I’m a big fan of Christmas music. When I was growing up, music was a big part of our celebration. I remember the Magnavox console hi-fi complete with turntable, tuner and storage bin for our albums. Several albums would be stacked on the spindle, putting Christmas in the air for hours.
Bing, Frank, and Dean were all there. Of course, there were the Ray Coniff Singers and Fred Waring and his Orchestra. I don't recall Mitch Miller and the Gang being played. That’s probably because my father was in law enforcement, and we have always been anti-gang activity.
I've never given much consideration to Christmas music beyond simply liking it. But recently I've made some observations. Namely, all Christmas music isn't about Christmas. In doing my mental sifting, I find that these seasonal songs fall into a couple of categories.
There are sacred songs. Those are obviously the ones that deal directly with the birth of Jesus, hence the name Christmas, which is short for Mass of Christ.
There are what I call the Santa songs. These deal with the pop culture side of Christmas. Santa, trees and reindeer, along with any song that just happens to include the word "Christmas.” As an example, I offer up Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time.” I will say no more about this particular song, which I like, because I've found some people really don't care for it. Yet they go around singing "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and consider "Die Hard" a Christmas movie. Just because it takes place at Christmas doesn't mean it is about Christmas. That said, I will defer to Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" when he says "Nephew, keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine."
Moving on ...
Next are Winter songs. These don't even mention Christmas but for some reason we only play them during the season. "Let It Snow,” "Jingle Bells” and "Winter Wonderland" are but three. "Winter Wonderland" actually falls into a fourth category in my filing system called Holiday Romance. These are basically love songs that sometimes mention Christmas. "Merry Christmas Darling" is my favorite, but only if it’s the Carpenters’ version. Actually, Karen Carpenter could have sung the phone book and I would have listened. As an aside, I always enjoy the fact that the writer of “Merry Christmas Darling” turned Christmas into a gerund when they sing “Christmasing with you”. Now Christmas is more than a season or a celebration. It is also a noun and a verb.
Sometimes the Santa songs and the Winter Romance tunes cross pollinate. It’s one thing to believe in Santa and know he’ll visit you on Christmas Eve. Thinking he’ll can fix your romantic situation is deep faith indeed. Elvis pleads “Santa bring my baby back to me”. Wilson-Phillips ask for the same thing in “Hey Santa”. That just scratches the surface. Make no mistake; I love them both and many of the others that fall into this grouping.
There are songs that have become part of the lexicon of seasonal music in an odd way. For years I wondered why “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music” gets played at Christmas. A little digging revealed that Jack Jones included it on his 1964 Christmas album at the suggestion of a song promoter. It seems the movie was soon to be released and the producers thought it would do better at the box office if there was a song from the movie on the radio. Looking over the song list, “My Favorite Things” came closest to being a Christmas record. It certainly isn’t the first time the season has been used to push product.
What I find most interesting about Christmas music is that it is totally independent of style. Country, rock, and rap are all styles of music that are well defined. But Christmas music can be any style and it doesn't even have to mention Christmas to fall into the category. And the same song often gets recorded in several different styles. You can find your favorites recorded by almost everyone from Gene Autry to Aerosmith.
Before I sign off for a long winter's nap, I have to make a confession. We all have that one song we won't always admit in public that we like. I have come to terms with this and decided I can hide it no longer. "Last Christmas" by Wham (George Michael) is my guilty-pleasure Christmas song. Well produced and catchy. It's like a big bowl of peanut M&M's. Not the best thing for you, but oh so good!
Well, my eggnog has run dry and likely so has your patience with this meandering. So let me end on a positive note.
Merry Christmas!
