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We asked local musicians, former local musicians and local music teachers for their favorite Christmas songs.
Here’s what they told us.
Singer Julie Hadaway
“My favorite Christmas songs come from the Carpenters’ Christmas album,” Hadaway wrote in an e-mail. “My favorite one is ‘Merry Christmas Darling.’ I am moved by Karen Carpenter’s voice. Her tone is very soothing. As a child, my fondest Christmas memories have that album playing in the background. Whenever I hear it, it takes me back to a time where Christmas was still ‘Christmas.’ (As opposed to ‘Holiday’).”
Singer Chris Worth
Worth’s choice is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” “I was told it was a war song about a GI wishing he was home instead of freezing in some foxhole,” Worth wrote in an e-mail. “Anyway, it stuck with me. Besides that, it’s a beautiful song.”
Singer Cathy Serrano
“I enjoy playing several of the traditional Christmas songs during this season,” Serrano wrote in an e-mail. “But I guess my favorite would be ‘Tidings of Comfort and Joy’ (aka ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’). It is such a peppy tune and I play it at a fairly fast tempo, you just have to smile.”
Jazz guitarist George Ogg
“I would have to say that I always enjoy Brenda Lee’s version of ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,’ ” Ogg wrote in an e-mail. “Recorded around 1958, it has a great sort of rockabilly swing rhythm complete with slappin’ bass and heavy backbeat. It’s also ornamented by Hank Garland’s clever guitar work and of course Brenda Lee’s unforgettable voice. Written by Johnny Marks, it’s a great little snapshot of where a certain group of rockabilly/country and western players were musically around the 1958-1960 time period. It’s truly a little gem of Americana.”
Blues guitarist Joey Ortega
Ortega’s choice is “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Colin James & the Little Big Band. “Great version of a great song,” Ortega wrote in an e-mail. “Colin James does a nice, soulful, bluesy version of this classic. I love it!”
Hip-hop artist Sankofa
“ ‘Good King Wenceslas,’ ” he wrote in an e-mail. “I really dug singing it when I was part of church choir. … It’s a nice blend of medieval and seasonal.”
Soul-jazz musician Todd Harrold
“I believe that Christmas songs are at least partly what drove me to Nichiren Buddhism,” Harrold wrote in an e-mail. “However, the Joseph Spence recording of ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town,’ which is well worth the buck on iTunes, is one of the funniest records ever.”
Jazz pianist Eric Clancy
Clancy’s choice is “Christmas Time is Here” written by Vince Guaraldi for “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” “I have played it many times,” Clancy wrote in an e-mail. “The chords are interesting to play, and it’s a haunting melody. I always enjoy playing it, and I always get above-average positive feedback on the song choice.”
Singer Mimi Burns
“My favorite piece of music from Christmas is ‘The Little Drummer Boy,’ ” she wrote in an e-mail. “When I was about 3, we had an 8-track player. I would shuffle through the red and black cartridges until I found the one with the photo of the star and the manger on it, place it into the stereo (the big stereo system that took up half the wall) then press the big button to forward it to the correct song.
“My favorite version of it currently is the one by Mike Conley,” she adds.
Singer-actor Brad Beauchamp
“My fave has got to be Bob and Doug McKenzie off the ‘Great White North’ album,” Beauchamp wrote in an e-mail. “The classic, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’ ”
Singer-actor Leslie Beauchamp
“My favorite Christmas song has always been Judy Garland’s version of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ ” she wrote in an e-mail. “Although (husband) Brad is right, I love all Christmas music, I usually lean toward the standards. I love the lush orchestrations of the ’30s and ’40s. A very close second for me is ‘O Holy Night.’ Josh Groban has a lovely recording of it.”
Musician Kevin Hambrick
“My favorite Christmas songs are by (Muppet band) Emmet Otter and the Jug Band,” Hambrick wrote in an e-mail. “They simply rule.” The Beatles-besotted Hambrick also put in a pair of votes for John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.”
Voice teacher Amy Baxter
“I love Bing Crosby singing ‘White Christmas’ or Judy Garland singing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ ” she wrote in an e-mail. “I mean, where could you find better voices? And I’m a fan of old movies so my choices tie right in with that. But there is a ton of great Christmas music. I love Nancy Wilson singing ‘That’s What I Want for Christmas.’ And of course, ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘What Child is This?’ You can’t have Christmas without those!”
Musician Michael Archbold (of the band Rosemary Gates)
“My favorite of all time is the (Vince Guaraldi) song ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ from the Peanuts Christmas special,” Archbold wrote in an e-mail. “The Stone Temple Pilots do a killer live version of that tune that rocks!”
Brad Etter, talent booker for C2G Ministries
Etter had a big list. Sufjan Stevens’ “O Come O Come Emmanuel” from “Songs for Christmas” and the same song from Whitney Houston’s “One Wish – The Holiday Album.” “What Child Is This?” from Kristin Chenoweth’s “A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas.” “We Three Kings” from the album of the same name by The Roches. Etter also likes Yo Yo Ma’s and Jake Shimabukuro’s version of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” from “Songs of Joy & Peace.”
Musician and folklore professor John Minton
“If you would have asked me two or three months ago, I probably would have said ‘White Christmas,’ the version by Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters,” Minton wrote in an e-mail. “But I’m pretty sure that’s changed, and that I’d now have to go with (Bob) Dylan doing ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ from ‘Christmas in the Heart,’ 2009. One of a kind.”
Elaborating on the Dylan cut, Minton wrote, “With Dylan and ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ as usual the appeal is Dylan’s ability to make you hear things differently, and to think about them on different levels. The lamest thing about holiday songs like ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ is that everyone knows they’re lies. For a lot of people, going home for Christmas or at any other time just plain sucks. … But Dylan has finally given us a believable take. When he sings ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ you’re pretty sure he’s not happy, but you’re absolutely certain that he’ll be home for Christmas. How bad will it be? Just tense or out-and-out unpleasant? Violently abusive? Is he the victim or the perp? Is there a restraining order? Should I call the cops? His therapist? What does Santa bring a guy like that?”
Singer Sunny Taylor
“I love ‘O Night Divine’ (aka ‘O Holy Night’),” she wrote in an e-mail. “It doesn’t matter who is singing it. It moves me every time. The lyric ‘Fall on your knees and hear the angel voices’ paints such a powerful picture.”
Country singer Megan Mullins
“My dad plays ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s’ and although he plays it year round, I always associate it with Christmas, so that’s my favorite Christmas song and version,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Big band leader Mark Van Cleave
“ ‘The Christmas Song’ by Mel Torme,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I toured with Mel on his last Christmas tour and hearing him sing his own composition every night was amazing! I never think of Christmas without hearing Mel singing that song!”
