From The Pogues, the Waitresses, To Chuck and Ella - The Best Christmas Songs To Cheer Your Soul - Page 2
4.)â€Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas†- Judy Garland - This song makes me cry almost every time. Although the song’s message is one of joy and happiness, you can hear the veiled sadness which is inherent in Judy’s gorgeous voice, truly bittersweet. Oh Judy, why were you so very sad? *Sigh*
5.)â€Blue Christmas†- Elvis Presley - The King at his best. Between the bluesy guitar, the oohs and ahhs of the background vocals lay a voice which at its core is soulful and not cheesy like the later day Elvis became. I like to remember the King as the person who sings this song, not as the guy whose heart exploded while on the crapper.
6.)â€White Christmas†- Bing Crosby - I can remember seeing Bing perform this song on a Christmas special when I was a little kid. Bing always looked liked the perfect dad. His dreamy voice, superb production and his ever so slight tremelos are pitch perfect. Plus I love the whistling. (His duet with David Bowie doing “Peave On Earth/Little Drummer Boy†is also amazing, though sad as Bing died shortly after this song was recorded.)
7.)â€Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree†- Brenda Lee - Gosh, I just can’t even tell you how much I love this song. The lyrics are fabulous and Brenda’s country/rock classic, complete with horns was ahead of its time. Very ’50s, but again, totally timeless. Just a great feel good song. Never fails to make me smile.
8.) “Santa Baby†- Eartha Kitt - Now I know this song has been covered by so many artists, and so many have failed miserably to capture the sexy, wanton materialism the way Eartha does. On one hand, this is a jaded stab at the greed which Christmas can create, but it’s so kitschy and tongue-in-cheek you can’t help but enjoy Eartha’s purring and rubbing up on Santa’s leg. There’s no way Santa could resist Eartha in her prime!
9.)â€Baby It’s Cold Outside†- Dean Martin - Oh Deano, you could convince me to stay even if it were 80 degrees and your house was on fire. Dean is a sexy machine and this song with it’s sexual innuendo must have been quite risque back in 1944 when it was written. Now that’s ZEXYTIME. Another great version of this song is the Zooey Deschanel/Will Ferrel duet from the movie “Elf.†Zooey needs to record an album.
10.)"Run, Run Rudolph†- Chuck Berry - Like a Who fan who always imagines Pete Townsend doing his signature windmill guitar move, I always picture Chuck Berry doing his duck-walk maneuvers while rocking out to this fun holiday classic. Dave Edmunds also does a great job on this song as well.
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