La música navideña comprende una variedad de géneros musicales que se interpretan o escuchan regularmente durante la temporada navideña . La música asociada a la Navidad puede ser puramente instrumental , o en el caso de villancicos o canciones puede emplear letras cuya temática va desde el nacimiento de Jesucristo , pasando por la entrega de regalos y la alegría, pasando por figuras culturales como Santa Claus , entre otros temas. Muchas canciones simplemente tienen un tema de invierno o de temporada, o han sido adoptadas en el canon por otras razones.
Si bien la mayoría de las canciones navideñas anteriores a 1930 eran de carácter religioso tradicional, la era de la Gran Depresión de la década de 1930 trajo una serie de canciones de origen estadounidense, la mayoría de las cuales no hicieron referencia explícita a la naturaleza cristiana de la festividad, sino a la tradición más secular. Temas y costumbres occidentales asociados con la Navidad. Estas incluían canciones dirigidas a niños como " Santa Claus Is Comin 'to Town " y " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ", así como canciones sentimentales tipo balada interpretadas por cantantes famosos de la época, como " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "y" White Christmas ", el último de los cuales sigue siendo el sencillo más vendido de todos los tiempos a partir de 2018. [1] [2] El álbum de Navidad de Elvis (1957) de Elvis Presley es el álbum de Navidad más vendido de todo el tiempo , vendiendo más de 20 millones de copias en todo el mundo. [3]
Las presentaciones de música navideña en conciertos públicos , iglesias, centros comerciales, calles de la ciudad y reuniones privadas son un elemento básico integral de las vacaciones navideñas en muchas culturas de todo el mundo. Las estaciones de radio a menudo se convierten a un formato de música navideña 24 horas al día, los 7 días de la semana antes de la festividad, comenzando a veces tan pronto como el día después de Halloween , como parte de un fenómeno conocido como " creep navideño ".
Historia
Musica antigua
Se cree que la música asociada con la Navidad tiene su origen en la Roma del siglo IV , en himnos en latín como Veni redemptor gentium . [4] En el siglo XIII, bajo la influencia de Francisco de Asís , se desarrolló la tradición de las canciones navideñas populares en las lenguas nativas regionales. [5] Los villancicos en inglés aparecen por primera vez en una obra de 1426 de John Awdlay , un capellán inglés, que enumera veinticinco " caroles de Cristemas ", probablemente cantados por grupos de " vagabundos " que viajaban de casa en casa. [6] En el siglo XVI, surgieron por primera vez varios villancicos cantados hasta el día de hoy, incluidos " Los 12 días de Navidad ", " Que Dios los descanse, felices, señores " y " O árbol de Navidad ". [7]
La música fue una característica temprana de la temporada navideña y sus celebraciones. Los primeros ejemplos son obras himnográficas ( cánticos y letanías ) destinadas al uso litúrgico en observancia tanto de la Fiesta de la Natividad como de la Teofanía, muchas de las cuales todavía están en uso por la Iglesia Ortodoxa Oriental. El siglo XIII vio el surgimiento del villancico escrito en lengua vernácula, bajo la influencia de Francisco de Asís .
En la Edad Media , los ingleses combinaban danzas en círculo con cantos y las llamaban villancicos. Posteriormente, la palabra villancico pasó a significar una canción en la que se trata un tema religioso con un estilo familiar o festivo. De Italia pasó a Francia y Alemania, y más tarde a Inglaterra. Los villancicos en inglés aparecen por primera vez en una obra de 1426 de John Audelay , un sacerdote y poeta de Shropshire , que enumera 25 "caroles de Cristemas", probablemente cantados por grupos de vagabundos , que iban de casa en casa. [8] La música en sí misma pronto se convirtió en uno de los mayores tributos a la Navidad, y la música navideña incluye algunas de las composiciones más nobles de los grandes músicos.
Prohibición puritana
Durante el gobierno de la Commonwealth de Inglaterra bajo Cromwell , el Parlamento Rump prohibió la práctica de cantar villancicos como paganos y pecaminosos. Como otras costumbres asociadas con el cristianismo católico popular , se ganó la desaprobación de los puritanos protestantes . Es famoso que el interregno de Cromwell prohibió todas las celebraciones de la Navidad. Este intento de prohibir la celebración pública de la Navidad también se puede ver en la historia temprana de Papá Noel .
La Asamblea de Teólogos de Westminster estableció el domingo como el único día sagrado en el calendario en 1644. La nueva liturgia producida para la iglesia inglesa reconoció esto en 1645, y así abolió legalmente la Navidad. Su celebración fue declarada delito por el Parlamento en 1647. [9] Existe cierto debate sobre la efectividad de esta prohibición y si se hizo cumplir o no en el país. [9]
Los puritanos generalmente desaprobaban la celebración de la Navidad, una tendencia que resurgió continuamente en Europa y Estados Unidos durante los siglos XVIII, XIX y XX. [10]
Restauración real
Cuando en mayo de 1660 Carlos II restauró a los Estuardo en el trono, el pueblo de Inglaterra volvió a practicar el canto público de villancicos como parte del resurgimiento de las costumbres navideñas, sancionado por las propias celebraciones del rey. [9]
La era victoriana vio una oleada de villancicos asociados con una renovada admiración por la festividad, incluyendo " Noche de paz ", " Oh pequeña ciudad de Belén " y " Oh noche santa ". Las primeras canciones navideñas asociadas con San Nicolás u otros portadores de regalos también llegaron durante el siglo XIX, incluyendo " Up on the Housetop " y " Jolly Old St. Nicholas ". [11] Muchos himnos navideños más antiguos también se tradujeron o se les añadió letras durante este período, particularmente en 1871 cuando John Stainer publicó una colección muy influyente titulada " Christmas Carols New & Old ". [11] William Sandys 's Christmas Carols antigua y moderna (1833), contenía la primera aparición en la impresión de muchos villancicos ya clásicos en inglés, y contribuyó a mediados de estilo victoriano la reactivación de las vacaciones. [12] El canto de villancicos en la iglesia se instituyó en la víspera de Navidad de 1880 ( Nueve lecciones y villancicos ) en la Catedral de Truro , Cornwall, Inglaterra, que ahora se ve en las iglesias de todo el mundo. [13]
Según uno de los únicos estudios de investigación observacionales sobre los villancicos navideños, la observancia de la Navidad y las tradiciones de los villancicos varían considerablemente entre las naciones en el siglo XXI, mientras que las fuentes reales y los significados de incluso las canciones de alto perfil comúnmente se atribuyen erróneamente, y las motivaciones para cantar villancicos pueden en algunos entornos, estar tan asociado con la tradición familiar y el patrimonio cultural nacional como con las creencias religiosas. [14] Las festividades navideñas, incluida la música, también se celebran de una manera más secular por instituciones como el Pueblo de Papá Noel , en Rovaniemi , Finlandia. [15]
Limosna
La tradición de cantar villancicos a cambio de limosnas o caridad comenzó en Inglaterra en el siglo XVII después de la Restauración . Los músicos de la ciudad o 'esperas' tenían licencia para recolectar dinero en las calles en las semanas previas a la Navidad, costumbre que se extendió por toda la población desde los siglos XVIII y XIX hasta la actualidad. También a partir del siglo XVII existía la costumbre inglesa, predominantemente femenina, de llevar un cuenco de wassail a sus vecinos para pedirles regalos, acompañado de villancicos. A pesar de esta larga historia, muchos villancicos datan solo del siglo XIX en adelante, con la excepción de canciones como " Wexford Carol ", " God Rest You Merry Gentlemen ", "As I Sat on a Sunny Bank", " The Holly y el Ivy ", [16] el" Coventry Carol "y" Vi tres barcos ".
Fiestas de la Iglesia
La importancia del Adviento y la fiesta de Navidad dentro del año de la iglesia significa que hay un gran repertorio de música especialmente compuesta para su interpretación en los servicios de la iglesia que celebran la historia de la Navidad. Varios compositores desde el Barroco hasta el siglo XXI han escrito cantatas y motetes navideños . Algunas composiciones notables incluyen:
- Thomas Tallis : Misa "Puer natus est nobis" (1554)
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina : O magnum mysterium (1569)
- Orlande de Lassus : Resonet en laudibus (1569)
- Heinrich Schütz : Weihnachtshistorie (1664)
- Johann Sebastian Bach : varias cantatas para Navidad a Epifanía y Oratorio de Navidad (1734)
- Jakub Jan Ryba : Misa de Navidad checa "¡Eh, Maestro!" (1796)
- Anton Bruckner : Virga Jesse floruit (1885)
Música clásica
Muchas composiciones religiosas a gran escala se realizan en un concierto en Navidad. Actuaciones de Georg Friedrich Handel s' Oratorio Mesías son un accesorio de las celebraciones de Navidad en algunos países, [17] y aunque fue escrito originalmente para ser interpretado en Pascua , que abarca aspectos de la narrativa bíblica Navidad. [18] [19] Las presentaciones informales de Scratch Messiah que involucran la participación del público son muy populares en la temporada navideña. [20] El Oratorio de Navidad de Johann Sebastian Bach ( Weihnachts-Oratorium , BWV 248 ), escrito para la Navidad de 1734, describe el nacimiento de Jesús , la anunciación a los pastores, la adoración de los pastores , la circuncisión y el nombramiento de Jesús , la viaje de los magos , y la adoración de los magos. [21] Antonio Vivaldi compuso el Concierto para violín RV270 " Il Riposo per il Santissimo Natale " ("Para la Santísima Navidad"). Arcangelo Corelli compuso el Concierto de Navidad de 1690. Peter Cornelius compuso un ciclo de seis canciones relacionadas con temas navideños que llamó Weihnachtslieder . Estableciendo sus propios poemas para voz solista y piano, aludió a villancicos más antiguos en el acompañamiento de dos de las canciones.
Otras obras clásicas asociadas con la Navidad incluyen:
- Pastorale sur la naissance de NS Jésus-Christ (c. 1670) de Marc-Antoine Charpentier
- Christus (1847) un oratorio inacabado de Felix Mendelssohn
- L'enfance du Christ (1853-1854) de Hector Berlioz
- Oratorio de Noël (1858) de Camille Saint-Saëns
- El cascanueces (1892) de Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky [22]
- Fantasía sobre villancicos (1912) y Hodie (1954), ambos de Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Una ceremonia de villancicos (1942) de Benjamin Britten .
villancicos
Las canciones que son tradicionales, incluso algunas sin un contexto religioso específico, a menudo se llaman villancicos . Cada uno de ellos tiene una rica historia, algunos se remontan a muchos siglos atrás.
Estándares
Un conjunto popular de villancicos tradicionales que se pueden escuchar en cualquier evento relacionado con la Navidad incluye: [23]
- " Angels We Have Heard on High " (en el Reino Unido, el texto de " Angels from the Realms of Glory " se canta con esta melodía)
- " Ausente en un pesebre "
- " Deck the Halls "
- " Ding Dong alegremente en lo alto "
- " El primer Noel "
- " Ve y cuéntalo en la montaña "
- " Que Dios los descanse, señores "
- " Buen rey Wenceslao "
- " ¡Escucha! Los ángeles heraldos cantan "
- " Vi tres barcos "
- " Llegó a medianoche "
- " Alegría para el mundo "
- " Oh árbol de Navidad " ( O Tannenbaum )
- " Venid, todos los fieles " ( Adeste Fideles )
- " Oh ven, oh ven, Emmanuel "
- " Oh Noche Santa " ( Cantique de Noël )
- " Oh pequeña ciudad de Belén "
- " Una vez en la ciudad de Royal David "
- " Noche de paz "
- " Los doce días de Navidad "
- " Somos los Tres Reyes de Oriente "
- " Te deseamos una Feliz Navidad "
- " ¿Qué niño es este? "
- " Mientras los pastores cuidaban sus rebaños "
Estas canciones se escuchan desde hace siglos, la más antigua ("Wexford Carol") se originó en el siglo XII. El más nuevo se formó a mediados o finales del siglo XIX. Muchos comenzaron en países de habla no inglesa, a menudo con temas que no eran navideños, y luego se convirtieron en villancicos en inglés con letras en inglés agregadas, no siempre traducidas del original, sino de nueva creación, a veces hasta principios del siglo XX. [ cita requerida ]
Canciones navideñas seculares tempranas
Entre las primeras canciones navideñas seculares se encuentran " Los doce días de Navidad ", que apareció por primera vez en 1780 en Inglaterra (su melodía no llegaría hasta 1909); el villancico inglés del West Country " We Wish You a Merry Christmas " tiene antecedentes que datan de la década de 1830, pero no se publicó en su forma moderna hasta que Arthur Warrell lo presentó a un público más amplio en 1935. Como el mito secular de la festividad (como Santa Claus en su forma moderna) surgió en el siglo XIX, al igual que las canciones navideñas seculares. " Up on the House Top " de Benjamin Hanby y " Jolly Old Saint Nicholas " de Emily Huntington Miller estuvieron entre las primeras canciones navideñas explícitamente seculares en los Estados Unidos, ambas de la década de 1860; fueron precedidos por " Jingle Bells ", escrito en 1857 pero no explícitamente sobre la Navidad.
Villancicos recientes
Los villancicos más recientes con derechos de autor sobre la Natividad incluyen " Me pregunto mientras deambulo " (1933), " Mary's Boy Child " (1956), "Carol of the Drum" ("Little Drummer Boy") (1941), " Do You Hear What I Hear? "(1962) y" Mary, Did You Know? "(1984).
Música navideña publicada
La música navideña se ha publicado como partitura durante siglos. Una de las primeras colecciones de música navideña impresa fue Piae Cantiones , un cancionero finlandés publicado por primera vez en 1582 que contenía una serie de canciones que han sobrevivido hoy como villancicos conocidos. La publicación de libros de música navideña en el siglo XIX, como Christmas Carols, New and Old ( Bramley y Stainer , 1871), jugó un papel importante en la ampliación del atractivo popular de los villancicos. [25] En el siglo XX, Oxford University Press (OUP) publicó algunas colecciones de música navideña de gran éxito, como The Oxford Book of Carols ( Martin Shaw , Ralph Vaughan Williams y Percy Dearmer , 1928), que revivió varias canciones populares antiguas. y los estableció como villancicos estándar modernos. [24] [26] A esto le siguió la exitosa serie Villancicos para coros ( David Willcocks , Reginald Jacques y John Rutter ), publicada por primera vez en 1961 y ahora disponible en cinco volúmenes. Los libros populares han demostrado ser un recurso popular para coros y congregaciones eclesiásticas en el mundo de habla inglesa, y se siguen imprimiendo en la actualidad. [27]
- Villancicos, nuevos y viejos (1871)
- Libro de villancicos de Oxford (1928)
- Villancicos para coros (1961)
- Nuevo libro de villancicos de Oxford (1992)
- Un libro de villancicos nuevo más corto de Oxford (1992)
Encuesta de Choirmasters
En 2008, la BBC Music Magazine publicó una encuesta de los "50 mejores villancicos", recopilada a partir de las opiniones de expertos corales y maestros de coro en el Reino Unido y los Estados Unidos. La lista resultante de los diez villancicos y motetes favoritos fue: [28] [29] [30]
- " En el invierno sombrío " - Harold Darke
- " En Dulci Jubilo " - tradicional
- " Una rosa impecable " - Herbert Howells
- " Bethlehem Down " - Peter Warlock
- " Lully, Lulla " - tradicional
- " Mañana será mi día de baile "
- "No hay rosa"
- " Venid, todos los fieles "
- " Del corazón del Padre engendrado "
- "Qué música más dulce" - John Rutter
Canciones navideñas populares
Estados Unidos
Según la Sociedad Estadounidense de Compositores, Autores y Editores (ASCAP) en 2016, " Santa Claus Is Coming to Town ", escrita por Fred Coots y Haven Gillespie en 1934, es la canción navideña más reproducida de los últimos 50 años. Fue interpretado por primera vez en vivo por Eddie Cantor en su programa de radio en noviembre de 1934. Tommy Dorsey y su orquesta grabaron su versión en 1935, seguidos más tarde por una variedad de artistas como Frank Sinatra en 1948, The Supremes , The Jackson 5 , the Beach Boys y Glenn Campbell . Bruce Springsteen grabó una interpretación de rock en diciembre de 1975.
Long-time Christmas classics from prior to the "rock era"[31] still dominate the holiday charts – such as "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "Winter Wonderland", "Sleigh Ride" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Songs from the rock era to enter the top tier of the season's canon[citation needed] include "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and "Last Christmas" by George Michael.
The most popular set of these titles—heard over airwaves, on the Internet, in shopping malls, in elevators and lobbies, even on the street during the Christmas season—have been composed and performed from the 1930s onward. (Songs published before 1925 are all out of copyright, are no longer subject to ASCAP royalties and thus do not appear on their list.) In addition to Bing Crosby, major acts that have popularized and successfully covered a number of the titles in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 include Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, and the Jackson 5.
Since the mid-1950s, much of the Christmas music produced for popular audiences has explicitly romantic overtones, only using Christmas as a setting. The 1950s also featured the introduction of novelty songs that used the holiday as a target for satire and source for comedy. Exceptions such as "The Christmas Shoes" (2000) have re-introduced Christian themes as complementary to the secular Western themes, and myriad traditional carol cover versions by various artists have explored virtually all music genres.
Most-performed Christmas songs
Paul Williams, President and chairman, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
The top thirty most-played holiday songs for the 2015 holiday season are ranked here, all titles written or co-written by ASCAP songwriters and composers.[32]
Most of these songs in some way describe or are reminiscent of Christmas traditions, how Western Christian countries tend to celebrate the holiday, i.e., with caroling, mistletoe, exchanging of presents, a Christmas tree, feasting, jingle bells, etc. Celebratory or sentimental, and nostalgic in tone, they hearken back to simpler times with memorable holiday practices—expressing the desire either to be with someone or at home for Christmas. The winter-related songs celebrate the climatic season, with all its snow, dressing up for the cold, sleighing, etc.
Many titles help define the mythical aspects of modern Christmas celebration: Santa Claus bringing presents, coming down the chimney, being pulled by reindeer, etc. New mythical characters are created, defined, and popularized by these songs; "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", adapted from a major retailer's promotional poem, was introduced to radio audiences by Gene Autry in 1949. His follow-up a year later introduced "Frosty the Snowman", the central character of his song. Though overtly religious, and authored (at least partly) by a writer of many church hymns, no drumming child appears in any biblical account of the Christian nativity scene. This character was introduced to the tradition by Katherine K. Davis in her "The Little Drummer Boy" (written in 1941, with a popular version being released in 1958).
Rank | Song | Composer(s) | Year | Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" | J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie | 1934 | Mythical |
2 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin | 1944 | Celebratory/Sentimental |
3 | "Winter Wonderland" | Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith | 1934 | Seasonal |
4 | "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | 1945 | Seasonal |
5 | "The Christmas Song" | Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | 1944 | Traditions |
6 | "Jingle Bell Rock" | Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe | 1957 | Celebratory/Seasonal |
7 | "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" | Edward Pola, George Wyle | 1963 | Seasonal/Traditions |
8 | "Sleigh Ride" | Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish | 1948 | Seasonal/Birthday |
9 | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Johnny Marks | 1939/1949 | Mythical |
10 | "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" | Meredith Willson | 1951 | Traditions/Celebratory |
11 | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | 1940 | Seasonal/Sentimental |
12 | "A Holly Jolly Christmas" | Johnny Marks | 1964/65 | Traditions/Celebratory |
13 | "Carol of the Bells" | Peter J. Wilhousky | 1936 | Celebratory |
14 | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Johnny Marks | 1958 | Traditions |
15 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff | 1994 | Sentimental |
16 | "Frosty the Snowman" | Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins | 1950 | Mythical |
17 | "Blue Christmas" | Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson | 1957 | Traditions |
18 | "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" | Bob Allen, Al Stillman | 1954 | Traditions/Sentimental |
19 | "The Little Drummer Boy" | Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone | 1941 | Christian-based |
20 | "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | Gloria Shayne Baker, Noël Regney | 1962 | Traditions |
21 | "Silver Bells" | Jay Livingston, Ray Evans | 1950 | Traditions |
22 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Frank Loesser | 1948 | Seasonal |
23 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | Tommie Connor | 1952 | Novelty |
24 | "Feliz Navidad" | José Feliciano | 1970 | Celebratory |
25 | "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" | Jon Oliva, Paul O'Neill, Robert Kinkel | 1995 | Historical fiction |
26 | "Last Christmas" | George Michael | 1984 | Sentimental |
27 | "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" | Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman | 1947 | Mythical/Christian-based |
28 | "Santa Baby" | Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer, and Fred Ebb | 1953 | Novelty |
29 | "Happy Holiday" | Irving Berlin | 1948 | Celebratory |
30 | "Wonderful Christmastime" | Paul McCartney | 1979 | Celebratory |
The above-ranking results from an aggregation of performances of all different artist versions of each cited holiday song, across all forms of media, from 1/1/15 through 12/31/15.[original research?][citation needed]
- Of the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015, 13 (43%) were written in the 1930s or 1940s and 12 (40%) were written in the 1950s and 1960s; only five (17%) were written from the 1970s on. This phenomenon was noted in the webcomic xkcd and referred to as "a massive project to carefully recreate...baby boomers’ childhoods".[33]
- The newest song in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs – "All I Want for Christmas is You", co-written and performed by Mariah Carey in 1994 – entered the list for the first time in 2015; the song hit the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the first time in 2017,[34] and was named "the UK's favourite Christmas song" the same year by The Independent.[35] Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song with the same title and theme,[36] which Vince Vance & the Valiants recorded in 1989 and independently became popular at the same time as Carey's song. The melody is similar to Bobby Vinton's "My Heart Belongs to Only You".[37]
- Johnny Marks wrote three songs that appear in these most-performed Christmas songs in 2015: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Holly Jolly Christmas", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Irving Berlin wrote two: "White Christmas" and "Happy Holiday". These are the only songwriters to appear on the list more than once – and both are non-Christian.[38]
- Gene Autry was the first to sing three songs on the list of top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 – "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" – co-writing the latter song.
- Two of the songs, "Carol of the Bells" and "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", rely on the same melody, Mykola Leontovych's "Shchedryk", which was published in 1918 and is thus out of copyright, no longer subject to ASCAP royalties. The lyrics to "Carol of the Bells" are still under copyright. The copyright on "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" extends only to the arrangement.
Christmas song surveys
In 2007 surveys of United States radio listeners by two different research groups,[39] the most liked songs were standards such as Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942), Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" (1946), and Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (1965). Other favorites like "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Brenda Lee, 1958), "Jingle Bell Rock" (Bobby Helms, 1957) and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas" (1971), scored well in one study. Also "loved" were Johnny Mathis' "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Harry Simeone Chorale's "Little Drummer Boy" (1958).
Among the most-hated Christmas songs, according to Edison Media Research's 2007 survey, are Barbra Streisand's "Jingle Bells?", the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", and "O Holy Night" as performed by cartoon characters from Comedy Central's South Park. The "most-hated Christmastime recording" is a rendition of "Jingle Bells" by Carl Weissmann's Singing Dogs, a revolutionary novelty song originally released in 1955, and re-released as an edited version in 1970.[39]
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Darlene Love's version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (1963) first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs in December 2010.[40] Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, was No. 1 on Billboard's Holiday Digital Songs chart in December 2013.[41] "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues is cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[42]
Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey
The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music-type categories:
- "Adult contemporary" listeners rated Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" best.
- "Adult Top 40" fans liked Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock".
- "Hip-hop/R&B" fans liked the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".
- "Country" listeners ranked Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" number one.
- "Smooth jazz" fans liked "The Christmas Song" as sung by Nat King Cole.
ThoughtCo ranking
In their "admittedly subjective" list of the top Christmas songs of all time, ThoughtCo. ranked their top five favorites as:[43]
- "The Christmas Song" as sung by Nat King Cole in 1961.
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as sung by in Judy Garland the 1944 film "Meet Me in St. Louis".
- "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" written and sung by John Lennon in 1971, the classic Christmas song that is also a plea for world peace.
- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" as sung by Brenda Lee in 1958.
- "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as sung by Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi in 2003.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Most played songs
A collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK Christmas number one single during the 1970s and 1980s have become some of the most popular holiday tunes in the United Kingdom. Band Aid's 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is the second-best selling single in UK Chart history. "Fairytale of New York", released by The Pogues in 1987, is regularly voted the British public's favourite-ever Christmas song. It is also the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK.[44][45][46] British glam rock bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s. "Merry Xmas Everybody" by Slade, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" by Wizzard, and "Lonely This Christmas" by Mud all remain hugely popular.[47]
The top ten most played Christmas songs in the UK based on a 2012 survey conducted by PRS for Music, who collect and pay royalties to its 75,000 song-writing and composing members, are as follows:[48]
Rank | Song title | Composer(s) | Performer(s) | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Fairytale of New York" | Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan | The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl | 1987 |
2 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff | Mariah Carey | 1994 |
3 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | Bob Geldof and Midge Ure | Band Aid | 1984 |
4 | "Last Christmas" | George Michael | Wham! | 1984 |
5 | "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" | John Frederick Coots, Haven Gillespie | Harry Reser | 1934 |
6 | "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | Noel Regney, Gloria Shayn | Bing Crosby | 1962 |
7 | "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" | John Lennon | John Lennon | 1971 |
8 | "Wonderful Christmastime" | Paul McCartney | Paul McCartney | 1979 |
9 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | Roy Wood | Wizzard | 1973 |
10 | "Merry Xmas Everybody" | Noddy Holder, Jim Lea | Slade | 1974 |
Included in the 2009 and 2008 lists are such other titles as Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry", Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", Elton John's "Step into Christmas", Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", "Walking in the Air" by Aled Jones, Shakin' Stevens' "Merry Christmas Everyone", Chris Rea's "Driving Home for Christmas" and "Mistletoe and Wine" and "Saviour's Day" by Cliff Richard.
The best Christmas song "to get adults and children in the festive spirit for the party season in 2016" was judged by the Daily Mirror to be "Fairytale of New York".[49] Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" was declared "the UK's favourite Christmas song", narrowly beating out "Fairytale of New York" according to a "points system" created by The Independent in 2017. Both score well ahead of all others on the list of top twenty Christmas songs in the UK.[35]
Ellis Rich, Chairman of PRS for Music
Christmas Number Ones
The "Christmas Number One" – songs reaching the top spot on either the UK Singles Chart, the Irish Singles Chart, or occasionally both, on the edition preceding Christmas – is considered a major achievement in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Christmas number one, and to a lesser extent, the runner-up at number two, benefit from broad publicity. Social media campaigns have been used to try to encourage sales of specific songs so that they could reach number one.[51][52][53]
These songs develop an association with Christmas or the holiday season from their chart performance, but the association tends to be shorter-lived than for the more traditionally-themed Christmas songs. Notable longer-lasting examples include Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (No. 1, 1984, the second-biggest selling single in UK Chart history; two re-recordings also hit No. 1 in 1989 and 2004), Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" (No. 1, 1973), and Wham!'s "Last Christmas" (No. 2, 1984).
The Beatles, Spice Girls, and LadBaby are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number-one hits on the UK Singles Chart. The Beatles annually between 1963 and 1965 (with a fourth in 1967), the Spice Girls between 1996 and 1998, and LadBaby in both 2018 and 2019 (with the novelty songs "We Built This City" and "I Love Sausage Rolls"). "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991.[54] Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" have been number one in Christmas week.
At the turn of the 21st century, songs associated with reality shows became a frequent source of Christmas number ones in the UK. In 2002, Popstars The Rivals produced the top three singles on the British Christmas charts. The "rival" groups produced by the series—the girl group Girls Aloud and the boy band One True Voice—finished first and second respectively on the charts. Failed contestants The Cheeky Girls charted with a novelty hit, "Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)", at third. Briton Will Young, winner of the first Pop Idol, charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003.
The X Factor also typically concludes in December; the winner's debut single earned the Christmas number one in at least one of the two countries every year from 2005 to 2014, and in both countries in five of those ten years. Each year since 2008 has seen protest campaigns to outsell the X Factor single (which benefits from precisely-timed release and corresponding media buzz) and prevent it from reaching number one. In 2009, as the result of a campaign intended to counter the phenomenon, Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "Killing in the Name" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's X Factor winner, Joe McElderry.[55] In 2011, "Wherever You Are", the single from a choir of military wives assembled by the TV series The Choir, earned the Christmas number-one single in Britain—upsetting X Factor winners Little Mix.[56] With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.[citation needed]
Australia
Situated in the southern hemisphere, where seasons are reversed from the northern, the heat of early summer in Australia affects the way Christmas is celebrated and how northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed. Australians generally spend Christmas outdoors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to campgrounds for a vacation. International visitors to Sydney at Christmastime often go to Bondi Beach where tens of thousands gather on Christmas Day.
The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles, started in 1937 by Victorian radio announcer Norman Banks, has taken place in Melbourne annually since then. Carols by Candlelight events can be "huge gatherings . . televised live throughout the country" or smaller "local community and church events." Carols in the Domain in Sydney is now a "popular platform for the stars of stage and music."
Some homegrown Christmas songs have become popular. William G. James' six sets of Australian Christmas Carols, with words by John Wheeler, include "The Three Drovers", "The Silver Stars are in the Sky", "Christmas Day", "Carol of the Birds" and others. "Light-hearted Australian Christmas songs" have become "an essential part of the Australian Christmas experience." Rolf Harris' "Six White Boomers", Colin Buchanan's "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas",[57] proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under. A verse from "Aussie Jingle Bells" makes the point:
Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggie climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas Day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue![58]
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" has been revised to fit the Australian context, as an example: "On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: 12 parrots prattling, 11 numbats nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9 wombats working, 8 dingoes digging, 7 possums playing, 6 brolgas dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3 kookaburras laughing, 2 pink galahs, and an emu up a gum tree."[59]
Other popular Australian Christmas songs include: 'White Wine in the Sun" by Tim Minchin, "Aussie Jingle Bells" by Bucko & Champs, "Christmas Photo" by John Williamson, "Go Santa, Go" by The Wiggles, and "Six White Boomers" by Russel Coight.[60]
The Australian carols that do exist are mostly novelty re-workings of existing songs with the holly and the ivy replaced by gum trees and wattle. Santa swapping his fur hat for a corked Akubra and a token Aboriginal word is deemed sufficient to localise the celebration of the day a Middle Eastern tradesman wasn't actually born.[61]
— Ben Anderson, Daily Review
"My Little Christmas Belle" (1909) composed by Joe Slater (1872-1926) to words by Ward McAlister (1872–1928) celebrates eastern Australian flora coming into bloom during the heat of Christmas. Blandfordia nobilis, also known as Christmas Bells, are the specific subject of the song—with the original sheet music bearing a depiction of the blossom.[62] Whereas "The Holly and The Ivy" (1937) by Australian Louis Lavater (1867–1953) mentions northern hemisphere foliage.[63]
Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly first released "How to Make Gravy" as part of a four-track EP November 4, 1996 through White Label Records. The title track, written by Kelly, tells the story in a letter to his brother from a newly imprisoned man who laments how he will be missing the family Christmas. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 1998 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Music Awards. Kelly's theme reflects a national experience with Christmas:
A lot of the early imagery of Christmas in Australia is related to isolation and distance. You’ve got the Sydney Mail in 1879 saying ’The revels of Christmas tide cannot endure the ordeal of immigration’. It's that sense that it's alien here and we’re so conscious of being away from family and that figures very prominently in the imagery of Christmas back in that time.[61]
— Nicholas Brown, Australian National University
Other popular Christmas songs
"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" originated with a poem by Emily Huntington Miller (1833-1913), published as "Lilly's Secret" in The Little Corporal Magazine December 1865. Lyrics have also been attributed to Benjamin Hanby, who wrote Up on the Housetop in 1864, but the words commonly heard today resemble Miller's 1865 poem. James R. Murray is attributed as composer in the first publication of the music in School Chimes, A New School Music Book by S. Brainard's Sons in 1874. Early notable recordings were made by Ray Smith (1949), Chet Atkins (1961), Eddy Arnold (1962), and Alvin and the Chipmunks (1963).
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in 1937, was written by Irving Berlin. "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" – written by Michael Carr, Tommie Connor, and Jimmy Leach in 1937 – was notably performed by Vera Lynn and Nat King Cole. "I'll Be Home for Christmas", by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent, was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943. "Merry Christmas Baby" is credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, whose group originally recorded it in 1947, featuring singer and pianist Charles Brown. Kay Thompson introduced her "The Holiday Season" in 1945, which later became part of a medley by Andy Williams. "A Marshmallow World" (sometimes called "It's a Marshmallow World") was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman (lyrics) and Peter DeRose (music).
Other titles and recordings added to the popular Christmas song canon include:
1950s
- 1950: "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag", written by Irving Taylor and Dudley Brooks; popularized by Kay Starr.
- 1950: "Dixieland Band from Santa Claus Land" by Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra.
- 1950: "A Marshmallow World", written by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose; released by Bing Crosby (backed by The Lee Gordon Singers and the Sonny Burke Orchestra).
- 1950: "Mele Kalikimaka"; written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson; released by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters as a single (with "Poppa Santa Claus" on the reverse side). The title is the closest approximation of the pronunciation of "Merry Christmas" possible in the Hawaiian language.
- 1951: "Christmas Choir", released by Patti Page on Christmas with Patti Page.
- 1951: "Suzy Snowflake", written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett; released by Rosemary Clooney as a 78 RPM record through Columbia Records.
- 1953: "Up on the House Top", written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864; popularized by Gene Autry.
- 1954: "The Christmas Waltz", written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne; released by Frank Sinatra on the B-side of his version of "White Christmas" and later A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957) and The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas (1968).
- 1955: "The First Snowfall" written by Paul Francis Webster, Sonny Burke and recorded by Bing Crosby on November 22, 1955.
- 1956: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", written by Johnny Marks from a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; released by Bing Crosby as a single (with "Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You)" on B-side).
- 1956: "Mary's Boy Child", written by Jester Hairston; released by Harry Belafonte on An Evening with Belafonte.
- 1957: "Mistletoe and Holly" written by Frank Sinatra, Dok Stanford, and Hank Sanicola; recorded by Sinatra with orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins, released as a Capitol 7" 45 single backed with "The Christmas Waltz". Included on A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.
- 1958: "Run Rudolph Run", written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie; popularized by Chuck Berry when released as a single on Chess Records.
- 1959: "Caroling, Caroling", written by Alfred Burt in 1953; recorded by Fred Waring on The Sounds of Christmas.
- 1959: "The Secret of Christmas", written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for Bing Crosby, first performed in the film Say One for Me; Crosby recorded the song with an arrangement by Frank DeVol for a single that year released by Columbia Records.
1960s
- 1960: "Caroling, Caroling", written by Alfred Burt in 1953; popularized by Nat King Cole on The Magic of Christmas.
- 1960: "Please Come Home for Christmas", written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd; released by Brown on Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs (since becoming associated with the Eagles' 1978 cover).
- 1960: "Must Be Santa", written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks;[64] first released by Mitch Miller;[65] Tommy Steele's cover of the song reaching No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart the same year.[66]
- 1960: "Dominick the Donkey" written by Ray Allen, Wandra Merrell, and Sam Saltzberg; recorded by Lou Monte on Roulette Records. The song describes a donkey who helps Santa Claus bring presents ("made in Brooklyn") to children in Italy "because the reindeer cannot climb" Italy's hills.
- 1961: "The Merriest", "Ring a Merry Bell" and "Seven Shades of Snow", all written by Connie Pearce and Arnold Miller; released by June Christy on This Time of Year.
- 1961: "We Wish You the Merriest", written and recorded by Les Brown; released by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians on 12 Songs of Christmas in 1964.
- 1963: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry with Phil Spector; released by Darlene Love on A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.
- 1963: "Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season" medley by Andy Williams of Irving Berlin's 1942 classic with Kay Thompson's "The Holiday Season" from 1945.
- 1963: "Little Saint Nick", written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love; released by the Beach Boys as a single and included on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in 1964.
- 1963: "Pretty Paper" by Willie Nelson; sung by Roy Orbison. Nelson had a hit with his own song in 1978.
- 1964: "Silver and Gold", written by Johnny Marks; sung by Burl Ives on the Rankin-Bass Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
- 1964: "Toyland" written by Victor Herbert and Glen McDonough for the operatta Babes in Toyland (originally produced in 1903); released by Doris Day on The Doris Day Christmas Album.
- 1964: "Snowfall", written by Claude Thornhill in 1941, with lyrics later added by his wife, Ruth Thornhill; covered by Doris Day on The Doris Day Christmas Album.
- 1965: "Christmas Time is Here", written for A Charlie Brown Christmas animated TV special; harmonized by the choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California.
- 1965: "My Favorite Things", written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1959 musical, The Sound of Music; covered by Diana Ross and the Supremes on Merry Christmas.
- 1965: "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy", written by Buck Owens and Don Rich; released by Owens as single with "All I Want for Christmas, Dear, Is You" on the B-side.
- 1966: "We Need a Little Christmas" written by Jerry Herman for the Broadway musical Mame, and first performed by Angela Lansbury in that 1966 production; popularly covered by Percy Faith & His Orchestra on Christmas Is... Percy Faith.
- 1966: "The Happiest Christmas Tree", written by Cathy Lynn; recorded by Nat King Cole.[67][68]
- 1967: "Snoopy's Christmas", written by George David Weiss and Hugo & Luigi; released by the Royal Guardsmen on Snoopy and His Friends.
- 1967: "What Christmas Means to Me" written by Allen Story, Anna Gordy Gaye, and George Gordy; recorded by Stevie Wonder on Someday at Christmas.
1970s
- 1970: "Give Love on Christmas Day", written by The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Christine Perren, Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards); recorded by the Jackson 5 for The Jackson 5 Christmas Album.
- 1970: "Merry Christmas Darling", written by Richard Carpenter with lyrics by Frank Pooler; released by The Carpenters as a single (re-released 1974 & 1977); remixed on Christmas Portrait in 1978 with new vocal by Karen Carpenter.
- 1970: "This Christmas", written by Donny Hathaway (as "Donny Pitts") and Nadine Theresa McKinnor; recorded by Hathaway and released as a single (with "Be There" on the B-side).
- 1971: "My Christmas Card To You" released by The Partridge Family on A Partridge Family Christmas Card.
- 1971: "River" written by Joni Mitchell; released by her on Blue.
- 1973: "Step into Christmas", written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin; released by John as a stand-alone single.
- 1974: "I Believe in Father Christmas" written by Greg Lake with lyrics by Peter Sinfield; released by Lake as a single (with "Humbug" on B-side). Instrumental riff between verses interpolated from "Troika" portion of Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé Suite, written for 1934 Soviet film, Lieutenant Kijé
- 1976: "When a Child is Born" (original melody titled "Soleado"), written by Ciro Dammicco (alias "Zacar") and Dario Baldan Bembo in 1973 (English language lyrics written later by Fred Jay); released by Johnny Mathis as single entitled "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" with "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" on the B-side.
- 1977: "Celebrate Me Home", written by Kenny Loggins and Bob James; recorded by Loggins as title track of his debut solo album Celebrate Me Home.
- 1977: "Father Christmas", written by Ray Davies; released by The Kinks as a single (with "Prince of the Punks" on B-side).
- 1977: "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy", "The Little Drummer Boy" written in 1941 by Katherine Kennicott Davis; "Peace on Earth" written by Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan; medley recorded by David Bowie and Bing Crosby for the television special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. (Bowie single released 1982.)
- 1978: "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord", written by Jester Hairston in 1956 with new song by Frank Farian, Fred Jay, and Hela Lorin; medley released by Boney M as a single.
- 1978: "Please Come Home for Christmas", written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd in 1960; cover released by The Eagles as a single (with "Funky New Year" on B-side)
- 1979: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"; written by Randy Brooks; released by Elmo & Patsy as a single (with "Christmas" on B-side).
1980s
- 1980: "It Must Have Been The Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)", written by Doug Konecky and Justin Wilde; released by Barbara Mandrell on Christmas at Our House.
- 1980: "Same Old Lang Syne", written by Dan Fogelberg; released as a single by Folgelberg in 1980 (with "Hearts and Crafts" on B-side). It was included on his 1981 album The Innocent Age.
- 1980: "Stop The Cavalry" written by Jona Lewie; released by Lewie as a single (with "Laughing Tonight" on B-side).
- 1981: "Christmas is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" written by Billy Squier; released by him by as the B-side of his hit, "My Kinda Lover".
- 1981: "Christmas Wrapping", written by Chris Butler; released by The Waitresses as a single (with "Christmas Fever" by Charlelie Couture on B-side). Also included in a Christmas compilation album.
- 1982: "Hard Candy Christmas"; written by Carol Hall for the musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; released by Dolly Parton as a single (with "Act Like a Fool" on B-side).
- 1984: "Thank God It's Christmas", written by Brian May and Roger Taylor; released by Queen as a single (with "Man on the Prowl" and "Keep Passing the Open Windows" on B-side).
- 1984: "Another Lonely Christmas", written by Prince; released by Prince and the Revolution as a single.
- 1984: "The Power of Love", written by Holly Johnson, Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole, and Brian Nash; released by Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a single (with "The World Is My Oyster" on B-side).
- 1985: "Merry Christmas Everyone"; written by Bob Heatlie; released by Shakin' Stevens as a single (with "With My Heart" and "Blue Christmas" on B-side).
- 1985: "There's a New Kid in Town", written by Don Cook, Curly Putman, and Keith Whitley.
- 1987: "Christmas in Hollis", written by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell; released by Run D.M.C. on two Christmas compilation albums: A Very Special Christmas and Christmas Rap, and as a single (with "Peter Piper" on B-side).
- 1988: "Driving Home for Christmas"; written by Chris Rea; originally released as one of two new songs on Rea's first compilation album New Light Through Old Windows in October, then issued as the fourth single from the album in December.
- 1988: "Mistletoe and Wine", written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for the 1976 musical, Scraps (an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl"); released by Cliff Richard as a single (with "Marmaduke" on B-side), and on his album Private Collection: 1979–1988.
- 1989: "All I Want for Christmas Is You", written by Troy Powers and Andy Stone; released by Vince Vance & The Valiants as a single.
- 1989: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" by The Ramones on their Brain Drain album.
1990s
- 1990: "Saviour's Day", written by Chris Eaton; released by Cliff Richard as a single (with "Where You Are" on B-side).
- 1990: "Grown-Up Christmas List", written by David Foster, Linda Thompson-Jenner, and Amy Grant; released by David Foster with Natalie Cole for his album River of Love (with a 1992 version by Amy Grant).
- 1991: "Mary, Did You Know?", with lyrics written by Mark Lowry (in 1984) and music by Buddy Greene; originally recorded by Michael English on a self-titled album (with a 1996 version by Kenny Rogers and Wynona Judd).
- 1992: "All Alone on Christmas", written and arranged by Steve Van Zandt; recorded by Darlene Love as a single with members of The E Street Band and The Miami Horns. Originally featured on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York soundtrack.
- 1992: "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the album box set Playback
- 1993: "Hey Santa!", written (with the help of Jack Kugell) and sung by Carnie and Wendy Wilson on the album of the same name.
- 1994: "The Chanukah Song"; written by Adam Sandler, Lewis Morton, and Ian Maxtone-Graham; originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update segment on December 3, 1994. Released as a single by Sandler in 1995 from What the Hell Happened to Me?.
- 1996: "How to Make Gravy" written and performed by Paul Kelly in Australia.
- 1998: "Christmas Canon" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their album The Christmas Attic
- 1998: "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by NSYNC from the albums Home for Christmas and The Winter Album
2000s
- 2000: "My Only Wish (This Year)" by Britney Spears off the compilation album, Platinum Christmas
- 2000: "Where Are You, Christmas?" co-written by Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will Jennings, but recorded by Faith Hill. The song was originally recorded by Carey, but because of a legal case with her ex-husband Tommy Mottola, it could not be released, so it was re-recorded and released by Faith Hill.
- 2003: "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" by The Darkness
- 2004: "Believe" written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for Josh Groban
- 2004: "Wizards in Winter", an instrumental written and composed by Paul O'Neill and Robert Kinkel, performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- 2007: "Mistletoe" written by Stacy Blue and Colbie Caillat, and performed by Caillat.
- 2008: "White Is in the Winter Night" by Enya on the album, And Winter Came...
- 2009: "It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas" by Pet Shop Boys (UK No. 40 hit)
2010s
- 2010: "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay
- 2010: "Christmas in Harlem" by Kanye West from the GOOD Fridays series of releases under the GOOD Music label.
- 2011: "Mistletoe" by Justin Bieber from his album Under the Mistletoe
- 2012: "Christmas in the Sand" by Colbie Caillat from her album of the same name; meant to conjure up (humorously) what Christmas might be like in Hawaii
- 2013: "Underneath the Tree" by Kelly Clarkson on her album, Wrapped in Red
- 2013: "One More Sleep" by Leona Lewis on her album, Christmas, with Love
- 2013: "Wrapped in Red" written by Kelly Clarkson, Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks, and Shane McAnally and recorded by Clarkson as the opening track on her sixth studio album, Wrapped in Red.
- 2014: "That's Christmas to Me" by a cappella group Pentatonix (No. 2 Billboard 200, double platinum by RIAA).
- 2014: "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande on her EP, Christmas Kisses
- 2015: "Every Day's Like Christmas" by Kylie Minogue on her album, Kylie Christmas
- 2017: "Santa's Coming for Us" written by Sia and Greg Kurstin and released by Sia on Everyday Is Christmas.
2020s
- 2020 "Holiday" by Lil Nas X
- 2020: "Christmas Saves The Year" a single written and recorded by Twenty One Pilots; released after a Twitch stream where lead singer Tyler Joseph played in a Fortnite tournament sponsored by Chipotle in hopes to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Christmas songs from musicals
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", written by Irving Berlin, was introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in 1937. "White Christmas" was introduced in the film Holiday Inn (1942), while "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and "Silver Bells" The Lemon Drop Kid (1950). The operetta Babes in Toyland (1903) featured the song "Toyland". The 1934 film adaptation, a Laurel and Hardy musical film known by alternative titles, opened with the song. Introducing Christmas-themed songs that have yet to achieve popularity, Scrooge (1970) included "Father Christmas", "December the 25th", and the Academy Award-nominated "Thank You Very Much".
"Mistletoe and Wine" was written for a 1976 musical entitled Scraps, which was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". "Hard Candy Christmas" was written by Carol Hall for the 1982 musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and later released by Dolly Parton as a single. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) features Christmas-themed songs like "Making Christmas", "What's This?", "Town Meeting Song", and "Jack's Obsession".
Christmas novelty songs
Musical parodies of the season – comical or nonsensical songs performed principally for their comical effect – are often heard around Christmas. Many novelty songs employ unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be particularly musical. The term arose in the Tin Pan Alley world of popular songwriting, with novelty songs achieving great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.
The Christmas novelty song genre, which got its start with "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" written by Yogi Yorgesson and sung by him with the Johnny Duffy Trio in 1949, includes such notable titles as:
- "Jingle Bells" by the Singing Dogs was recorded in 1955 by Don Charles from Copenhagen; considered the work of Carl Weismann, it was revolutionary in its use of the latest recording technology[69]
- "Green Chri$tma$", a radio play parody by Stan Freberg that came out in 1958 and satirized commercial advertising
- "A Christmas Carol" by Tom Lehrer, a 1959 live-recording parody of Christmas carols purporting to show (in a subtle nod to Jewish stereotypes, as Lehrer is Jewish) the true spirit of Christmas, "refer[ring], of course, to money"[citation needed]
- "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas with a Dalek," a Doctor Who spin-off song, released in 1964 by The Go-Go's (the 1960s British band, not the later American band of the same name). Originally intended to help fuel Dalekmania, it tried to turn the sinister Daleks into another version of The Chipmunks.[70]
- "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy", co-written and recorded by Buck Owens in 1965, has been covered by other country music stars, including Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Brad Paisley.
In the 1970s comedic singing duo Cheech & Chong's debut single in 1971 was "Santa Claus and His Old Lady". The Kinks did "Father Christmas" in 1977, and Elmo & Patsy came out with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" in 1979. More recent titles added to the canon include:
- "The Twelve Days of Christmas" parodies (including one by Bob and Doug McKenzie in 1982)
- "Christmas at Ground Zero" by Weird Al Yankovic (1986)
- "Rusty Chevrolet" by Da Yoopers, a parody of "Jingle Bells" (1987)
- "Christmas in Hollis", a rap single by Run–D.M.C. (1987)
- A Rubber Band Christmas – an entire album featuring traditional and popular Christmas songs played on rubber bands, staplers and other office equipment (1996)
- "Christmas Convoy", a southern rock song by Paul Brandt, a parody of the C.W. McCall song "Convoy" (2006)
Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers became nationally famous for his line of novelty Christmas songs and released five albums (collectively known as the Twisted Christmas quintilogy, after the name of Rivers' radio program, Twisted Radio) consisting entirely of Christmas parodies from 1987 to 2002. "Don't Shoot Me Santa" was released by The Killers in 2007, benefiting various AIDS charities. Christmas novelty songs can involve gallows humor and even morbid humor like that found in "Christmas at Ground Zero" and "The Night Santa Went Crazy", both by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The Dan Band released several adult-oriented Christmas songs on their 2007 album Ho: A Dan Band Christmas which included "Ho, Ho, Ho" (ho being slang for a prostitute), "I Wanna Rock You Hard This Christmas", "Please Don't Bomb Nobody This Holiday" and "Get Drunk & Make Out This Christmas".
Kristen Bell and a cappella group Straight No Chaser "teamed up to poke fun at the modern seasons greeting" with "Text Me Merry Christmas":
- Text me Merry Christmas
- Let me know you care
- Just a word or two
- Of text from you
- Will remind me you’re still there
Straight No Chaser singer Randy Stine said of the song: "We wanted a Christmas song that spoke to how informal communication has become."[71]
Juvenile
Christmas novelty songs include many sung by young teens, or performed largely for the enjoyment of a young audience. Kicking off with "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" sung by 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd in 1952, a few other notable novelty songs written to parody the Christmas season and sung by young singers include:
- "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" sung by 10-year-old Gayla Peevey (1953)
- "Nuttin' for Christmas" by Art Mooney and Barry Gordon, who was seven years old when he sang it (1955)
- "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? (Where is Santa Claus?)" sung by 12-year-old Augie Rios, featuring the Mark Jeffrey Orchestra (1959)
Christmas novelty songs aimed at a young audience include:
- "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth", written by Donald Yetter Gardner in 1944 and introduced by Spike Jones and his City Slickers (1948)
- "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor was first recorded by 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd in 1952, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in December of that year. The Jackson 5 recorded a popular cover in 1970 with a young Michael Jackson singing lead.
- "The Chipmunk Song", written by Ross Bagdasarian Sr./David Seville and performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks (1958)
- "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" originally done for the 1966 cartoon special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; lyrics written by Dr. Seuss, music by Albert Hague, and performed by Thurl Ravenscroft
- "Snoopy's Christmas" performed by The Royal Guardsmen in 1967; a follow-up to their earlier song "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" recorded in 1966
- "Santa Claus Is a Black Man" by Akim and the Teddy Vann Production Company (1973)
The number of Christmas novelty songs is so immense that radio host Dr. Demento devotes an entire month of weekly two-hour episodes to the format each year, and the novelty songs receive frequent requests at radio stations across the country.
Non-Christian writers
Approximately half of the 30 best-selling Christmas songs by ASCAP members in 2015 were written by Jewish composers. Johnny Marks has three top Christmas songs, the most for any writer—"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", and "A Holly Jolly Christmas". By far the most recorded Christmas song is "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia)—who also wrote "Happy Holiday"—with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages.
Others include:[72][73][74][75]
- "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Sammy Cahn (born Cohen) and Jule Styne (who also wrote "The Christmas Waltz" together)
- "Winter Wonderland" (composer Felix Bernard was born Felix William Bernhardt)
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by Robert Wells (born Levinson) and Mel Tormé
- "Sleigh Ride" (lyricist Mitchell Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky in Lithuania)
- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (composer George Wyle was born Bernard Weissman)
- "Silver Bells" by Jay Livingston (born Jacob Levinson) and Ray Evans
- "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" by Bob Allen (born Robert Allen Deitcher) and Al Stillman (born Albert Silverman)
- "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Walter Kent (born Walter Kauffman) and Buck Ram (born Samuel).
- "Santa Baby" by Joan Ellen Javits (Zeeman), niece of Senator Jacob Javits, and Philip Springer.[76]
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Frank Loesser
Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which Elvis Presley debuted on his first Christmas album in 1957. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry (with Phil Spector), originally for Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes. It was made into a hit by Darlene Love in 1963.
"Peace on Earth" was written by Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan as a counterpoint to "The Little Drummer Boy" (1941) to make David Bowie comfortable recording "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" with Bing Crosby on September 11, 1977 – for Crosby's then-upcoming television special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas.[77]
Música navideña adoptada
What is known as Christmas music today, coming to be associated with the holiday season in some way, has often been adopted from works initially composed for other purposes. Many tunes adopted into the Christmas canon carry no Christmas connotation at all. Some were written to celebrate other holidays and gradually came to cover the Christmas season.
- "Tempus Adest Floridum", a romantic spring carol with Latin words dating to the 13th-century Carmina Burana and a melody attested no later than 1584, became associated with Christmas after John Mason Neale set his epic ballad "Good King Wenceslas" to its melody in 1853. Neale's poem does not directly mention Christmas or the nativity but describes Bohemian Duke Wenceslas I's journey to aid a poor traveler on a cold St. Stephen's Day; that day falls on the day after Christmas and within the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas.
- "Joy to the World", with words written by Isaac Watts in 1719 and music by Lowell Mason (who in turn borrowed liberally from Handel) in 1839, was originally written anticipating the Second Coming.[78]
- "Jingle Bells", first published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857, was originally associated with Thanksgiving rather than Christmas.[79]
- With a Welsh melody dating back to the sixteenth century, and English lyrics from 1862, "Deck the Halls" celebrates the pagan holiday of Yule and the New Year, but not explicitly Christmas ("Troll the ancient Yuletide carol/See the blazing Yule before us/While I tell of Yuletide treasure").
"Shchedryk", a Ukrainian tune celebrating the arrival of springtime, was adapted in 1936 with English lyrics to become the Christmas carol "Carol of the Bells" and in 1995 as the heavy-metal instrumental "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24." "When You Wish Upon a Star", an Academy Award-winning song about dreams, hope, and magic featured in Walt Disney's Pinocchio (1940). What later became the main theme for Disney studios was sung by Cliff Edwards, who voiced Jiminy Cricket in the film. In Scandinavian countries and Japan, the song is used in reference to the Star of Bethlehem and the "ask, and it will be given to you" discourse in Matthew 7:7–8; in the movie it is in reference to the Blue Fairy.
Many popular Christmas tunes of the 20th-century mention winter imagery, leading to their being adopted into the Christmas and holiday season. These include:
- "Winter Wonderland" (1934)
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (1937)
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1944)
- "A Marshmallow World" (1949)
- "Jingle Bell Rock" (1957)
- "My Favorite Things" (1959)
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" (2013), from the movie Frozen, features lyrics that are more of an illustration of the relationship between the two main characters than a general description of winter or the holidays, but its title rhetoric and the winter imagery used throughout the film have led it to be considered a holiday song.
Quite the contrary, "Sleigh Ride", composed originally in 1948 as an instrumental by Leroy Anderson, was inspired by a heatwave in Connecticut. The song premiered with the Boston Pops Orchestra in May 1948 with no association with Christmas. The lyrics added in 1950 have "nothing to do with Santa, Jesus, presents or reindeer," but the jingling bells and "sleigh" in the title made it a natural Christmas song. Lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne also found themselves in a heatwave in July 1945 when they wrote "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", inserting no reference to Christmas in the song.[80] "Holiday" (2010) is about the summer holidays, but has been used in some Christmas ad campaigns.
Perry Como famously sang Franz Schubert's setting of "Ave Maria" in his televised Christmas special each year, including the song on The Perry Como Christmas Album (1968). The song, a prayer to the Virgin Mary sung in Latin, would become a "staple of family holiday record collections."[81] American a capella group Pentatonix released their version of "Hallelujah", the 1984 song written by Leonard Cohen and covered famously by a number of acts, on their Christmas album shortly before the songwriter's death in 2016. Besides the title, and several biblical references, the song contains no connection to Christmas or the holidays per se. Various versions have been added to Christmas music playlists on radio stations in the United States and Canada.
In the United Kingdom, songs not explicitly tied to Christmas are popularly played during the year-end holidays. "Stop the Cavalry", written and performed by English musician Jona Lewie in 1980, was intended as a war protest. The line "Wish I was at home for Christmas" with brass band arrangements styled it as an appropriate song to play in the Christmas season. Children's songs such as "Mr Blobby" (No. 1, 1993) and the theme from Bob the Builder (No. 1, 2000), novelty songs such as Benny Hill's "Ernie" (No. 1, 1971) and South Park's "Chocolate Salty Balls" (No. 2, 1998), and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" from an ensemble of Liverpudlian celebrities in commemoration of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster (No. 1, 2012) are often heard around Christmas.
Difusión radial de música navideña
Darren Davis, Senior V.P., Clear Channel
In the United States, it is common for local radio stations to gradually begin adding Christmas music to their regular playlists in late-November, typically after Thanksgiving (which is generally considered the official start of the holiday season), and sometimes culminating with all-Christmas music by Christmas itself.[83] More prominently, some stations temporarily drop their regular music format entirely and switch exclusively to Christmas music for the holiday season.[83][84] The latter practice became more widespread in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, as a means of helping improve the morale of listeners.[85]
Although there is a chance that a station's normal audience may be alienated by a switch to all-Christmas music (adult contemporary, country music, and oldies audiences are generally the most accepting), these risks are outweighed by the increase in ratings that such a shift can attract.[82] There is also a chance that after they return to regular programming, a station may be able to retain some of this expanded audience as new, regular listeners.[82]
Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) reported in 2011 that it was not uncommon for a station's average audience to double after switching to Christmas music, citing several large-market stations in 2010 such as Boston's WODS, Los Angeles's KOST, New York's WLTW, and San Diego's KYXY.[82] In 2017, Chicago's WLIT-FM roughly quadrupled its audience share between November (2.8) and December (12.4) after making the switch.[86][87] The practice may not always transition well into financial success, since advertisers do not universally recognize Nielsen's holiday ratings book.[88]
In some markets, there may be one dominant broadcaster of Christmas music, but this is not always the case.[86] Perceiving a competitive advantage in being the first in a market to begin playing Christmas music, it is not uncommon for some stations to adopt the format prior to Thanksgiving, or even as early as late-October. The practice has been considered an example of Christmas creep.[89][84][83] In an extreme example of Christmas creep, at least one station in 2020 (WWIZ in the Mahoning Valley) flipped to Christmas music in late September, exactly three full months before Christmas; the same station had also been first in the nation in 2019, but had begun two months before Christmas that year, on October 25.[90] WWIZ was the first of many stations in the United States that had flipped to Christmas especially early in 2020, in part to alleviate stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[91][92]
As many Christmas songs contain themes strongly associated with Christmas Day (such as references to figures such as Santa Claus), and popular observance of the Christmas season often ends after December 25 (in contrast to the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas, which by definition runs until Epiphany on January 6), most stations typically end their all-Christmas programming at some point on December 25 or 26. However, it is not uncommon for stations to continue to play at least some Christmas music through the weekend following Christmas, or even through New Year's Day (particularly when stunting in anticipation of a format change).
As a stunt format
Christmas music is a popular stunt format for radio stations, either as a "Christmas in July" promotion, or as a buffer period for transitioning from one format to another.
The end of a calendar year is a common time period for format switches, often following an all-Christmas format (either immediately, or with a second stunt occurring directly afterward).[93] However, the transition itself can still occur before the end of the holiday season, such as the sudden transition of country station KMPS in Seattle to soft adult contemporary KSWD, after briefly playing an all-Christmas format following the merger of CBS Radio and Entercom (due to redundancy with sister station KKWF).[94][95]
Playing Christmas music outside of the holiday season, or otherwise implying that the format is permanent, is a more obvious stunt. In April 2008, the new radio station CFWD-FM in Saskatoon soft launched with an all-Christmas format in preparation for the station's official launch as a top 40 station.[96][97] On September 30, 2015, WEBC in Duluth similarly switched from sports to all-Christmas as a stunt, which led into an early-October flip to classic rock as Sasquatch 106.5.[98][99][100]
Outside the United States
With the growth in digital broadcasting platforms around the world, the opportunity to offer thematic radio formats on a pop-up basis has increased.
In Ireland, a temporary radio station named Christmas FM broadcasts on a temporary license in Dublin and Cork from November 28 to December 26, solely playing Christmas music.
In the UK, the Festive Fifty list of songs as voted for by listeners is broadcast starting on Christmas Day, originally by DJ John Peel, and nowadays by Internet radio station Dandelion Radio.
Since the early 2010s, a number of Christmas music stations have broadcast on national and local digital platforms in the United Kingdom, with some also being carried on the FM band. These have included:
- Smooth Christmas, launched by the then-owner of Smooth Radio, Guardian Media Group, on national Digital One DAB in November/December 2011, with the slot used after Christmas by Smooth 70s.[101] The Christmas station returned around the same timeframe of 2012[102] with this space taken over after Christmas by Bauer Radio station Kiss. Following the acquisition of Smooth by Global and the addition of Capital Xtra to national DAB in October 2013, there was not capacity available for Smooth Christmas to run in 2013, but the service was revived by Global to run in 2014[103] and 2015[104] before being superseded by Heart extra Christmas on DAB in subsequent years; the name Smooth Christmas has since been revived as a seasonal pop-up stream within the online Global Player service, playing melodic Christmas hits. Several other streams, such as 'Classic FM Christmas' playing thematically-appropriate classical music, have also appeared on Global Player at the relevant time of year.
- Heart extra Christmas / Heart Christmas - Following the launch of national digital station Heart extra in February 2016, Global would annually flip that service to playing continuous Christmas music during November and December of each year. The service broadcast in mono using the older DAB standard in 2016,[105] 2017[106] and 2018;[107] following the transition of Heart extra to broadcast in stereo using the DAB+format earlier in 2019, Heart extra Christmas ran in that format in 2019.[108] Following the cancellation of Heart extra in favour of Heart UK on national DAB+ in 2020, Heart Christmas ran from October 2020 as a discrete station at the local tier, broadcast in DAB+ in the London area and in standard DAB in a number of other locations, as well as being available nationwide online.[109]
- Pulse Christmas / Signal Christmas / The Wave Christmas - in 2014, Wireless Group (then under the control of UTV Radio) made use of available DAB capacity in three of its FM broadcast areas to launch temporary Christmas stations co-branded with the local FM station names: Pulse Christmas in Bradford/Huddersfield, Signal Christmas in Stoke-on-Trent, and The Wave Christmas in Swansea/southwest Wales. The stations ran annually, appearing each November/December between 2014 and 2019[103][104][105][106][107][108] but ceased thereafter due to the acquisition of Wireless local stations by Bauer Radio in 2019 and the absorption of these services into Bauer's Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio in 2020. In addition, in 2016[105] and 2017,[106] Wireless additionally ran a similar pop-up Christmas music station, Scottish Sun Christmas, on regional DAB in central Scotland.
- Nation Xmas - Nation Broadcasting ran a Christmas station on DAB in several areas of Wales in November/December 2015,[104] and following the festive pop-up these slots were taken by Nation Gold (now Dragon Radio Wales).
- Magic Christmas / Magic 100% Christmas - Bauer Radio launched this station, a subsidiary of its main Magic station, on national Digital One DAB in late 2017,[106] taking over a slot Bauer had been holding since the summer with Kiss Fresh. (After Christmas this slot was taken up by Absolute Radio 90s, with Kisstory occupying the slot since February 2019.) During December 2018 and 2019, rather than launching a standalone Christmas station Bauer instead flipped the playlist of the main Magic service - available on 105.4 FM in London in addition to broadcasting nationally on DAB - to Christmas music. In 2020, Bauer launched an online Christmas music stream, as Magic 100% Christmas, through its websites and apps in August,[110] before flipping the main Magic service to play principally Christmas music from 25 November. In addition, in December 2018, Bauer launched a temporary Christmas music service, Greatest Hits Christmas, broadcast on 105.2 FM in Birmingham and The Black Country during the period leading up to the relaunch of the frequency as Greatest Hits Radio in January 2019; GHC played Christmas music with announcements regarding the impending new station launch, and information for listeners to the service previously carried on 105.2 FM - Absolute Radio - as to how they could regain access to Absolute by retuning to a digital platform. GHC was not itself broadcast on digital services.
- MincePie NonStop - run by UKRD as a sibling service to York FM/DAB station Minster FM, this station was initially an online-only service, being made available on DAB in 2017,[106] 2018[107] and 2019[108] but did not return in 2020 due to the acquisition of UKRD's stations by Bauer Radio, with the conversion of Minster FM to Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshire. UKRD also ran a pop-up Christmas station in Cornwall, Pirate Christmas - a sibling to Pirate FM - on DAB in 2018[107] and 2019,[108] freeing space for this with a reduction in the broadcast bitrate of Pirate FM and its sibling services. Although MincePie NonStop no longer broadcasts, listeners in North Yorkshire were able to access a locally programmed Christmas station on DAB in 2020 with community service YorkMix launching XmasMix on the local digital multiplex.
- Several other smaller services have appeared on individual local DAB platforms in recent times, either popping up as self-contained stations (such as Radio Marsden Christmas, which ran in Surrey in 2015[104] and 2017[106]) or as a temporary rebranding of an existing regular station (such as Sandgrounder Radio temporarily renaming as 'Santagrounder' on DAB in 2016[105] and 2017[106]).
Christmas music on satellite and internet radio
Outside of traditional AM/FM radio, satellite radio provider SiriusXM typically devotes multiple channels to different genres of Christmas music during the holiday season.[111] Numerous Internet radio services also offer Christmas music channels, some of them available year-round. Citadel Media produced The Christmas Channel, a syndicated 24-hour radio network, during the holiday season in past years (though in 2010, Citadel instead included Christmas music on its regular Classic Hits network). Music Choice offers nonstop holiday music to its digital cable, cable modem, and mobile phone subscribers between November 1 and New Year's Day on its "Sounds of the Seasons" (traditional), "R&B" (soul), "Tropicales" (Latin), and "Soft Rock" (contemporary) channels, as well as a year-round "All Christmas" channel. DMX provides holiday music as part of its SonicTap music service for digital cable and DirecTV subscribers, as does Dish Network via its in-house Dish CD music channels. Services such as Muzak also distribute Christmas music to retail stores for use as in-store background music during the holidays.
The growing popularity of Internet radio has inspired other media outlets to begin offering Christmas music. In 2009 Phoenix television station KTVK launched four commercial-free online radio stations including Ho Ho Radio, which streams Christmas music throughout the month of December.
iHeartRadio also has two-year-round stations that are dedicated to Christmas music. One station, iHeart Christmas, focuses on more contemporary holiday music, while the other, iHeart Christmas Classics, offers seasonal music from past decades.
Ver también
- Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States
- List of Christmas carols
- List of Christmas hit singles in the United Kingdom
- List of Christmas hit singles in the United States
- List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones
- List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number twos
- List of best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States
- Villancico
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Otras lecturas
- "Seasonal Songs With Twang, Funk and Harmony", The New York Times, November 26, 2010.
- Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins, 160 pages, ISBN 0-7624-2112-6, 2004.
- The International Book of Christmas Carols by W. Ehret and G. K. Evans, Stephen Greene Press, Vermont, ISBN 0-8289-0378-6, 1980.
- Victorian Songs and Music by Olivia Bailey, Caxton Publishing, ISBN 1-84067-468-7, 2002.
- Spirit of Christmas: A History of Our Best-Loved Carols by Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers, ISBN 0-88088-414-2, 2000.
- Christmas Music Companion Fact Book by Dale V. Nobbman, ISBN 1-57424-067-6, 2000.
- Joel Whitburn presents Christmas in the charts, 1920–2004 by Joel Whitburn, ISBN 0-89820-161-6, 2004.
- Angels We Have Heard: The Christmas Song Stories by James Richliano, ISBN 0-9718810-0-6, 2002.
enlaces externos
- Christmas music at Curlie
- Free Christmas sheet music in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Complete Christmas Songbook
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