The Holidays Are All Plaidout
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Some classics. Some will be. Some should be.
I watched Die Hard this holiday season for the first time in a long time. I love that RUN-DMC is playing in the opening sequence. “This is Christmas Music, man!”
“Just Like Christmas,” The song from Low has been on virtually every Christmas mix I’ve made since I was a freshman in college.
I could make a playlist of nothing but Willie Nelson’s take on Christmas tunes. This year, I’ve kept it to two tracks.
New and noteworthy this year: Andrew Bird’s take on “Auld Lang Syne” on Hear Music’s Holidays Rule was the one track that stood out; I’ve dedicated “Colorado Christmas” — written by one of Chicago’s most famous singer-songwriters, Steve Goodman — to two Coloradans whose time in Chicago is quickly coming to an end; I found Charles Brown’s earliest known recording of “Merry Christmas, Baby” as the frontman for Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers; and I typically include the original version of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” as sung by The Orioles or my favorite cover by Lou Rawls, but someone sent me Les Paul’s version, and it has a certain plucky cocktail party sound that’s just perfect.
On a completely unrelated note, it’s hard for me to believe, but this blog is four years old now. Thanks to everybody that’s still tuning in.
Season’s Greetings to you and yours. Between now and New Year’s, raise as many glasses as humanly possible with the ones you love.
And to paraphrase The Zombies — who didn’t make the cut — may this year be our year.
1) Loudon Wainwright III – Christmas Rap (Live)
2) Loudon Wainwright III – Suddenly It’s Christmas (Live)
3) Leo Kottke – Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring
4) William Bell – Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday
5) The Staples Singers – Who Took The Merry Out of Christmas
6) Low – Just Like Christmas
7) Willie Nelson – Pretty Paper
8) John Denver – Christmas for Cowboys
9) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Colorado Christmas
10) The Band – Christmas Must Be Tonight
11) Bob Dylan – Winterlude
12) Lynyrd Skynyrd – Classical Christmas
13) Sam Bush – Sleigh Ride
14) Bela Fleck & The Flecktones – J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio – BVW 248 #41
15) Willie Nelson – Christmas Blues
16) Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers – Merry Christmas, Baby
17) John & Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
18) Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
19) Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run
20) Bruce Springsteen – Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
21) The Beach Boys – Little Saint Nick
22) RUN-DMC – Christmas In Hollis
23) Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald – Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Live)
24) Les Brown & His Band of Renown – I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
25) Mabel Scott – Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
26) Leon Redbone & Dr. John – Frosty the Snowman
27) Harry Connick, Jr. – (It Must’ve Been Ol’) Santa Claus
28) Mel Torme – The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
29) Dick Haymes & The Les Paul Trio – What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
30) Andrew Bird – Auld Lang Syne
31) Tom Waits – New Year’s Eve
32) Otis Redding & Carla Thomas – New Year’s Resolution
33) John Coltrane – Greensleeves
Bonus Track: Bob & Doug McKenzie – The Twelve Days of Christmas[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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