Brands leverage love… and we love music. We’re immersed in our favorite tunes and companies are willing to cough up big bucks for the privilege of proxy. Music licensing fees for TV Programming and Advertising weigh in at an estimated $4 Billion per year. Those that don’t want to pay are interchangeable and replaceable because the content we love is interpersonal and irreplaceable.
And what would the Holiday’s be without music? It’s unimaginable, really. So, in homage to the sounds of the season… here are my Top 10:
10) Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano. Do you know what Jose Feliciano wants more than anything? For you to have a Merry Christmas. In 3 minutes and 2 seconds he hammered home that one simple message no less than 39 times. No mention of snow, reindeer or even The Big Cheese himself. Musically, I’m not sure that I can name another song where the chorus is the verse, and the verse is the chorus.
9) Jolly Old St. Nicholas – Caveboy. Rad Chick Trio, Caveboy, is the coolest thing to come out of Quebec since its wind chill. I was always partial to the Maurice Chevalier version but Caveboy’s is fresh, dope and kickin’…
8) Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) – The Ramones. I mean, it pretty much goes without saying that “Christmas ain’t the time for breaking each other’s hearts”, but the Ramones state the obvious and wrap it around 3 loud power chords. At the same time, they wonder “where is Santa” and promote “snowball fighting”. It would make little sense coming from a lesser band, but the mighty Ramones turn chaos into Magic.
7) I Won’t Be Home for Christmas – Blink 182. This Scrooge-infused gem rocks! “It’s time to be nice to the people who you can’t stand all year. I’m growing tired of all this Christmas cheer. You people scare me. Please stay away from my home. If you don’t wanna get beat down, just leave the presents and then leave me alone.”
6) Frosty The Snowman – The Ronettes. Genius engineer (and lunatic) Phil Spector builds a wall of sound thicker than a blizzard that even Rudolph could not navigate while the incomparable Ronnie Spector effortlessly belts out the ultimate tribute to everyone’s favorite inanimate object. And who can forget how perfectly it fits into that scene in Goodfellas; you know – the one that makes everyone secretly yearn to know what it’s like to be a successful gangster at a Christmas party. “Come here you!!”.
5) Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter – Bing Crosby. – Unlike Mariah Carey’s relentlessly played out Holiday Hit (AIWFCIY), Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” never ages and remains the bestselling single of all time. But for those who love the Voice of Christmas, and would like a change of pace, check this one out. Maxene, LaVerne and Patty Andrews (aka The Andrews Sisters) swing and boogie-woggie with Bing to keep things cool and cozy.. “Summer is far away – but until then I’ll love you more and more each day”.
4) O Tannenbaum – Vince Guaraldi Trio. O Tannenbaum is the opening track on the jazzy ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio released in December 1965 to complement what would become TV’s greatest Christmas Special. The song perfectly complements Charlie Browns’ overly dramatic depression induced search for the perfect Christmas Tree and is now forever associated with childhood Christmas lore.
3) Snoopy’s Christmas – The Royal Guardsmen. According to Spotify, “the Royal Guardsmen enjoyed a brief reign of pop fame in 1966-1968 by recording a series of songs taking off from the Peanuts cartoon character Snoopy and his fantasy about aerial dog fighting with German WW1 flying ace Baron Von Richthofen”. The song depicts a fierce dogfight in the sky between Snoopy and his foe on Christmas Eve. The Baron has Snoopy “dead in his sights”, but upon hearing Christmas bells ringing from the Village below, spares our hero and instead wishes him a Merry Christmas! Even arch enemies can lay down their swords at Christmas time.
2) Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry was a guitar God before there was such a thing and if you haven’t heard of Johnnie Johnson, just be sure to key in on the Piano parts in any Berry song. This quintessential Christmas rocker has been a slowly growing ear worm since its release in December 1958. 62 years and 2 weeks later, on 1/2/21, it finally hit #10 on the Hot 100 making it the longest climb to the top 10 ever. Covered by everyone from The Muppets to LA Guns, it remains a one-way “Sabre Jet” ticket to full-on Christmas Fun.
1) A Baby Just Like You – John Denver / Frank Sinatra. John Denver gets the writing credit for this beauty and performed the original version on A Rocky Mountain Christmas. Dedicated to his then-infant son, Zachary, it recounts the joys of the season. Frank Sinatra later covered it, only this time as a dedication to his granddaughter Angela (daughter of Nancy Sinatra). In his grand olive oil baritone, he floats the lyrics that still hang somewhere over the North Pole – “That peace on Earth fills up your time, that brotherhood surrounds you. That you may know the warmth of love and wrap it all around you.” …Pretty much sums up what the Holidays are all about.
