It’s Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

We have a pretty sizeable collection of Christmas CDs (maybe 30). This time of year I like to load them up the CD player five at a time and rotate through the whole collection. This means, of course, that I listen to different arrangements of the same dozen or so songs over and over. Some of those arrangements are better than other.

It finally occurred to me (I can be a little slow) that I could burn my very own “Favorite Christmas Songs” CD. I’m working on the selections now. I decided to limit each artist to no more than 2 songs. Otherwise I could just make a copy of Harry Connick Jr.’s When My Heart Find Christmas, skipping “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.” I also decided that on certain classic songs, I would stay away from the best-known version. Thus, Bing can’t sing “White Christmas.” Not to worry–I found Bing something else to sing.

Here’s my list so far, with titles in alphabetical order:

“Amen” - Take 6
“Alleluia” (Handel) – Relient K
“Breath of Heaven” - Amy Grant
“Bye, Bye Thou Little Tiny Child” - Kingston Trio

“Cherry Tree Carol” – Peter, Paul & Mary

“The Christmas Song” – Mel Torme (he wrote it, after all)

“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” - Amy Grant
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – Bing Crosby
“Must Have Been Ol’ Santa” - Harry Connick, Jr.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” - Linda Ronstadt and The Choir from Tucson
“O Holy Night” - Tracy Chapman
“Santa Baby” - Eartha Kitt (okay, this one might violate the best-known-version rule, but Madonna sounds like a whiny brat on her cover of the song)

“Silent Night” - John Denver and the Muppets (in German, with acoustic guitar accompaniment, as originally written)

“Twelve Days of Christmas” – Relient K (I can’t resist their chorus: “What’s a partridge? What’s a pear tree? I don’t know, so please don’t ask me, but I bet those are terrible gifts to get.”)
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” - Harry Connick, Jr.
“White Christmas” – Linda Ronstadt (she includes the rarely-sung first verse)
“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” – New Song

This entry was posted on December 10, 2004 at 2:13 PM, filed under It's All About Me. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.

5 Comments

  1. annie
    Posted December 10, 2004 at 4:12 PM | Permalink

    When I was a kid we had a John Denver Christmas record that I loved, and I really wasn’t a huge John Denver fan. I should Google it and see what I can find.

  2. Jules
    Posted December 10, 2004 at 4:19 PM | Permalink

    I just have to know. What were your future plans as a French Lit major? Where do you go with that?

    GOD dont read my blog – i should learn to post anonymously. IT’s pathetic.

    Peace,
    Jules

  3. Bluegrass Mama
    Posted December 10, 2004 at 10:11 PM | Permalink

    I don’t think people who PLAN their lives become French lit majors. :-) I was actually hired as a bilingual underwriter for the Canadian arm of a large insurance company, but Canadian immigration turned down my application and I ended up working for the insurance company in New Jersey instead. There’s not a lot of French spoken there, but I met my husband so it worked out okay.

  4. -ahd-
    Posted December 11, 2004 at 8:06 AM | Permalink

    Was that the John Denver and Muppets Album (“A Christmas Together”)? He got first billing, but we always viewed him as the guest artist on THEIR Album.

    To quote another someone (http://forums.fametracker.com/index.php?showtopic=3270&st=75), because it fits exactly …

    My favorite exchange on the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD is the one between Piggy and Gonzo during “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

    “Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring -”
    “Piggy pudding?!”
    “No, FIGGY pudding. It’s made with figs.”
    “Oh. Sorry.”
    [quietly] “And bacon”
    “What?!”

  5. -ahd-
    Posted December 11, 2004 at 8:14 AM | Permalink

    I tossed together a Mix CD for our trip to Syracuse to see the family (including the Bluegrass Sister). The following isn’t the order they went the CD, I sorted the burn by original Albums’ track order to mix things up.

    (“The What’s It To Ya Chorus” and other Bob Rivers creations are most effective if slipped in with the civilian population.)

    Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
    Trans-Siberian Orchestra

    The Little Drummer Boy
    Harry Simeone Chorale

    Carol of the Bells
    The American Boychoir

    The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)
    Nat “King” Cole

    Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
    James Taylor

    God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
    Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan

    Go Tell It On the Mountain
    The Canadian Brass

    What Child Is This
    Chris Caswell & Friends

    Silent Night
    Bing Crosby

    It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas
    Bing Crosby

    Christmas In Killarney
    Bing Crosby

    Twelve Days Of Christmas
    John Denver & The Muppets

    Christmas Is Coming
    John Denver & The Muppets

    Deck The Halls
    John Denver & The Muppets

    We Wish You A Merry Christmas
    John Denver & The Muppets

    Bye Bye Thou Little Tiny Child
    Kingston Trio

    All Through The Night
    Kingston Trio

    Sing We Noel
    Kingston Trio

    We Three Kings
    Mannheim Steamroller

    Cantique de Noel (O Holy Night)
    Mannheim Steamroller

    Walkin’ ‘Round In Women’s Underwear
    Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio

    Manger 6
    Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio

    I Came Upon a Roadkill Deer
    Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio

    The “What’s It To Ya” Chorus
    Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio

    Carol Of The Bartenders
    Bob Rivers

    Goin’ Up To Bethlehem
    Bob Rivers

    Happy Holiday
    Peggy Lee

    Sleigh Ride
    Boston Pops Orchestra