Ho, ho, ho, hang the tinsel and mistletoe, warm the Glühwein and serve the mince pies, while listening to the next ninety minutes with a digest of Christmas tunes.
| Title | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Driving Home For Christmas | Chris Rea | Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas” many years before its first recording, in 1978, refers to the time he needed to get home to Middlesbrough from Abbey Road Studios in London. His wife had come down to drive him home in her Austin Mini to save money because it was cheaper to drive than travel by train. |
| Last Christmas | Wham! | “Last Christmas” had its beginnings in 1983, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael’s parents. It was written by Michael in his childhood bedroom. Written by George Michael and released in December 1984. Wham! donated all of their royalties to relief efforts for the Ethiopian famine. |
| Do They Know It’s Christmas | Band Aid | “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popular British and Irish musical acts. It was recorded in a single day at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, in November 1984. |
| Merry Christmas Everyone | Shakin’ Stevens | “Merry Christmas Everyone” is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer Shakin’ Stevens, written by Scottish Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds. “Merry Christmas Everyone” was recorded in 1984. Its original planned release was put back by a year to avoid clashing with the runaway success of Band Aid’s charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” |
| Feliz Navidad | José Feliciano | “Feliz Navidad” (”Merry Christmas”) is a Christmas song written and first recorded in 1970 by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano. Feliciano says he recorded the song while feeling homesick at Christmas, missing his family in New York City and his extended family further afield as he sat in a studio in Los Angeles. |
| Wonderful Christmas Time | Paul McCartney | “Wonderful Christmastime” is a Christmas song by Sir Paul McCartney. |
| Merry Xmas Everybody | Slade | “Merry Xmas Everybody” is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1973, written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas Chandler. Noddy Holder has referred to the song as his pension scheme. |
| Lonely this Christmas | Mud | “Lonely This Christmas” is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, released in 1974. |
| Fairytale Of New York (ft. Kirsty Maccoll) | The Pogues | “Fairytale of New York” is recorded by the London-based Celtic punk band the Pogues, featuring English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The Irish folk-style ballad is written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan About these old Irish-American Broadway stars who are sitting round at Christmas talking about whether things are going okay. The song titles is after J. P. Donleavy’s 1973 novel A Fairy Tale of New York. |
| 2000 Miles | The Pretenders | “2000 Miles” is a song by rock band Pretenders, written by lead vocalist Chrissie Hynde. The song is about two long-distance lovers who miss each other at Christmastime. |
| Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | James Taylor | “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. The song brought comfort to many American soldiers who were fighting overseas during World War II. James Taylor recorded his version using the original, melancholy lyrics, shortly before September 11, 2001 and which he released on his 2002 album ‘October Road’. |
| White Christmas | Bing Crosby | “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby, was written by American Irvin Berlin for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn. |
| Little Drummer Boy | Pentatonix | In 2013 the famed a capella group Pentatonix brought their own spin on “The Little Drummer Boy”. Katherine K. Davis composed ‘The carol of the drum’ in 1941, inspired by a 1720 French song ‘Patapan’, originally titled “Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin” (“Willie, Take Your Little Drum”), written by Bernard de La Monnoye, and first recorded in 1951 by the Austrian Trapp Family. |
| All I Want for Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey | “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a Christmas standard song written and performed by American singer Mariah Carey, released in 1994. |
| Sleigh Ride | Amy Grant | Amy Grant is an iconic Christian entertainer who released in 1983 her version of ‘Sleigh Ride’. Leroy Anderson wrote the music for this song during a heatwave in July of 1946, while staying at a cottage in Woodbury, Connecticut, with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. |
| Bakske Vol Met Stro | Urbanus | “Bakske Vol Met Stro” (Bin Full Of Straw) is a parody of the birth of Jesus Christ in dialect by Flemish singer-songwriter and comedian Urbanus, released in 1979, which caused a lot of controversy at the time. |
| Baby, It’s Cold Outside (ft. Cerys Matthews) | Tom Jones | Cerys Matthews is a musician, author and broadcaster and was a founder member of multi-million selling band Catatonia. She sings on the perennial winter favourite Baby its Cold Outside with Sir Tom Jones. Cerys Matthews collaborated with Tom Jones to record a version of Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” on Jones’s 1999 album Reload. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel.They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. |
| Santa Baby | Eartha Kitt | “Santa Baby” is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953, written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer. |
| Silent Night | Mahalia Jackson | Silent Night is one of the most beloved and recognizable Christmas carols of all time. Mahalia Jackson, known as the “Queen of Gospel,” performed a soul-stirring rendition of this timeless song, adding her unique touch to its already powerful message. The song was originally written in German by Joseph Mohr in 1818 and later translated into English. |
| My December | Scala & Kolacny Brothers | The Linkin Park cover ‘My December’ by the Belgian Scala & Kolacny Brothers is the title song of their 2012 album. Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women’s choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. |
| Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow | Ella Fitzgerald | “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”, also known as simply “Let It Snow”, is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. |
| Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town | Bruce Springsteen | A rock version of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” was recorded live by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band on December 12, 1975, at C. W. Post College in Brookville, New York “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” is written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Band in 1934. |
| Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (ft. The Harlem Community Choir) | John Lennon & Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band | “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir and was also a protest song against the Vietnam War. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, Discogs, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
