Last year about this time, I wrote a column about some of my favorite holiday and Christmas songs. To recap, here are those songs:
“Christmas All Over Again” – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” – Thurl Ravenscroft; “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” – Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan; “Happy Xmas/War is Over” – John Lennon and Yoko Ono; “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – Straight No Chaser; “I Believe In Father Christmas” – Greg Lake; “Sleigh Ride” – Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.
There are so many more, and to help spread some holiday cheer and get us all in the mood, here is the next installment of some of my favorites!
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Happy Holidays” – Andy Williams. Andy had an incredibly pure voice that made holiday magic happen. Every time I hear the orchestra crank up and Andy singing the first line of these songs, I’m taken back to my childhood Christmases in the 1960s. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!
“The Christmas Song” – Nat King Cole. Speaking of incredible voices, Mr. Cole’s velvety pipes make Mel Torme’s classic composition one of the best Christmas songs ever. He and Andy Williams have made Christmas better for decades.
“There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays” and “Sleigh Ride” – The Carpenters. In the “incredibly pure voice” department, Karen Carpenter had one of the finest voices ever recorded. While Perry Como’s version of “Home” is a certified crooner classic, Karen’s voice evoked the playfulness of and longing for being home for the holidays better than anyone.
“Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” – Bing Crosby and David Bowie. An aging crooner and a glam rocker walk into a bar… it sounds like the beginning of a joke. But the beautiful harmonies and the joyous sentiment that the duo offered still gives me goosebumps and moist eyes to this day.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Dean Martin and Mary Maxwell. This song became strangely controversial last year — and that’s the main reason I included it on the list. The vocal interplay and the arrangement are playful and fun, and one can just see Dean standing by the fireplace with a drink in his hand, imploring his companion to stay. One would think that with all the real problems we face in the world, we wouldn’t need to manufacture a Christmas controversy.
“Holly Jolly Christmas” – Burl Ives. I’ve always liked singing this song, and it takes me back to singing Christmas songs for the bartending Dynamic Duo of Holly and Ed at the old Sparky’s Landing on Thursday nights. And now that I’ve gotten older and more closely resemble Burl Ives, I’m sure it’s some kind of poetic reinforcement of those great memories.
“Jingle Bell Rock” – Bobby Helms and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee. In the late 1950s, rock and roll was new, and there certainly had to be some Christmas songs composed in the newfangled musical style. Both featured cool vocals and hot signature stinging guitar licks — I can just see the guitarist wailing on his Gibson ES-175 into an old (well, new at that time) Fender tube amp. A side note: Brenda Lee was only 13 years old when she cut the vocals on that song in 1958!
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Frank Sinatra / James Taylor. This is one of my all-time favorites, and both these gentlemen do the song justice with their amazing vocals.
And while I’ve never written anything nearly as remarkable as those songs, I would appreciate it if you’d give my new holiday tune a listen. “Happy Holidays (My Own Damn Christmas Song)” is my new single, released worldwide on Amazon, Apple / iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and more. Links to streams and YouTube videos are available on johnbartus.hearnow.com. The song is based on something that happened to me when I dared to wish someone Happy Holidays. It’s a celebration of all the holidays, tempered with just a slight bit of snark! I hope you like it, and Happy Holidays!
* * * * *
This Saturday marks my 30th anniversary of playing Saturday nights at the Key Colony Inn — I find that hard to believe myself! Stop on in for some holiday tunes and cheer, and join me in wondering where the last three decades went!
Catch John Wednesdays at Herbie’s, Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, Fridays on Facebook Live for the Social Distancing Concerts, Saturday afternoon at Boondocks and Saturday night at the Key Colony Inn, and this Monday at Dockside.
