Merry Christmas Eve day to you all of my fellow music lovers and blog followers! Since I have some plans tonight and yes *sigh* have to work Christmas Day tomorrow for 8 hours and then go to another Christmas and hit the hay early because of work the following day this list is being delivered to you very early as well as my Christmas greetings. So let's just get right into as I present another 10 of my favorite Christmas songs for this 2014 season until next year.
#10. O Holy Night by Wynonna Judd
Now you were probably beginning to think I didn't like any country artists until I started discussing Christmas music. I don't know what it is but I guess being a Kentucky born girl it makes me miss home and being around my family. When it comes to classic Christmas music more of the secular or Christmas Mass choir variety, O Holy Night is my most favorite because the harmonies of members blend so beautifully and when a solo artist sings this song they truly get to shine. Now Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi as The Judds were enjoyable being Kentucky natives and since Wynonna went solo, she's had some hits just as big on her own. Her version of this song is just one of many that takes my breath away...
#9. Last Christmas by Ashley Tisdale from A Very Special Christmas 7 (2009)
Ashley Tisdale is one of my newer favorite artists that even though younger than myself she is very talented and goes to prove that being a Disney Channel child star is still a very lucrative way to selling albums. You could make this a very depressed and slow kind of song but most versions I have heard are very upbeat and full of cheer which is how I wish everyone could feel at Christmas time but I know is impossible with the way life can throw curves at you. Maudlin feelings aside, this is another Christmas song that is one of my favorites no matter which genre or artist decides to get their hands on it.
#8. Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald
I am first to admit that jazz is not a genre I listen to a lot except at Christmas time because jazz versions of Christmas songs are so lively and spirited to really keep you energized and bring that retro feel to any Christmas party. Ella Fitzgerald was one of the best and her swinging 1960 version of another favorite Christmas classic of mine is no exception.
#7. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy
Now I have seen this on a lot of list for most hated or most annoying Christmas songs and I guess on a certain level I can see it but I have been hearing this song since I was really little and when it comes on the radio I can't help but smile and sing along but yes in real life your grandmother being hit by a reindeer would not be the joyful and jolly subject for a Christmas song. You know I kind of hate when people take songs too seriously when they are clearly written in fun and personally as someone who has lost a family member around the holiday it's not that you are being an awful person you just want to try an keep the joy of the holiday are you will just quit it cold turkey like it is a bad habit. Anyway, I think most people might not like this song anymore thanks to the animated special that comes on Cartoon Network every year but yet again I don't think it's that bad...*ahem*
#6. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
Yes yet another favorite Christmas song where I love almost every version I hear and have heard it so many times since being a very little girl. This original version recorded by Bobby Helms in 1957 so it's early rock and roll with a country twang which I guess makes it more rockabilly in flavor so when its covered it has many ways to go so it can be covered by a variety of artists.
#5. Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney
It goes without saying that Sir Paul McCartney is a musical genius. Most people like him because he was a Beatle one of the biggest band's of all time, then he had Wings with late wife Linda and many solo projects that are still going today. So when he plays all the instruments on one song and gives us a new modern Christmas carol that cements the whole musical genius thing.
#4. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys
I love The Beach Boys pretty much everything they do so when Christmastime rolls around and this 1963 hit written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love comes on the radio I'm grinning and my head's bobbing along. I always wonder how Christmas was back in the 1950s and 60s mostly to see a time before commercialism and materialism were more important and hope it was as innocent and sunny as the music...well most of it.
#3. Silent Night by Charlotte Church
When I heard the voice come from this at the time seventeen year old girl I was just so amazed at how angelic and mature it sounds! When it comes to classic Christmas carols this is another one of my favorites and when you can make one artist sound like a whole choir of angels thanks to her soprano range which is so operatic you can picture yourself in a huge cathedral or opera house hearing this be performed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day...it's glorious!
#2. Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano
Another fun Christmas song to sing in the car while out getting some Christmas shopping done even if you don't speak Spanish or sound horrible trying to attempt to even sing Spanish. Since releasing this in 1970, Jose Feliciano has become synonymous with cheerful holiday celebrations and the bridging of Latin and American cultures since Jose himself is Puerto Rican so even though some of us may not speak or understand Spanish we receive the same message of goodwill when he wishes all of us a Merry Christmas from the bottom of his heart.
So what tops this Christmas list of holiday songs and is the last song of the holiday I will be talking about until 2015?
#1. Shimmy Down The Chimney (Fill Up My Stocking) by Alison Krauss
Known primarily as a country artist, Alison Krauss sometimes steps out of the box into sort of pop and rock influenced ventures but this one I always thought it was very jazz, soul and R&B kind of tone and you known Alison pulls it off very well. There's an innocent sweetness and saucy groove to the song I have never heard in any other Christmas song which makes this song very unique. I admit I like singing this one and can imagine the background singers swaying and snapping fingers and even though it seems to put Santa in a very naughty position, I still think it's very nice.
Well I guess that's it for the Christmas music since the holiday is almost over so it looks we are going to have to put a DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS SEASON 2015 tag on the holiday vault. Since there are only 7 days left of the year I don't know if I will get another blog post in but if not I'll see you all again in 2015!
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