Christmas music
Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Jesus Christ, traditions such as gift-giving and merrymaking, cultural figures such as Santa Claus, or other topics.
[16] During the years that the Puritan ban on Christmas was in place in England, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang carols in secret.
Town musicians or 'waits' were licensed to collect money in the streets in the weeks preceding Christmas, the custom spread throughout the population by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries up to the present day.
The resulting list of the top ten favored Christmas carols and motets was:[39][40][41] According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2016, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", written by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934, is the most played holiday song of the last 50 years.
Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded their version in 1935, followed later by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra in 1948, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Beach Boys, and Glenn Campbell.
In addition to Bing Crosby, major acts that have popularized and successfully covered a number of the titles in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 include Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, and the Jackson 5.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a revival of interest in instrumental Christmas music, including the New Age synthpop of Mannheim Steamroller and the symphonic metal of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, particularly among older listeners.
Many titles help define the mythical aspects of modern Christmas celebration: Santa Claus bringing presents, coming down the chimney, being pulled by reindeer, etc.
New mythical characters are created, defined, and popularized by these songs; "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", adapted from a major retailer's promotional poem, was introduced to radio audiences by Gene Autry in 1949.
Other favorites like "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Brenda Lee, 1958), "Jingle Bell Rock" (Bobby Helms, 1957) and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas" (1971), scored well in one study.
", the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", and "O Holy Night" as performed by cartoon characters from Comedy Central's South Park.
The "most-hated Christmastime recording" is a rendition of "Jingle Bells" by Carl Weissmann's Singing Dogs, a revolutionary novelty song originally released in 1955, and re-released as an edited version in 1970.
Other songs that ranked high in terms of listener revulsion included "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "Wonderful Christmastime".
[59] The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music-type categories: A collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK Christmas No.
In 2009, as the result of a campaign intended to counter the phenomenon, Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "Killing in the Name" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's X Factor winner, Joe McElderry.
The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles, started in 1937 by Victorian radio announcer Norman Banks, has taken place in Melbourne annually since then.
Rolf Harris' "Six White Boomers", Colin Buchanan's "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas",[75] proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under.
Santa swapping his fur hat for a corked Akubra and a token Aboriginal word is deemed sufficient to localise the celebration of the day a Middle Eastern tradesman wasn't actually born.
"The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" – written by Michael Carr, Tommie Connor, and Jimmy Leach in 1937 – was notably performed by Vera Lynn and Nat King Cole.
"Merry Christmas Baby" is credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, whose group originally recorded it in 1947, featuring singer and pianist Charles Brown.
Other titles and recordings added to the popular Christmas song canon[citation needed] include: "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", written by Irving Berlin, was introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in 1937.
"Mistletoe and Wine" was written for a 1976 musical entitled Scraps, which was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl;" it underwent substantial revision for Cliff Richard's 1988 version.
[92] "Hard Candy Christmas" was written by Carol Hall for the 1982 musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and later released by Dolly Parton (who starred in the film version) as a single.
Others include:[96][97][98][99] Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which Elvis Presley debuted on his first Christmas album in 1957.
"[105] American a capella group Pentatonix released their version of "Hallelujah", the 1984 song written by Leonard Cohen and covered famously by a number of acts, on their Christmas album shortly before the songwriter's death in 2016.
Besides the title, and several biblical (Old Testament) references, the song contains no connection to Christmas or the holidays per se; an earlier 2014 rewrite introduced by Cloverton repurposed the tune and some of Cohen's lyrics to make it more explicitly Christian and Christmas-themed.
"Stop the Cavalry", written and performed by English musician Jona Lewie in 1980, was intended as a war protest, which his record label was unwilling to release in its original form.
[113] Perceiving a competitive advantage in being the first in a market to begin playing Christmas music, it is not uncommon for some stations to adopt the format prior to Thanksgiving, or even as early as late-October.
[43] Rob Lucas, who for 22 years served as music director and morning host for Star 102.5 in Buffalo, New York (a station now relegated to an automated digital feed), outlined his scheduling formula for that station:[123] The period from late afternoon Christmas Eve to noon Christmas Day, Lucas reserved for heavy rotation of religious and spiritual records, as a nod to the solemnity of the holiday.
[125] The increase in Christian Christmas song airplay in later December also, as of 2024, has helped bring certain beautiful music orchestras such as Conniff's and Percy Faith's into a slight renaissance.
