The Playlist: Christmas Songs Round 3

It’s less than a week away. The presents are under the tree. There’s still a small chance we might see something resembling snow (trying to be optimistic here). And the lucky ones, myself included, are enjoying some much-needed vacation time.

For the past two weeks I’ve shared some of my favorite contemporary Christmas songs. And if you missed out on either list, you can read about them here and here. Now here are the final five worth hitting the ‘repeat’ button for this holiday season.

Kenny G – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (1994)
I don’t want to hear a word. Yes, I realize the saxophonist with the curly-fry hair might not exactly fit into the ‘cool’ category. Despite that, this is perhaps my favorite Christmas song of all time. Having spent my high school years in Alaska, I can easily close my eyes while listening to this and imagine spending a snowed-in evening warming up to the fireplace. Plus, Burgess Meredith is in the video. That alone gets it cool points, especially if you’re a ‘Rocky’ fan, which I am.
















Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band – Santa Claus is Coming to Town

It’s been covered by dozens of stars – from Dolly Parton and Vince Gill to Hillary Duff and Mariah Carey. But perhaps none can match the energy brought out in this version. It was never released as a single but Springsteen’s take on the song that makes Santa sound like a stalker is a radio favorite and if you ever see him in concert around the holiday season it’s probably in the set list.



Ron Sexsmith – Maybe this Christmas (2002)

I had never heard this until I picked up a copy of the ‘Maybe this Christmas’ compilation CD years ago, which features various holiday-inspired songs performed by the likes of Coldplay, Ben Folds, Jack Johnson and Vanessa Carlton. It remains perhaps my favorite Christmas CD in part to this track, which tells of being hopeful that this Christmas and the coming year will be the best yet.

Just as a heads up, the only good video I could find was made by a fan of 'The OC.' I can only assume the song popped up in an episode.













Sarah McLachlan – Happy X-Mas (War is Over) (2006)

Yep, it’s the John Lennon classic. And while the Lennon version deserves praise for being that one ‘Debbie Downer’ Christmas song that has lasted the test of time, Yoko Ono’s voice still makes blood shoot out of my ears. As a good friend of mine often says – ‘We’ve got the technology for George Lucas to add stuff to ‘Star Wars’ yet we can’t remove Yoko Ono from this song?’

Replace John and Yoko with Sarah McLachlan and a bunch of kids and you’ve got a winner.



Josh Groban – O Holy Night

And last but not least... I thought I would leave you with a traditional holiday classic performed by one of today’s top vocalists. Groban’s new Christmas album, ‘Noel,’ was released back in October and weekly sales have gone so high that they’ve even surpassed that of his past two albums. You won’t find this song on the album but it’s worth tracking down as well.



That’s all for this week. Questions and comments are always welcome at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com. And on that note, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.