A Little More On My Christmas Music

I just thought it would be fun to share how many versions of various Christmas songs are in my iTunes (out of the total of 468 holiday tracks), and the most notable performers of each...

Angels We Have Heard On High - 6; Aretha Franklin, "Glee" cast
Auld Lang Syne  - 5; Barenaked Ladies, Chris Isaak (and why is New Year's music played on Christmas?)
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...) - 8; Nat King Cole (duh), two versions by Ella Fitzgerald
The First Noel - 4; Annie Lennox, David Archuleta (I think these two names back to back form some sort of musical oxymoron)
Frosty the Snowman - 5; the Ronettes, two versions (again) by Ella Fitzgerald
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - 5; Annie Lennox, Rascal Flatts, Barenaked Ladies feat. Sarah McLachlan
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - 6; Pretenders, Kermit the Frog
I'll Be Home For Christmas - 4; Fats Domino, Kristin Chenoweth
Jingle Bells - 8 (if you include "Jingle Bells?" by Barbra Streisand and the medley "Jingle Bells/Jingle Bell Rock" by the Muppets)
Joy To The World - 5; Lee Greenwood, the Supremes
The Little Drummer Boy - 8; two up-tempo versions by Alexander O'Neal and the Salsoul Orchestra
O Holy Night - 7; Neil Sedaka, and a very funky cover by Musiq Soulchild
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 9; Gene Autry, Meredith Brooks, and only one version by Ella Fitzgerald
Santa Baby - 4; Eartha Kitt, Madonna, Everclear (male vocal, changed lyrics because heaven knows the band had to butch it up) and Miss Piggy
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - 8; the Four Seasons, the Supremes, the Looney Tunes (I own the CD "Have Yourself A Looney Tunes Christmas" -- not the greatest Bugs Bunny & Company work Warner Bros. has put out there, although it's mildly amusing at times)
Silent Night - 13 (this looks like the winner); Wynonna, Mahalia Jackson, the Salsoul Orchestra (non-discofied!)
Sleigh Ride - 9 (including the Kristin Chenoweth/John Pizzarelli duet medley of "Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow World" but not including the Alexander O'Neal song with the same title but different lyrics; I also have a version by the Spice Girls
White Christmas - 7; besides the obvious Bing Crosby, there's Darlene Love, the Supremes...and there goes that Ella Fitzgerald again with two versions...
Winter Wonderland - 6; of course, my favorite is by Eurythmics, though you can't go wrong with Johnny Mathis
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - 4, including Weezer

And with that, I wish you a Merry Christmas as well, if you celebrate it. Or, just follow Krusty the Clown's advice: "So, have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, kwazy Kwanzaa, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan. Now a word from MY god: our sponsor!"

My Go-To Christmas Music

Before I get into my main lists, I want to share a new favorite I discovered on Todd Zolecki's Phillies blog at MLB.com. It's "Baseball Glove" by a Canadian country singer-songwriter, Gord Bamford. The lyrics talk about the many things the family wants, but all he wants is a baseball glove -- specifically, "a genuine cowhide Rawlings Pro Special, one autographed by Roy Halladay." Bamford is a Blue Jays fan and it was released last year, before Halladay was traded to the Phils, but it doesn't matter. Click the above link and you can watch the video and find a link to download the song for free.

There are so many new Christmas albums now, but in recent years I've only bought a few. These are the albums I bought in the last couple of years that I really enjoy:

Glee Cast - Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album (love the Chris Colfer/Darren Criss version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside")
Annie Lennox - A Christmas Cornucopia (I love what she did, but I kind of wish this had a couple of fun, not so serious/religious-oriented selections, like Eurythmics' "Winter Wonderland," one of my all-time faves)
Kristin Chenoweth - A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas
Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked for the Holidays (their quirky humor shines in a number of songs, especially "An Elf's Lament;" also includes a few Hanukkah songs)
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas

I also found a couple of CDs that had been released previously: "A Classic Cartoon Christmas" and "A Classic Cartoon Christmas, Too." They feature tracks from many classic TV shows (and some that aren't so classic). Between the two, they include "Welcome Christmas" and "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas," songs from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," Jimmy Durante's "Frosty the Snowman," a couple from the Muppets, and -- most happily -- the "Heat Miser" and "Snow Miser" songs from "The Year Without a Santa Claus." (I really need to edit them into one mp3 so when my music is in shuffle mode, I won't hear one and not the other right away.)

The following are the Christmas CDs I've had the longest, and are still my favorites: