Confessions of a Christmas Music Addict
Christmas Music Savant, that’s what my friends call me. Maybe it was from my mum’s extensive vinyl collection and the fact that we sat around the piano singing every holiday or that I worked 20 years of retail or that I am a fine Welsh lass and my people are well known for our love of singing, but I love, L-O-V-E holiday tunes, all of them.
Well, maybe not all of them. No offense, but I would be happy if I never heard “Feliz Navidad“, especially the Jose Feliciano version,ever again. But that one song aside, I start listening to Christmas music and holiday tunes at the start of November and stop after the twelve days of Christmas are over on January 5th (where do you think “Twelfth Night” came from folks?).
My moniker came from my days working at Dayton’s/Field’s/Macy’s and every time a song came on the Muzak I could name not only the song but singer in just a few notes, Bill Cullen would be proud.
I can tell the difference between Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett and Perry Como singing the exact same song. Now with all the modern & country singers jumping into the holiday music pool it has become more difficult and my skills have begun to wane, especially since I no longer work retail, but my holiday music collection will still rival many.
Combined cassette, vinyl and CD there are over 200 albums in the collection. Perhaps the most prized is the “Merry Christmas with the Brady Bunch” Original Vinyl (we three sisters wore similar robes). You haven’t heard anything until you have heard Cindy Brady sing “Frosty the Snowman” with a lisp.
Then there is the Fred Waring Singers with Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby 12 Songs of Christmas with my favorites “Go tell it on the Mountain” & a fantastic duet “We wish you the Merriest” with Frank & Bing. Then there is the Columbia Records “Magic of Christmas” 3- record boxed set which I loved, and all the Dean Martin Christmas albums, those are mum’s, but we kept the old Soundesign stereo turntable just so we could still play them. And get this, we even still have a Bing Crosby White Christmas 8-Track somewhere! 
As for modern CD’s I think I like the Barenaked Ladies “Bare Naked for the Holidays” (includes some Hanukkah songs) and Harry Connick Jr’s “Harry for the Holidays” or his more recent “”What a Night.” Brian Setzer Orchestra’s “Boogie Woogie Christmas” or “Dig that Crazy Christmas” are the two I own but he has also released several more including a live two CD set “Christmas Extravaganza.”
Leonard Slatkin Conducted Minnesota Orchestra Nutcracker Suite
No Holidays would be complete without a Nutcracker Suite recording. Mum bought my sisters & me the Leonard Slatkin-conducted Minnesota Orchestra Tchaikovsky classic album when she worked there and it is wonderful (it also includes Swan Lake).
I also like some modern rock Christmas tunes like No Doubt’s “Oi to the World” and “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses as well, and they are always part of my circulation. No Christmas is complete for me without Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town” either. I always used to use it for my answering machine message the week before Christmas and can help but smile whenever I hear it!
I don’t think November is too early for Christmas or holiday music. You only get an opportunity to listen to it for such a short period of time and sing along like a freak for less than two months a year, so why not enjoy the spirit while you can?
And for those that don’t appreciate the “Christian” message of the Christmas music there are plenty of options. The Barenaked Ladies have a few wonderful Hanukkah tunes on their CD and Minnesota’s own Peter Himmelman helped with a multi-performer CD called “Festival of Light” In addition songs like “Let it Snow” “Winter Wonderland” “Sleigh Ride” “Baby its Cold Outside” and even “Jingle Bells” have nothing to do with a religious saviour or holiday but rather the gloriousness of the winter season.
Maybe I like Christmas and holiday music so much because I enjoy winter and snow so much. Or maybe it is because I’m a geek and I like singing along with all the songs like I did when I was a child before I knew what all the words meant and Political Correctness had taken over the world. But chances are when I’m in the house between November and January or at my desk, I’m cranking Dean, or Bing or Perry or anyone singing of the Holiday spirit and I’m singing along too (or in my head if I’m in an office). Yes, My name is Fiona and I’m a Christmas Music Addict (or savant).
Fiona’s Holiday Favourites:
Recommended website for pop/rock Holiday music is Mistletunes, an encyclopedia of anything and everything there is to know about modern holiday releases.
If you want to listen to Holiday tunes at work but your collection pales in comparison to mine, AccuRadio’s AccuHolidays has multiple channels to please everyone’s tastes including a channel of just songs about Santa & his elves, Channel O’ (Oh Holy Night, O Tannenbaum, O Come All Ye Faithful, etc) and a channel called Chestnuts, just different versions of “The Christmas Song”; you can even customize your own channel. Great way to stream the holidays, and it is all FREE! If you have Comcast Digital cable you can also tune to channel 832,which is Sounds of the Season.
To prove what a holiday music nut I am, I will send a holiday CD to the first person who enters in the comments below the name of the horse in the winter classic “Jingle Bells”? Yes, the horse has a name. Go ahead, sing it, it will come to you!
ADDENDUM:
Amazon is offering 25 free MP3 Downloads of Holiday Music, one a day until Christmas! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/1000453281
His name is Bob!
Close David, but not quite!
“bob tails” But really, bobtail n. A short or shortened tail. An animal, such as a horse, having a short or shortened tail, this was needed because the tail would swish into the faces of the driver. It would happen when the driver was seated lower than the horses back. When the driver was placed higher, the tail didn’t matter.( as on the stage coach )
Bobtail is correct! “Bells on Bobtail ring, making spirits bright” Bobtail is the horse’s name, the bells were not on the tail folks, the bells were on their necks. Don if you send me an email with your address I will send you a holiday CD as your prize!!
That is a great list of Christmas songs!
Beautiful,O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Enya
I can’t believe I forgot the Muppets & John Denver “12 Days of Christmas” on the list, Classic!
As a former Daytons employee myself, I can certainly relate to the knowledge of christmas muzak! However, I didn’t see Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC on the list….
Well, I always sang it as “Bells on Bob’s tail ring…” Which makes for more fun than bells around Bob neck. Everyone does that!
I would hat to have to clean off those bells at the end of the sleigh ride David.
“Just get a bob-tailed bay
Two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! you’ll take the lead.”
Killer Xmas list!
You know, I nabbed xmasmusic on twitter and a URL, but won’t have time to do anything with them.
I was all ready to do an xmas music video show. Well, maybe next year.
The Ventures is one of my all-time faves, and The Carpenters double xmas album. And Phil Spector. And. And.
Hey you forgot the best one of all — “James Brown’s Funky Christmas” everthing else pales in comparison
While my dad is a total audiophile with an LP collection that could rival the best of them, the classic album in my family is the Beach Boys Christmas album.
A rousing rendition of “He’s the man [hup] with all [hup] the toys [hup]” will get anyone in the holiday spirit.
Love hearing everyone else’s favourite songs! There obviously are many more that could be added. Don H, please be sure to Tweet me so I can send you your prize!
No Oak Ridge Boys? Jesus Is Born Today… that is the penultimate Christmas song for this guy… Also missing “classics” from Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Pretty good list though… I’m going through a list of about 1200 “favorite” songs right now. Every year seems to bring a favorite favorite for me – this year it’s Robert Downy’s cover of River. Who knows what it’ll be next year =) Merry Christmas everybody!