 nuclear warning, "You Better Be Good World," the Rotary Connection's trippy 1967 LP Peace, or the Raiders' bizarro 1967 concept album Christmas Present... And Past. But, by the late 60's, most reasonably hip acts were avoiding "square" Christmas music like a plague. Predictably, the single flopped and became impossibly rare. Thankfully, Light In The Attic included both "Close Your Mouth" and its b-side, "Christmas Is The Day" - written by the group's father - as bonus tracks on their CD reissue of the group's 1968 album, You Could Be Born Again.

    Free Design, You Could Be Born AgainThe Free Design's second Christmas project was much stranger, and it has become the white whale of many a record-collecting Ahab. And, it has quite a story behind it. As I mentioned above, the Free Design was a real family: initially eldest child Sandra Dedrick and her brothers Bruce and Chris. By 1968, little sister Ellen was on board, and Stefanie, the baby of the family, would join towards the end. But, Chris Dedrick was the leader. He wrote and arranged most of their material, and he went on to a long career in music, including stints with the Star-Scape Singers (with sisters Sandra and Stefanie) and the Canadian Brass.

    In 1968, however, Chris had just graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, losing his student deferment in the process. To avoid getting drafted and sent to the jungles of Vietnam, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and joined their band, the Airmen Of Note. Eventually, Chris was asked to participate in a recruitment project, and he brought the Free Design along for the ride.

    The resulting LP - now incredibly rare - was distributed to radio stations for broadcast and consisted of two different programs, both accompanied by the Airmen Of Note and the Air Force orchestra, Symphony In Blue. The first side was called "A Christmas Party," and it featured the show biz duo of Tony Sandler and Ralph Young - a popular recording act for Capitol Records - performing holiday standards. The second side was called "The Now Sound Of Christmas," with the Free Design helping the Air Force attract young recruits during an increasingly unpopular war.

    Free Design, The Now Sound Of ChristmasTo their credit, the Free Design stuck to their own, unique style, but there's not a lot of compelling new music. Of the 10 tracks, three were previously released, including both sides of the "Close Your Mouth" single, and another was an ancient hymn, "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence." Two were versions of the neat theme song, but it's little more than background music for the Air Force announcer. Then, two brassy instrumental carols by the Airmen Of Note leave us just one song - but that's where things get interesting.

    With "Shepherds And Wisemen," Chris Dedrick managed to sneak an anti-war message onto a military recruiting record. Christmas may have become a time for children and revelry, but let's not forget where it started. Since the dawn of the holiday, we've endured "centuries of hate," but its origin story may hold the key. "Let's become like shepherds again, let's make room for wisemen, let's take time to look for a star that's not forgotten," the group implores. "Peace at Christmas," they conclude, "wouldn’t that be awfully nice?"

    Chris Dedrick died in 2010, but his subversive Christmas song received a whole new life in 2023 when the group produced a new version of "Shepherds And Wisemen" with renowned musician Fernando Perdomo. He took the original 1968 vocals by Sandra, Ellen, Bruce, and Chris Dedrick and laid them over a brand new backing track, playing nearly all the instruments himself - guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, and more - with Probyn Gregory, a longtime member of the Brian Wilson Band, adding horns. The refurbished song was released for download and streaming, sadly relevant in a world still hoping for peace at Christmas.

    Finally, we should make note of Butterflies Are Free: Original Recordings 1967-1972 (2020), a four-CD Él Records boxed set. It collects nearly all of the Free Design's vintage recordings - seven albums plus assorted rarities, including both sides of their 1968 Christmas single. But, it doesn't include the Air Force recordings.

  • Shimmy Winter Wonderland (Swingin' Embers, 1962)
  • Shopping Center Santa (Stuntmen, 1996)
  • Shopping Mall (Holiday Music, 2005)
  • Shopping On Christmas Eve (Keb' Mo', 2011)
  • Shouldn't Have Given Him A Gun For Christmas (Wall Of Voodoo, 1987)
  • Shut-In At Christmas/Shut-In's Prayer (Louvin Brothers, 1952)
  • Sick And Tired Of Christmas (The Midway, 2022)
  • Sickly Sweet Holidays (Dallon Weekes, 2014)
  • Signs Of Christmas (James Brown, 1966)
  • Silent Night
  • Silent Night All Day Long (John Prine, 1993)
  • Silent Night, Lonely Night (Duke Ellington, 1968)
  • Silent Night, Lonely Night (Jody Miller, 1973)
  • Silent Night-Mare (Sister Soleil, 1992)
  • Silent Night Rumble (Jackie & The Cedrics, 1996)
  • Silent Tonight (Elle And The Fury, 2012)
  • Silver And Gold (from "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer")
  • Silver Bells
  • Silver Bells Ring (Ana Egge, 2024)
  • Simple Feeling (Smoke Fairies, 2013)
  • Since It's Christmas (Amanda Stewart, 2023)
  • Six Days Till Xmas (aka Snowflakes) (Betty Lloyd, circa 1968)
  • Six Tons Of Toys (Dave Dudley, 1970)
  • Six Weeks Every Summer (Christmas Every Other Year)
  • Skank 'Til Christmas (The Selecter, 2011)
  • Skater's Waltz (John Fahey, 1983)
  • Skating (from "A Charlie Brown Christmas") (Vince Guaraldi Trio, 1965)
  • Skating On Thin Ice (Katie Morey, 2022)
  • Ski Party (Wondermints, 1997)
  • Sleigh (Smino, Monte Booker & Mase, 2019)
  • Sleigh Bell Rock (Three Aces & A Joker, 1960) Top 100 Song [close]
    Rockin' Christmas: The 50's
    listen / buy

    In my relatively vast collection, I can think of very few Christmas records that qualify as honest-to-God, dyed-in-the-wool rockabilly. Some of the biggest Christmas hits (including "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree") bear a strong influence of the frenetic, hiccupping country/rock hybrid, but they're just not the real thing - think early Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette, et al.

    Three Aces And A Joker, on the other hand, hit the rockabilly nail on the head with this primeval masterpiece, recorded in 1959 and released the following year. The Aces were an obscure trio from Salt Lake City whose best-known song, "Booze Party," must have made them pariahs in their teetotalling, Mormon-dominated hometown. "Sleigh Bell Rock" was the b-side to that tipsy tune, and while both songs are revered by the rockabilly faithful, Three Aces And A Joker remained unknown to the public-at-large (at least, until the internet allowed fanatics like this guy to publish lengthy articles the group). "Sleigh Bell Rock" has been reissued twice on Rhino's long out-of-print LP Rockin' Christmas: The 50's and on Buffalo Bop's CD Rockabilly Xmas. [back to list] [learn more]

  • Sleigh Ride
    • Leroy Anderson (1950) [close]

      Leroy AndersonLeroy Anderson made thoughtful music that we might call "easy listening" today, but you can't deny how vibrant and memorable his melodies and arrangements were. Pleasant? Very. Easy? Nope. Anderson's songs demanded your attention and captured your imagination. His specialty was a kind of musical onomatopoeia. Anderson wrote wordless songs that sounded like their subject matter - "The Syncopated Clock," "The Typewriter," "The Waltzing Cat," and "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" His greatest hit, "Sleigh Ride," immediately brings to mind wintery snowscapes and rollicking good times. Naysayers will complain that it's not a Christmas song - and, technically, it is not - but it quickly became associated with the holiday, and it's been covered on countless Christmas albums since its debut in 1949.

      Anderson wrote "Sleigh Ride" as an instrumental, begun in the summer of 1946 and finished on February 10, 1948. It was first performed by his employer, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, on May 4, 1948. It was first recorded by Fiedler and the Pops in 1949 and released as an RCA single, reaching #24 on Billboard's pop charts. It proved so popular that in 1950 Anderson commissioned lyrics by Mitchell Parish, the man who wrote the words for pop standards "Stardust," "Deep Purple," and "Stars Fell On Alabama," among others, as well as several other Anderson compositions including "Blue Tango" and "Serenata." Immediately, several vocal versions were recorded including Johnny Desmond's for Capitol, Percy Faith's for Columbia, and Freddy Martin's for RCA.

      Leroy Anderson recorded his own instrumental version on September 11, 1950, and it was first released in early 1951 on his Decca album Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions. In 1952, Decca reissued the songs as a single, and though it did not chart in Billboard, it appeared on the Cash Box Best Sellers chart in late 1952 and early 1953, peaking at #26. In 1959, Anderson recorded a new version in stereo for his Decca album Leroy Anderson Conducts Leroy Anderson.

      Both the mono and stereo recordings can be found on Anderson's Complete Christmas Collection (Real Gone Music, 2019). A new stereo recording by the Boston Pops (for Polydor in 1970) is included on A Leroy Anderson Christmas (Decca, 2004) alongside Anderson's own mono recording. And, the song lends its title to Sleigh Ride: The Best Of Leroy Anderson (MCA, 1997), a fine sampler of his evocative repertoire. The original mono recording is most commonplace on holiday compilations like The Twelve Hits Of Christmas (United Artists, 1976), Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (Rhino, 1989), and Croon And Swoon: A Classic Christmas (Relativity, 1998).

      All that said, it's worth noting that the rest of Leroy Anderson's Christmas music - two Decca LP's, Christmas Carols (1955) and Christmas Festival (1959), both collected on Complete Christmas Collection - is much more traditional than "Sleigh Ride." It's fine for what it is - not dissimilar from Percy Faith's beloved holiday albums, for instance - but it merits the "easy listening" label that the rest of his catalog generally does not.

    • Tex Beneke (1965)
    • Combustible Edison (1994)
    • Johnny Desmond with the Ray Conniff Singers (1950)
    • Jack Jones (1964)
    • Arthur Lyman (1963)
    • Johnny Mathis (1958)
    • Ronettes (1963)
    • Soulful Strings (1968)
    • Spice Girls (1996)
    • Ventures (1965)
  • Sleigh Ride (aka Christmas Sleigh Ride) (Lloyd Glenn, 1951)
  • Sleighbell Bop (The Holidays, 1986)
  • Slick Nick You Devil You (Fishbone, 1987)
  • Slipping Into Christmas (Leon Russell, 1972) [close]

    Leon RussellLeon Russell penned both "Slipping Into Christmas" and its b-side, "Christmas In Chicago," releasing them as a single on his Shelter Records in 1972. The holidays find Russell alone and depressed ("Scrooge ain't got nothing on me), and "Slipping Into Christmas" creeps along in an absinthe-induced haze, neatly splitting the difference between uptown jazz and down-home blues. Despite it's snail-like tempo and major-bummer message, the a-side reached #4 on the Billboard Christmas chart, but Russell has never included either side of the single on one of his albums, nor has he licensed them for inclusion elsewhere. DCC Records did, however, release the songs on a promotional CD single to publicize their 1989 reissue of Russell's Shelter catalog, and, many years hence, Capitol Records finally reissued the single as a digital single.

  • Snoopy's Christmas (Royal Guardsmen, 1967)
  • Snow (written by Randy Newman)
  • Snow (New Found Glory, 2014)
  • Snow Angel And The Icicle Sword (Ian McGlynn, 2010)
  • Snow Covered Christmas (Jimmy Webb, 2009)
  • Snow Dreams (Connie Russell, 1954)
  • Snow Birds (Honeymoon Stallions, 2015)
  • Snow Miser (from "Year Without A Santa Claus") (Dick Shawn, 1974)
  • Snowball Fight (Village People, 2018)
  • Snowbound (Dell-Vikings, 1957)
  • Snowed In (MxPx, 2010)
  • Snowfall
  • Snowfall Cha Cha (Billy May, 1960) [close]

    Mambo Santa MamboPianist Claude Thornhill's 1941 composition "Snowfall" is a big band classic that eventually became a Christmas standard - helped along when his wife, Ruth, later added lyrics. Billy May's gentle 1960 "cha cha" arrangement is one of the best treatments Thornhill's moneymaker ever received - though it's an instrumental version minus Ruth's words. May was known mainly as a composer of movie and TV themes ("Batman" is the most famous) and as a bandleader who accompanied a who's who of vocalists including Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Nancy Wilson. But, May also put out records under his own name, including his 1960 Capitol LP Cha Cha! from which "Snowfall" is taken.

    While that record has never been reissued, "Snowfall" was later included on Rhino's marvelous compilation Mambo Santa Mambo (2000). These days, however, the most commonly heard version of May's recording is in a medley with pianist George Shearing's interpretation of the same song. The medley was created long after the fact for Capitol's Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails 2 (1997). Shearing's recording was made for his 1964 Capitol album, The Shearing Touch, on which Billy May arranged and conducted the string orchestra - so the concept works better than I would've expected....

  • A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) (Glasvegas, 2008)
  • Snowflakes (Jeremy Fisher, 2010)
  • Snowflakes (aka Six Days Till Xmas) (Betty Lloyd, 1969)
  • Snowman (Sofia Talvik, 2022)
  • Snowman Magic (Dwight Twilley, 2005)
  • Snowman Snowman Sweet Potato Nose (Jaynetts, 1963)
  • Snowstorm (Raveonettes, 2020)
  • Snowy (Josh Rouse, 2007)
  • So In Love This Christmas (Stephanie Mills, 2012)
  • So Near To Christmas (Alvin Stardust, 1984)
  • So They Say It's Christmas (Lou Rawls with Brian Setzer, 1996)
  • So This Is Christmas (MxPx, 2003)
  • Soca Santa (Machel, 1985)
  • Sock It To Me Santa
  • Sock It To Me Santa (Bud Logan, 1968)
  • Some Hearts (At Christmas Time) (Low, 2016)
  • Somebody Stole My Christmas (Lefty Dizz, 1979)
  • Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit (Christmas Jug Band featuring Dan Hicks, 1987)
  • Someday At Christmas
    • Jackson Harden (2022)
    • Jackson 5 (1970)
    • Lizzo (2022)
    • Pearl Jam (2004)
    • Riff (2013)
    • Marlee Scott (2010)
    • Temptations (1970)
    • Stevie Wonder (1966) Top 100 Song [close]
      Stevie Wonder, "Someday At Christmas"
      listen / buy

      One of the finest, most magnanimous protest songs ever incorporated into the Christmas tradition, Stevie Wonder's "Someday At Christmas" calls the bluff of all that "peace on earth" crap. This song (written by Motown staffers Ron Miller and Bryan Wells) was a brave step for Berry Gordy's company. This was 1966, a turbulent time in an America deeply divided over the Vietnam War, and "Someday At Christmas" clearly states that violence against our fellow man is folly. Not yet known for such bold statements, Motown risked alienating the mainstream audience they'd worked so hard to win. Happily, they didn't, and "Someday at Christmas" was modest success, reaching #24 on Billboard's Christmas chart.

      "Someday at Christmas" was released first as a single, and the following year it served as the title track of Wonder's otherwise middlin' holiday album. So, the better choice is arguably the 1973 compilation, A Motown Christmas, a magnificent distillation of the label's numerous holiday albums (read about it). You'd be forgiven, by the way, if you prefer "What Christmas Means To Me," the other standout track on Wonder's album. It's great, too, and certainly more typical of Motown's effervescent magic - and A Motown Christmas has both, by the way. [back to list] [learn more]

  • Something 'Bout This Time Of Year
  • Son Of Santa (from Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, 1986)
  • Song At Midnight (Peggy Lee, 1949)
  • Song Of The Sleigh Bells (June Hutton, 1952)
  • Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues (Sonny Boy Williamson, 1951)
  • Sorry To See You Go (June Christy, 1961)
  • Soul Christmas (Count Sidney & His Dukes, 1967)
  • Soul Christmas (Graham Parker & Nona Hendryx, 1994)
  • Soul Santa
  • Soulful Christmas
  • Sound The Trumpet (Christmas Is Here)
  • Space Christmas (Shonen Knife, 1991) [close]

    Shonen KnifeShonen Knife's "Space Christmas" is a pretty typical song for the Japanese cause célèbre - infectious melodies, propulsive beat, lyrics while teetering between absurd and profound. Issued by indie label Seminal Twang in the UK on both vinyl and CD single, "Space Christmas" was backed with "Bear Up Bison" plus the band's "Christmas Message '91" (CD only). The cover (pictured) was also issued in a red-and-green color scheme. In America, "Space Christmas" was issued by Rockville on red 7-inch vinyl b/w "Christmas Message '91." The single had an attractive picture sleeve and was formally entitled A Shonen Knife Christmas Record For You (click to see). Later, "Space Christmas" was compiled on Shonen Knife's CD, The Birds And The B-Sides (1996). In 1999, the group recorded a new holiday single, All I Want For Christmas, with Sonic Youth's Thurston, and in 2011, Sweet Christmas.

  • Spaceman Came Travelling (Chris de Burgh, 1975)
  • Special Christmas Day (Eddie Floyd, 1976)
  • Special Kind of Christmas (Jay Patten with Crystal Gayle, 1994)
  • Spirit Of Christmas (Kitty Kallen, 1954)
  • Spirit Of Christmas (John Lodge of the Moody Blues, 2014)
  • Spirit Of Christmas (from "The Christmas Chronicles 2") (Kurt Russell and Darlene Love, 2020)
  • Spirits Of Old Christmas (Cleaners From Venus, 2023)
  • Spoiled Rotten Kids (V.D. King, 2021)
  • Spotlight On Christmas (Rufus Wainwright, 2003)
  • Squat (The Christmas Blues) (Shelby Lynne, 2003)
  • Squirrely Christmas (Shirley & Squirrely, 1976)
  • Staffan Var En Stalledräng (Twang-O-Matics, 2018)
  • Star (Cheepskates, 1986)
  • Star Carol (Simon & Garfunkel, 1967)
  • Star Of Hope (The Springfields, 1961)
  • Star Of Wonder (Roches, 1990)
  • Star Still Shines (Sonny James, 1966)
  • Stay Here This Christmas (Push Play, 2009)
  • Step Into Christmas
    • Elton John (1973) Top 100 Song [close]
      Elton John's Christmas Party
      listen / buy

      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]

    • The Wedding Present (1991) [close]

      Wedding PresentIn 1992, English indie rockers the Wedding Present undertook to release a new 7-inch vinyl single on the first Monday of every month. The a-sides were original songs, while the b-sides consisted entirely of eclectic covers. The twelfth and final single was a Christmas record pressed on red vinyl - "No Christmas" backed with a rendition of Elton John's "Step Into Christmas," which had been previously released on A Lump Of Coal (1991). All of the singles made the UK charts, with "No Christmas" reaching #25. Later, all 24 songs from the series were compiled in chronological order on two albums, Hit Parade 1 (1992) and Hit Parade 2 (1993), the latter of which, logically, concluded with both sides of the Christmas single.

      "No Christmas" is a noisy, caterwauling plea for forgiveness - and one that falls on deaf ears. "Don't say we've reached the end," begs singer David Gedge, repeating "I care about you" and "It can't be ending" over and over. We are left to assume that he is left alone and bereft for the holidays since the song is called "No Christmas" - despite the fact that Gedge never utters those words. "Step Into Christmas," meanwhile, is a shambolic, if serviceable cover. It's a hoot, in a dark sort of way, but it can't erase the memory of Elton's John's sparkling 1973 original - which, admittedly, wasn't really the point.

  • Stet-N-Santa (Stetsasonic, 1987)
  • Still Got the Blues for Christmas (Gary Hoey, 2013)
  • Stille Nacht
  • Stone Soul Christmas (Binky Griptite, 2006)
  • Stop The Cavalry (Jona Lewie, 1980)
  • Strawberry Snow (Brenda Lee, 1964)
  • Stretchy Pants (Carrie Underwood, 2021)
  • Stripper Christmas Summer Weekend (Gwar, 2009)
  • Stuck In The Holiday (Jack Skuller, 2016)
  • Stuffin' Her Stockin' (Bloodshot Bill, 2014)
  • Stupid Xmas! (Sensible Gray Cells, 2023)
  • Suddenly It's Christmas
  • Sugar And Booze (Ana Gasteyer, 2019)
  • Sugar Rum Cherry (Duke Ellington, 1960)
  • Sugarplum Gremmie (Malibooz, 2018)
  • Sun Valley Ski Run (Esquivel, 1959)
  • Sunny Day For Xmas (Michael Carpenter, 2010)
  • Sunshine To Snowflakes (Al Jardine, 2014)
  • Super Rock Santa (Fleshtones, 2008)
  • Super Sunny Christmas (Redd Kross, 1991)
  • Surfer's Christmas List (Surfaris, 1963) [close]

    Rockin' Little ChristmasThe Surfaris are known for crazed, high-energy instrumentals like "Point Panic" and their all-time classic, "Wipe Out." But, drummer Ron Wilson would occasionally add a vocal into the mix, including the charting b-side of "Wipe Out," "Surfer Joe." The Surfaris' 1963 Decca single, "A Surfer's Christmas List," is another good example - and a particularly wholesome one.

    So, what does a surfer want for Christmas?" Well, a surfboard, natch, plus "some baggies and a customized woody." That's pretty red-blooded stuff, but to curry favor with Santa, Ron promises that he'll "give up the honeys and the parties, too." That doesn't sound like the surfers I know, but then I'm a hodad.

    "Surfer's Christmas List" isn't a widely acknowledged holiday classic - though it should be. But, it can easily be found on MCA's brief-but-great Rockin' Little Christmas (1986), which is now available to download or stream (read more). It also appears on Rhino's 1986 LP, Cool Yule, and a few odd compilations. But, you'll need to track down the original Decca 45 to get the b-side, "Santa's Speed Shop" - a revved up reinvention of "Jingle Bells."

  • Surfer's Holiday (Annette Funicello, 1963)
  • Surfin' Jingle Bells (Wave Chargers, 2020)
  • Surfin' Santa (Lord Douglas Byron, 1964) [close]

    Rockin' Little Christmas"Surfin' Santa" is a weird little song released as a Dot single in 1964, after which Lord Douglas Byron was never heard from again. In all likelihood, the performer is actually California wunderkind Gary Paxton, who is credited as cowriter and arranger. "Surfin' Santa" doesn't sound remotely like a surf song - there are no hyperkenetic guitars or close Beach Boys harmonies. And, it's sung in a goofy drawl - not unlike "Alley Oop," the 1960 hit by the Hollywood Argyles produced and sung by - wait for it - Gary Paxton.

    But, "Surfin' Santa" crams a lot of buzz words into a two-minute single, transparently hoping to ride the fading surf craze all the way to the bank. Unsurprisingly, the single flopped, but we're left with the enduring image of a Santa who "wears bright red baggies," has two reindeer named "Jan and Dean," and "surfs over snowbanks twenty feet high." He comes bearing gifts, of course, but not toys. Instead, he leaves the kiddies "autographed pictures of those Beach Boys" and "bright colored surfboards and shiny new woodies."

    Since it's original release, "Surfin' Santa" has only appeared on one album, MCA's Rockin' Little Christmas (1986), which is now available to download or stream (read more).

  • Surfin' With The Claus (Mike Watt & The Bobblymen, 2023)
  • Surfing On Christmas Day (Santa Won't You Bring Me Some Waves) (Southern Culture On The Skids, 2020)
  • Suzy Snowflake (Rosemary Clooney, 1951)
  • (Sweet Angie) The Christmas Tree Angel (Andrews Sisters, 1950)
  • Sweet Christmas (Shonen Knife, 2011)
  • Sweet Little Baby Boy (Angela Strehli, 1983)
  • Sweet Little Jesus Boy (Johnny Nash, 1969)
  • Sweet Secret Peace (Neil Finn, 2002)
  • Sweet Winter (Remington Super 60, 2009)
  • Sweetest Season (Nicole Atkins & Teddy Morgan, 2024)
  • Swingin' For Christmas (Gene Ammons, 1948) [close]

    The Joy Of Christmas PastMost record collectors know that history can be fuzzy, if not altogether confusing. Gene Ammons' "Swingin' For Christmas" is case in point, where almost nothing about the song seems certain. It was recorded in October 1948 and originally issued under that title as a 78-rpm single on The Aristocrat Of Records (606), a little Chicago label, backed with "Talk Of The Town." But, it was credited to Tom Archia And His All Stars - not Gene Ammons. Archia was a tenor saxophonist from Texas who played with Roy Eldride, Wynonie Harris, Helen Humes, Illinois Jacquet, and Dinah Washington, among others. These days, however, Archia's renown is dwarfed by that of Gene "Jug" Ammons, also a tenor saxophonist, who went on to a long, prolific career - and was the son of pianist Albert Ammons, by the way.

    Gene Ammons was not a regular member of Archia's All Stars, who released about a dozen sides on Aristocrat. But, he was present for their 1948 Aristocrat session, and the songs it produced - "Swingin' For Christmas," "Talk Of The Town," "Jam For Boppers," and "The Battle" - are frequently included on anthologies of Ammons' work.


    listen

    On "Swingin' For Christmas," Archia is also is credited as songwriter. In reality, the song is a medley including "Jingle Bells," "Joy To The World," "Silent Night," and "White Christmas" - none of which Archia wrote, obviously. Regardless, the song is an exhuberant hard bop jam featuring solos from Ammons ("Silent Night"), Archia ("White Christmas"), and pianist Willie Jones ("Jingle Bells") - though some sources place Christine Chatman at the keyboard.

    Leonard Chess worked at Aristocrat and, in 1949, he bought the label along with his brother Phil. In 1950, they renamed it Chess Records, which would go on to play a massive role in the development of blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll with a roster that included Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Etta James, Bo Diddley, the Dells, and many more.

    The Chess Brothers would, however, continue to dabble, relatively speaking, in jazz. They worked with Ahmad Jamal, Kenny Burrell, and, most notably, Ramsey Lewis, a pianist who scored lots of crossover hits like "The In Crowd" and "Wade In The Water."

    But, neither Gene Ammons or Tom Archia ever recorded for the newly-minted Chess label, though their Aristocrat sides would be recycled by the company ad infinitum. First out of the box was a very confusing 1950 Chess reissue (1445) of "Swingin' For Christmas." Here, the title was changed to "Boppin With Santa" and the artist was billed as a duo of Gene Amons (sic) and Tom Archia. Reportedly, the master was altered to sound like a live recording, including overdubbed applause.

    To add another layer of confusion, on later compilations such as Gene Ammons Early Visions (Cadet, 1975) and Young Jug (Chess, 1994), the song is often referred to as "Swingin' For Xmas" or "Swingin' For X-Mas," and Gene Ammons is given headline billing. Tom Archia is relegated to the role of sideman, if he's mentioned at all.

    If you discount products of the European public domain laws - and I do - "Swingin' For Christmas" has only appeared on a few holiday compilations over the years. Far and away, it is best contextualized on GRP's The Joy Of Christmas Past (1994), a collection of vintage jazz from the Chess, Decca, and other labels owned by MCA (read more). That album was reconfigured a few years later as Traditional Jazz Christmas (1997), with "Swingin' For Christmas" left intact.

  • Swinging Them Jingle Bells (Fats Waller, 1936)
  • Swingle Jingle (Lionel Hampton, 1964)

[top of page]