Since it’s December 1, I figured I would share my 5 favorite Christmas pop songs and why I love them. Pop here just meaning not traditional/classical. Also no covers, sorry Bruce.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” - Darlene Love
It is my opinion that A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is the best Christmas album ever released, and it’s not close. The crown jewel is “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Not only because the backup singers repeat “Christmas” so much that it will burn into your brain like the most intense peppermint stick, but because Darlene Love’s soaring lead vocals capture the mix of celebration and pleading alluded to in the title. Plus it is one of the absolute best examples of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. It’s pure Christmas bliss to me.
”Christmas Time Is Here” - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Written for A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Christmas Time Is Here” is perfect. The lyrics are simple and nostalgic, “Sleigh bells in the air/Beauty everywhere.” But the music is in a minor key and the voices of the children’s choir slow and soft, which creates a sadness. Christmas is sad as often as it is happy, or at the very least, wistful, and I think A Charlie Brown Christmas and this song helped me understand those feelings as a child.
“Christmas Wrapping” - The Waitresses
Jumping into New Wave, this song comes from the same early rap movement that Blondie and Tom Tom Club was dabbling in, but told as a fun riff on a Christmas story. It’s romantic, witty, and has an extremely catchy rhythm section. It manages to be cool enough for people who don’t like Christmas music while aging into a timeless classic.
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
One of the best Best Original Song winners, it’s somehow fitting that the best American Christmas standard was written by a Jewish man. While it’s been recorded by hundreds of artists over the years, Bing Crosby’s versions are still the most definitive. Again, there is a wistful element underneath the well wishing that makes it point right to the heart.
“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” - John Lennon & Yoko Ono”
A mix of traditional instruments, a children’s choir, early 70s production, and hippie sentimentality, I just love this. It’s reflective on the year that has passed while looking ahead. It’s a call for us to make the world better, which really is what Christmas is all about.
I’d love to hear some of your favorites! I also love Christmas covers, but that would have made this list too easy for me.