Holidays On Wax: A CP Yule Blog
My cohort Peter Scholtes was kind enough to pass along his notes and suggestions for the perfect mix tape for the holidays. Obviously he's dead wrong about Doris Day, but while I have my own strong ideas on the subject (and will include my list of favorites as well), I can't find much to quibble with on Peter's list:
So much godawful crap out there, from Doris Day to Mariah. (The most butchered song ever: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.") Yet some of the greatest songs ever to endure the test of time are Christmas songs, and they bring out some of the best performances, too. Here are most of my favorite recordings, from a compilation tape I recently made for my sister but haven't mailed yet:
SIDE ONE:
Run-DMC, Christmas in Hollis
Donny Hathaway, This Christmas
Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song
The New Christy Minstrels, Tell It On the Mountain
The Wailers, Sound the Trumpets
Elvis, Blue Christmas
The Pogues, Fairytale of New York
Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Otis Redding, Merry Christmas, Baby
(excerpt) Pete Seeger, The First Noel
Low, Just Like Christmas
Joan Baez, Coventry Carol/Good King Wenceslaus
Vince Guaraldi, Christmas Time Is Here
Atmosphere, If I Was Santa Claus
Eek-A-Mouse, The Night Before Christmas
Tracy Chapman, O Holy Night
James Brown, Hey, America
Jose Feliciano, Felix Navidad
(excerpts) Bob Rivers, Osama Got Run Over By a Reindeer/The Mistletoe Disco Band, Winter Wonderland/Leon Redbone, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
SIDE TWO:
The Ramones, Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)
Band Aid, Do They Know It's Christmas?
Charles Brown, Please Come Home For Christmas
Elvis, Here Comes Santa Claus
Vince Guaraldi, O Tannenbaum
Nat King Cole, O Little Town of Bethlehem
Joe Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas [*good, but wish I had the Judy Garland version]
Clarence Carter, Backdoor Santa
Dark City Sisters, Jabulani Nonke
Low, Little Drummer Boy
Freddy Mc Gregor, Irie Christmas
Otis Redding, White Christmas
Elvis, Silent Night
The Sensations, Every Day Is a Holiday
TLC, Sleigh Ride
Trailer Trash, Welcome Here
Solomon Burke, Presents For Christmas
William Bell, Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday
(excerpt) Jackson 5, Up On the House Top
In case anyone's shopping, here are the records and CDs I took the songs from. The first ten represent most of my current favorite Christmas collections of all time:
Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song
Joan Baez, Noel
Elvis, The Complete 50's Masters
The New Christy Minstrels, Merry Christmas!
Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Original Soul Christmas
Low, Christmas
Slow Jams Christmas, Volume 1
Trailer Trash, Hell, It's X-Mas
Pete Seeger, Traditional Christmas Carols
James Brown, Santa's Got a Brand New Bag
Reggae Christmas from Studio One
Band Aid, Do They Know It's Christmas?
A Very Special Christmas
A Very Special Christmas Live From Washington, D.C.
MTV TRL Christmas
The Pogues, If I Should Fall From the Grace of God
Ramones Anthology: Hey Ho Let's Go!
Dark City Sisters and Flying Jazz Queens
A Reggae Christmas
'Tis the Sampler
Duke Reid's Treasure Chest: Treasure Isle
Atmosphere, Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere Ep's
A Motown Christmas Volume 2
Christmas at Rao's
Leon Redbone, Christmas Island
Christmas Disco
Bob Rivers, White Trash Christmas
Here, then, are my own choices (in no particular order):
Jack Scott, Jingle Bell Slide
Joe Tex, I'll Make Everyday Christmas
Darlene Love, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Hank Snow, Christmas Cannonball
NRBQ, Christmas Wish
Steve and Edie, Sleigh Ride
Trailer Trash, Mistletoe
The Qualities, It's Christmas Time
Booker T and the MGs, Jingle Bells
Sammy Davis Jr., It's Christmas Time All Over the World
Santo and Johnny, Twistin' Bells
Brenda Lee, Papa Noel
Freddy King, I Hear Jingle Bells
Solomon Burke, Presents For Christmas
Ronettes, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Low, Just Like Christmas
Doris Day, Winter Wonderland
Otis Redding, Merry Christmas, Baby
Robert Goulet, Home For the Holidays
Esquivel, Blue Christmas
Loretta Lynn, Country Christmas
Louvin Brothers, It's Christmas Time
New Christy Minstrels, We Need A Little Christmas
Detroit Jr., Christmas Day
Jackie Gleason, Blue Christmas
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Silent Night
Got any big ideas of your own? Anything obvious or spectacularly obscure that we missed? Send 'em along. Ho-Ho-Blogging-Ho!
4:21:01 PM 
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