Rebuilding Rob

Guilty pleasure: I really like Christmas songs. Like the holiday itself, there are very religious and, very non-religious Christmas carols. No, I’m not to a point like Mick Foley, where I’ll listen to them in July, but I like Christmas songs nonetheless.

The celebration of Christmas here in America, and another parts of the world as well, for that matter, has become a combination of both Christian in pagan traditions.

In fact, I remember having a professor in college, who was originally from India. He was Hindu, but he too, would decorate his house with Christmas lights and even put up a Christmas tree. While, he initially did it to assimilate, it didn’t take him long to realize that Christmas lights just looked really cool at this time of the year.

As I was putting this list together, it became obvious that 1987‘s A Very Special Christmas compilation was far more influential on me than I ever realized. Why is this a top 7 list? Because I couldn’t narrow it down to five, or even six. And with all my lists, this may change from time to time, or from year to year. But these are my top six Christmas songs at this moment. So here they are in no particular order:

“Christmas in Hollis” Run DMC

This song doesn’t get nearly enough airtime around Christmas. For some reason, the “24 hours of Christmas music” stations that are all over American radio seemingly ignore this one. It’s typically relegated to the R&B and old school stations.

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” Barenaked Ladies featuring Sarah Maclaughlin

I never was a big fan of “God Rest Ye merry gentlemen” until I heard this particular rendition of the song. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if there is a such thing as heaven, and if in said Heaven, there are angels; and if said angels do in fact, sing, I do not want to go there unless the angels sound like Sarah McLachlan.

“Away in a Manger” Manheim Steamroller

I’m not typically a fan of the heavily religious Christmas songs. I’m not much of a fan of Mannheim Steamroller either, mostly because I’m under the age of 70. But putting a pan flute in pretty much any song gets me every time.

“Sleigh Ride” Ella Fitzgerald

I love nearly every rendition of “sleigh ride” that I’ve ever heard. But this year, something about the opening of this Ella Fitzgerald version really hits me this year. on the fact that Ella Fitzgerald singing doesn’t hurt either.

“Run Rudolph Run” Bryan Adams

This live rendition kicks the Chuck Berry classic into a different level.

“Little Saint Nick” The Beach Boys

The song predates me, and I heard it growing up as a little kid. For years, it struck me as corny, but recently I’ve learned to accept it just for what it is: a fun Christmas song. Besides, NO ONE could harmonize like The Beach Boys.

“Christmas Canon” Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I stumbled across “Christmas Eve / Sarajevo12/24” TSO on a hard rock/metal station in Detroit in the early 90s. They were heavy and straight up rocked! They are a classic Christmas carols meeting the rock age. And it is beautiful. I listed “Christmas Canon“ because it just gets me a little bit more in the feels. 

Honorable Mention – “Little Drummer Warners” Animaniacs

Animaniacs was a colossally under-appreciated animated series of the mid 90s. It absolutely pushed the boundaries of standards and practices in daytime children’s television. This is one time where Yakko, Wakko and Dot didn’t set out to annoy the crap out of people. They played this one straight and knocked it out of the park!

Happy holidays, whether you celebrate them or not!

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

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The article “Rob‘s top 7 Christmas songs“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob