Tag Archives: Holiday Music

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: I DON’T INTEND TO SPEND CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU – 15 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

If you want to imagine what it was like to celebrate Christmas in the late ’60s, this is the recording.

Back then, French singer Claudine Longet often appeared on the TV variety show (look that term up, kiddies!) hosted by her husband, Andy Williams.

Little is remembered of her non-holiday canon. But a recording she made gained some popularity when it was included on the B.F. Goodrich tire company’s lone promotional holiday album.

The song “Snow” was picked up by Goodrich. The flipside was “I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You,” written and originally recorded by Margo Guryan. The artists Guryan wrote for – Spanky and Our Gang, Bobby Sherman, Freda Payne – are a Who’s Who of that era.

Longet’s version of the song evokes Peter Max, black light posters, kaleidoscopes and the whole ’60s milieu. Her whispery voice adds some charm.

The song was covered by the British band Saint Etienne. It might be cool to hear a contemporary singer – Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele – take a stab at it.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=THkbra7Q__U

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS – 16 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

Greg Lake was part of what was referred to in the ’70s as a “supergroup” – made up of key players from other big-name bands.

In this case, he was part of Emerson, Lake and Palmer – a group whose trademark sound was to incorporate classical riffs in their music.

When he went solo, Lake wrote a Christmas song that was at turns wistful and cynical, an unusual combination. He reminisced about holidays past while decrying the commercialism of the season. He threw in a few measures of a Sergei Prokofiev suite and created “I Believe in Father Christmas.”

The result is what seemed at the time like a very dramatic holiday tune. Is it a classic? I’m not there, but I do like to hear it a time or two every year.

Here is the original:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=yfY4b1NszpY

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HOW DID THIS THING GET IN ME? – 17 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

Since 2005, singer Judith Owen and her husband, comedian Harry Shearer, have been doing a holiday season benefit called “Christmas Without Tears.” 

It combines their two vocations, music and comedy. In 2015, they recorded the show at the Largo club in Los Angeles. It’s not a particularly well-known album, but it has some amazing performamces.

A somewhat irreverent one is by singer-songwriter Amy Engelhardt. Her number gives the perspective of the Nativity from the person who does the real work that night – the Virgin Mary.

Not something you sing around the Yule log. But fun.

Enjoy.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2ySb1xW2eWo

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HOSPITALITY HYMN – 18 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

Four years ago, I experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini-stroke. It was very mild and I’ve had no recurrence, thank you.

That night, I remained in the hospital for observation. And, of course, being hooked up to an IV, it was hard to sleep. My wife had brought me my laptop, and I used it at around 3 a.m. to compose.

I thought about all the good people in the ward who were caring for me – doctors, nurses, gurney operators, technicians, et cetera. And even though it was mid-June, it made me think about how these folks make holidays possible for so many people.

So I wrote this song, “Hospitality Hymn” (see how I cleverly worked the word “hospital” in there) both as an ode to the spirit of caring at this time of the year and a plea for tolerance and compassion.

Yes, there are words, but it’s the instrumental version that’s on YouTube Music and other streaming services. It’s part of my three-song holiday EP available on iTunes and other digital downloading apps.

I hope you share your hospitality this season – and that it comes back to you manifold.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=LQpjKhtrTq8

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: THE HOLLY AND THE IVY – 19 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

It’s been two years since the passing of pianist George Winston.

His “December” album has been a part of our holiday season for 40 years and we’ve seen him in person numerous times at venues throughout the New York metropolitan area. So it’s not a surprise that when we think about people we miss at this time of year, we think of him – even though we didn’t know him personally.

“The Holly and the Ivy” is my favorite track on “December.” It’s his riff on a early 19th century British folk carol that otherwise is not particulaly stirring.

Instead, Winston imbues it with a passion that lifts the spirit. For me, it would not be the holiday season without hearing it at least once.

Here it is: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv0UoevHh28

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HOLIDAY MUSIC COUNTDOWN

HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS – 20 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry, rode his horse, Champion, in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade – what’s now called the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Alas, Autry was not the center of youngsters’ attention on Sunset Boulevard. The kids kept shouting “Here comes Santa Claus!” 

Thus Autry had the start of the lyrics for the first of his popular holiday songs. He got Oakley Haldeman, the manager of his music publishing company, to come up with a tune. And this became “Here Comes Santa Claus.”

Autry went on to bring “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” to the world. 

The version of this song that I like best isn’t his. Instead, it’s one performed by the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note and soloist Technical Sergeant Paige Martin off the “Cool Yule” album that is an amazing spark of holiday spirit. Let’s see if you agree.  https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=i6ud0u0Q6aI

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HOLIDAY MUSIC COUNTDOWN

HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS – 21 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

If I was pressed to pick an absolute favorite Christmas song, it mght very well be this.

We have Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra to thank for making this song live up to its positive title.

This song was written for Garland to sing in the 1944 movie musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Her character was to sing it to her little sister, distraught over a family move from wholesome and loving St. Louis to evil and cold New York.

Garland thought the song made her character a meanie. So composers Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane softened some of the words, and the song was a hit.

Sinatra wanted to go further when he recorded it for his classic 1957 holiday album “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra.” His suggestion led to a change from “Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow” to “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough” – a much needed uplift.

I love so many versions of this song. My favorite was recorded in the 1980s by Dexter Gordon’s quartet for an album called “God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen.” I think this version is upbeat and welcoming, as if the band actually wants you to have a merry little Christmas.

Hope you enjoy it

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYa5wbN4jU.

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING – 22 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” reverses a trend we’ve seen in these holiday songs. The lyrics we use today were written by a Methodist leader in the 1750s, adapting the form that a fellow minister composed about 20 years later.

But the melody came about a century later, when a cantana composed by Felix Mendelssohn was put to the existing lyrics.

It’s not a bad song. But I think we love it because it’s what’s playing when George Bailey finds out he’s actually the richest man in Bedford Falls and when the Peanuts gang realizes Charlie Brown picked out the perfect tree. It carries emotional weight in the holiday season.

The version I’ve picked for today is one introduced to me by my brother several years ago. It’s performed by a group called Cuba/L.A., an ensemble that sought to popularize Afro-Cuban music in the 1990s and 2000s.

Playing this version never fails to stir me. Hee haw and I hope you enjoy it.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=CRxmfrIeTF4&list=RDAMVMCRxmfrIeTF4
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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) – 23 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

This song came out of nowhere in the holiday season of 1971.

It was recorded in October and released a few weeks before Christmas. We all knew that John and Yoko were on a peace-and-love mission, but this expressed it in holiday form.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” certainly feels like a song of its time – a protest against the Vietnam War, which Nixon was dragging out to make it seem he was a peacemaker by the ’72 election.

But it also hasn’t dated. Its message remains strong today – think Venezuela, Ukraine and Gaza instead of Vietnam. And it counters the message of a warmongering White House run by a insecure lout.

It’s also good music. The melody is catchy and memorable.

To prove the point, instead of the original, here’s an instrumental version by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and ukelele player Jake Shimabukuro.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=A-h6V8J9ARE

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: GROOVY XMAS – 24 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

I’m not sure how this septagenarian found this Christmas song by a Los Angeles-area band who’s youngest member turned 15 in August.

But I think it’s terrific. It’s uptempo and joyful.

It is filled with conteporary culture references, and pays homage to “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and Mariah Carey. 

And it’s a reminder that Christmas is for kids from 1 to 92 – even if they’re actually, well, kids.

It’s worth a listen. You can always tell these girls to get off your lawn on December 26.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=edJeYaXPbYI

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