Christmas music

Popular Christmas songs

The following is a partial list of well-known Christmas songs that have been performed and recorded by countless artists:

• "A Latino Christmas" - recorded by Undercover Entertainment http://www.undercoverentertainment.com/newxmasalbum.html
• "2000 Miles" - recorded by The Pretenders.
• "A Great Big Sled" - recorded by The Killers
• "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth - written by Donald Yetter Gardner and first introduced by Spike Jones in 1948.
• "All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey (1994). A totally different song by the same name was released by Vince Vance and the Valiants in 1987.
• "Angels We Have Heard on High" - based on a French tune, Les anges dans nos campagnes. In Britain the words of Angels from the Realms of Glory are sung to the same tune, except with the Gloria in excelsis Deo refrain.
• "Ave Maria" - heard in two settings, one by Franz Schubert and another by Charles Gounod set to a prelude from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
• "Away In A Manger" - heard in two tunes, in America to a tune by James R. Murray, in England to the Cradle-Song by William J. Kirkpatrick.
• "Blue Christmas" - introduced by Ernest Tubb (1949), famously recorded by Elvis Presley. Well-known 1993 version by Wynonna Judd.
• "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)" - famous versions by Amy Grant, Jessica Simpson, Vince Gill, and Donna Summer.
• "Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" - traditional French carol.
• "Carol of the Bells" - Ukrainian-American carol by Mykola Leontovych and Peter Wilhousky, sung by many choruses, but notably the Robert Shaw Chorale.
• "Carol of the Birds" - most famously recorded by Mannheim Steamroller.
• "Caroling, Caroling" - a carol written by Alfred Burt and popularized by Nat King Cole.
• "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" - traditional. Well-known version by Natalie Merchant.
• "Christmas Is Coming" - adapted from a traditional nursery rhyme.
• "Christmas Island" - Andrews Sisters, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Jimmy Buffett.
• "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" - cowritten and recorded by Mel Tormé. Most famous version is the first recording by Nat King Cole (1946). Best-selling recent versions include Natalie Cole (Nat's daughter), Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera and The Carpenters.
• "Christmas time at the old North Pole" - Terence Davis.
• "The Christmas Waltz" - by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, originally recorded and popularised by Frank Sinatra.
• "Coventry Carol" - English traditional, also with a recent setting by English composer Kenneth Leighton.
• "Deck the Halls" - Welsh traditional.
• "Ding Dong Merrily on High" - Jehan Tabourot. Words by George Ratcliffe Woodward set to the Branle de l'officiale from the Orchesogrophie.
• "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Originally recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale and later re-recorded by Bing Crosby in 1963. Recent hit renditions by Linda Eder, Martina McBride, and Destiny's Child, also covered by Anthony Way.
• "The First Noel" (sometimes spelt Nowell) - English traditional.
• "Frosty the Snowman" - written by Steve "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson 1950. Originally recorded in 1950 by Gene Autry but later recorded famously by Jimmy Durante, who sang it for the TV special of the same name.
• "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (also spelt "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen") - English traditional. Best known as the carol that angered Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
• "Go Tell It on the Mountain" - traditional black spiritual. Recent well-known renditions include Vanessa L. Williams and the Cambridge Singers.
• "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" - traditional. Words by John Mason Neale set to the tune of In Dulci Jubilo.
• "Good King Wenceslas" - traditional. Words by John Mason Neale set to a tune from Piae Cantiones.
• "Grown-Up Christmas List" by David Foster and Linda Thompson. One of the most recent classics, with original version by Natalie Cole, and other famous renditions by Amy Grant, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Buble.
• "Handel's Messiah" - highlights often recorded on choral Christmas albums.
• "Happy Holiday" - first performed by Bing Crosby in the 1942 musical Holiday Inn. Famous versions also include Perry Como. Not to be confused with more traditional-sounding British "(Have a) Happy Holiday", most recently recorded by Billy Idol (2006).
• "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - written by Charles Wesley in 1739; set to a tune by Felix Mendelssohn, performed by many artists, including Stephen Cleobury and the King's College Choir, Mariah Carey (1994) and Bradley Joseph (2000); also appears in A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life. Recessional hymn at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols sung by the King's College Choir, with a descant in the last verse.
• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - introduced by Judy Garland in the film Meet Me In St. Louis (1944); covered by many others.
• "Here Comes Santa Claus" - most famously recorded by Gene Autry, who co-wrote the song with Oakley Haldeman.
• "The Holly and the Ivy" - English traditional.
• "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - written by Johnny Marks for the TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and famously sung by Burl Ives .
• "Home for the Holidays" - popularized by Perry Como (1954), later covered by The Carpenters for their Christmas album An Old-Fashioned Christmas.
• "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" - adapted from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, heard in two settings, one by Johnny Marks, composer of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and another by John Baptiste Calkin.
• "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - written by Thomas Connor and first introduced by Jimmy Boyd in 1952
• "I Saw Three Ships" - English traditional.
• "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas"
• "I Wonder As I Wander" - traditional Appalachian folk carol, but also heard in a modern setting by Carl Rutti.
• "I'll Be Home for Christmas" - one of the most recorded in recent years. Bing Crosby first introduced this song as a follow-up to White Christmas in 1943.
• "In the Bleak Midwinter" - a poem by Christina Rossetti set to music by Gustav Holst. Also often heard in a setting by Harold Darke, as popularised by the King's College Choir on their broadcasts of Nine Lessons and Carols.
• "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" - words written by a Unitarian minister named Edmund Sears and sung to two tunes, in America to a tune by Richard Storrs Willis, in England to a traditional tune adapted by Sir Arthur Sullivan.
• "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" - by Meredith Willson, composer of The Music Man. First recorded by Perry Como (1951), but also by Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby.
• "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – introduced by Andy Williams (1963)
• "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" - a classical favorite, with famous variations including Dame Myra Hess who arranged this chorale for piano, George Winston (instrumental) and Josh Groban (2005) (vocal). Amy Grant featured an uplifting instrumental version on her second Christmas album.
• "Jingle Bells" - Composed by James Pierpont (1857), originally as a Thanksgiving song; Covered by everyone from Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters and Dean Martin to Kimberley Locke (2006) and The Bach Choir, not to mention Jingle Cats, Jingle Dogs, and Jingle Frogs.
• "Jingle Bell Rock" - originally released by Bobby Helms in (1957). Popular covers include Hall & Oates and Brenda Lee.
• "Joy to the World" - hymn by Lowell Mason, one of the best known of all. John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers have recorded this hymn in an arrangement reminiscent of Handel.
• "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" - Vaughn Monroe (1945), Dean Martin (1966). The Three Tenors (1999)
• "The Little Drummer Boy" - Also known as "Carol of the Drum". Famous versions include the Vienna Boys Choir from the same-named Rankin/Bass TV special, and the 1958 version by the Harry Simeone Chorale.
• "Little Saint Nick" - first recorded by The Beach Boys (1963).
• "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" - traditional.
• "Mary, Did You Know ?" - Notable versions include Kenny Rogers with Wynonna Judd and Natalie Cole, also covered by The Von Trapp Children on their Christmas album.
• "Mary's Boy Child" - best-known versions by Harry Belafonte, Boney M, and Tom Jones, also covered by Kiri Te Kanawa on her 1984 Christmas album.
• "Mele Kalikimaka" - (title: 'Merry Christmas' in Hawaiian) Famous versions by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, Jimmy Buffett, The Blue Hawaiians, and Bette Midler.
• "Merry Christmas Baby" - blues song famously introduced by Charles Brown in 1947.
• "Merry Christmas Darling" - first recorded by The Carpenters (1970).
• "Miracles" - This Kenny G instrumental has become a perennial favorite, performed the world over. Written for what was to become THE all-time best-selling Christmas album, "Miracles: The Holiday Album" (1995).
• "The Nutcracker Suite" - the most famous ballet music associated with Christmas.
• "O Come All Ye Faithful" - originally written in Latin as Adeste Fidelis by John Francis Wade and translated into English by Frederick Oakeley and others. This is the second-last hymn that King's College Choir sings at the Nine Lessons and Carols.
• "O Holy Night" - Adolphe Adam, composer of the ballet Giselle. Notable versions include Michael Crawford and John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. One of the most recorded of all Christmas songs.
• "O Little Town of Bethlehem" - words written by Philadelphian Bishop Phillips Brooks and sung to two tunes, in America one by Lewis Redner and in England to an English folk tune known as The Ploughboy's Dream. Also heard in a setting by Henry Walford Davies.
• "O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)" - German traditional
• "Once in Royal David's City" - words by Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, music by Henry John Gauntlett. Famous as the opening boy soprano solo of the first verse, as sung at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College, Cambridge.
• "Patapan" - traditional French folk song, reintroduced to a new generation with a music video by Mannheim Steamroller in 1995.
• "Please Come Home for Christmas" - Originally made famous by Charles Brown in 1961. Recent best-sellering versions by the Eagles, Willie Nelson, and Jon Bon Jovi.
• "River" by Joni Mitchell has become a standard, with many recent versions catching on (including those by Linda Ronstadt, Barry Manilow, Sarah McLachlan, and Travis) .
• "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - best-known version is by Brenda Lee (1958). This song was also covered by Amy Grant, The Swingle Singers and LeAnn Rimes.
• "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - first famous version was by Gene Autry (1949) .
• "Santa Baby" - originally recorded by Eartha Kitt, in 1953 and later covered by various other artists including The Swingle Singers and a famous charity single version by Madonna.
• "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" - Perry Como, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Later famous versions by Jackson 5 (1970), Bruce Springsteen.
• "Silent Night" - Austrian Carol written by Josef Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber for their church in Oberndorf, Austria. Best known in the English translation by John Freeman Young. Perhaps the best-known and most popular of all.
• "Silver and Gold" - written by Johnny Marks for the Rankin/Bass' TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and sung by Burl Ives.
• "Silver Bells" written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans for the 1951 Bob Hope film The Lemon Drop Kid. Famous versions by Perry Como, Bing Crosby.
• "Sleigh Ride" - composed and recorded originally by Leroy Anderson (1948). Famous vocal versions by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Three Tenors, Amy Grant and Johnny Mathis w/ Percy Faith & His Orchestra (1958). Famous instrumental version by Arthur Fiedler w/ Boston Pops.
• "Snow Miser/Heat Miser" - written for the Rankin/Bass TV special "The Year Without A Santa Claus." Several recent hit versions, including Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (2005). Also in the 2006 live action film version, sung by Michael McKean and Harvey Fierstein.
• "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" - traditional. Famous version by Natalie Cole and Leontyne Price.
• "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - English traditional.
• "Up On the House Top" - written by Benjamin Hanby. Popularized by Gene Autry (1953) and most recently covered by Kimberley Locke (2005).
• "Veni Veni (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel)" - originally an Advent hymn.
• "We Need a Little Christmas" - originally written for the Broadway musical Mame, sung by Angela Lansbury. Repeated in the Mame movie with Lucille Ball and in many recordings since.
• "We Three Kings" - American carol by Rev. John Henry Hopkins, Jr. (1863).
• "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - English traditional.
• "What Child Is This?" - words by William Chatterton Dix sung to the traditional melody of "Greensleeves".
• "When A Child Is Born" - popularised by Johnny Mathis and later by Kenny Rogers.
• "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin. First performed by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. He rerecorded it twice, once to replace the worn-out master recording, and again with Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye for the remake of Holiday Inn, named after this song. Crosby's version became THE best-selling Christmas single of all time.
• "Winter Wonderland" - Perry Como (1946), The Andrews Sisters (1946), Johnny Mathis (1958), Tony Bennett (1968), Kiri Te Kanawa (1984), The Three Tenors (1999.
• "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" - first appeared in the 1967 animated TV special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". The original is by Thurl Ravenscroft, and cover versions include Aimee Mann's in 2006.

Not intended as Christmas songs

Some songs are frequently associated with Christmas because of the time they were released, or for other less obvious reasons, rather than explicit references to the holiday. They are sometimes given a Christmas feel by adding sleigh bells or by recording a Christmas video.

• "Baby, It's Cold Outside" – a pop standard composed by Frank Loesser, describing an intended winter-night seduction and usually performed as a male-female duet. Recorded by many artists including Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, etc.

• "The Bells of St. Mary's" – first published in 1917, this Douglas Furber tune was popularly revived in the 1945 film of the same name. Both the film and song have come to be commonly associated with the Christmas season, and the latter has been covered on many artists' Christmas albums.

• "Celebrate Me Home" by Kenny Loggins, from the 1977 album of the same title. In recent years this has been featured in the "all-Christmas" format of numerous US AC radio stations.

• "Dear Mr. Jesus" – PowerSource from their Shelter From The Storm album. It is sung by a 9 year old girl named Sharon Batts. Richard Klender wrote it in 1985. The song is about child abuse awareness and it has nothing to do with Christmas. Connie Bradley, Director, ASCAP, on April 11, 1988 said that this song was one of the, "most requested songs in the history of radio," (it is still highly requested every holiday season).

• "Feed the Birds" sung by Julie Andrews from Mary Poppins is often associated with the holiday making many references to "saints and apostles" and "St. Paul's Cathedral". The song is popular with Christmas carolers as well, but it is not related to the holiday.

• "From a Distance," the Grammy winner for Best Song (1990) was also a number one hit for Bette Midler. She later recorded a Christmas version, which includes lyric changes and sections from several popular carols.

• The "Hallelujah Chorus", from Handel's Messiah oratorio, is often performed at Christmas (as is, occasionally, the larger work), although it was originally conceived and performed as an Easter piece.

• "If We Make It Through December," recorded by Merle Haggard in 1973. The song is a lament of a father who loses his job at the factory just as the holidays are approaching. Depressed over his predicament during what normally should be a "happy time of year," he observes that his little girl "don't understand why Daddy can't afford no Christmas here." The song reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart on December 22, 1973 ... just in time for Christmas. (It should be noted, however, that the song did first appear on Haggard's Christmas-themed album entitled "A Christmas Present.")

• "It's a Small World Holiday" from the "it's a small world" "attraction" "at Disneyland in California" "Recorded By:Disneyland Childrens Chior from the Orange County Elelmentary Schools". First introduced in 1997. Every year, the attraction is decorated between Thanksgiving and New Years. The attraction is dressed in 300,000 twinkleing lights, a Santa Claws hat on the clock, and many more. The dolls sing "Jingle Bells" an "Deck the Halls" along with its famous theme song.

• "It Won't Be Long 'Til Christmas" from the Walt Disney musical film The Happiest Millionaire. The song is sung by two aging parents, lamenting their children growing up and leaving home. Although the Sherman Brothers' lyric references Christmas throughout the song, it is not in fact about the holiday at all.

• "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" – a 20th century pop standard written by Irving Berlin that mentions winter themes such as snow, icicles, and December. Often performed as a duet, notably by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, which appeared on the album Ella and Louis Again in 1957.

• "Jingle Bells," often called the 'most-popular' "Christmas" song, and cetainly one of the most omnipresent every year, has no lyrics referring to Christmas at all. As holidays go, its first known performance was for a church Thanksgiving program in 1857, and was originally sung more around that holiday by Americans heading by sleigh to nearby family gatherings.

• "Jesus, Take the Wheel," Carrie Underwood (2005). Although the song does briefly mention the setting of Christmas Eve in passing, the song is more of an evangelical contemporary Christian song than an explicitly Christmas-themed song.

• "Last Christmas" – Wham! (1984) (reached no. 2 in the UK Christmas charts, beaten by Band Aid- Feed the World) George Michael originally wrote the song "Last Easter", the record company asked him to change it to Christmas as it would catch a larger audience.

• "Linus and Lucy" - Vince Guaraldi's jazz tune was used in many of the animated TV specials featuring Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters, but is particularly associated with A Charlie Brown Christmas and commonly played on the radio during the holiday season.

• "Mad World" – Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules (2003) (this Tears for Fears cover is included on several Christmas compilation albums. It was Christmas Number One in the UK in 2003, ahead of the livelier "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" by British rock band The Darkness.)

• "My Favorite Things" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. US radio stations that play Christmas music typically air various versions of this show tune, relating "favorite things" to Christmas gifts. It has recently become a 'signature' Christmas song for Tony Bennett.

• "The Power of Love" – Frankie Goes to Hollywood released this song close to Christmas 1984, and was thus given a Nativity themed video and album cover. The song could be argued to be more suited to Halloween, with its references to vampires.)

• "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", originally a hit for Jackie DeShannon, was covered by Annie Lennox and Al Green for the soundtrack of the 1988 movie Scrooged, a modernized retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The promotional video for the song featured scenes from the movie and Christmas-related visuals.

• "River" by Joni Mitchell begins with the sound of "Jingle Bells" and makes brief mention of the Christmas holiday. It is otherwise a fairly somber song. This song has become a Christmas standard, with many recent versions catching on (including Linda Ronstadt, Barry Manilow, Sarah Maclachlan, and Travis) .

• Same Old Lang Syne – Dan Fogelberg (1981). The mention of Christmas Eve in this song is largely coincidental as the song as in fact about a chance meeting Fogelberg had with an old friend of his. US radio stations have picked up the song as part of their Christmas music rotation.

• "Somethin' Stupid" – Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman (2001) (Christmas number one single in UK)

• "Song for a Winter's Night" – written and originally recorded by Gordon Lightfoot, this seasonal tune was covered by Sarah McLachlan for her 2006 holiday album Wintersong.

• "Sound of the Underground" – Girls Aloud (2002) (Christmas number one single in UK)

• "Stay Another Day" – East 17 (1994) (added sleigh bells)

• "Stop The Cavalry" – Jona Lewie (1980) (released in late November when the record company spotted the line "Wish I was at home for Christmas")

• "Thank God For Kids" – The Oak Ridge Boys (1982) This song does mention Santa Claus at the beginning of the song, but according to Eddy Raven, its writer, it is not intended to be a Christmas song. However, the Oak Ridge Boys did release it on their first Christmas album in 1982.

• "What a Wonderful World" – long associated with Louis Armstrong, this 1967 ballad has no holiday or seasonal content in its lyrics, but has been featured on a number of artists' Christmas albums in recent years.

Christmas Songs Introduced in Theatre, Television and Film

• "Star of Bethlehem" and "Somewhere In My Memory" – John Williams from the Home Alone soundtrack.
• "White Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" – Irving Berlin from Holiday Inn
• "We Need A Little Christmas" – Jerry Herman, from the Broadway musical, Mame
• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – from Meet Me in St. Louis
• " Here Comes the Fastest Man In Town "-from Soundie "Here Comes The Fastest Man In Town" Featuring Gloria Parker
• "The Night Before Christmas" – Carly Simon, from "This Is My Life"
• "What's This?" – Danny Elfman, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
• "Holly Jolly Christmas" – The Quinto Sisters, introduced in the animated special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives
• "Silver Bells" – The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
• "Believe" – Josh Groban, The Polar Express (film)
• "As Long As There's Christmas" – Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
• "Oh, What a Merry Christmas Day" – Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
• "It Feels Like Christmas" – The Muppet Christmas Carol
• "A Heart To Hold You" by Keane was intended to be presented in the film Love Actually but for some reason was retired.
• "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" – from South Park