Hello all, and welcome to another edition of What I'm Listening To! After two years of blog posts avoiding Christmas, I felt that the time was now to do my top 5 Christmas songs. Some may think it's easy, but in reality there's so many good tracks and albums that came out to celebrate the Christmas spirit. So, without further ado, here we go!
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Frank Sinatra (The Christmas Collection)
Frank Sinatra is the most famous crooner of all time. This song might be right up there as one of his most famous. The melodic orchestra behind him, Frank belts the heck out of this track. I'll be honest, this song makes me emotional. I think of Christmas' long past, I think of my family and friends that have passed on. This song makes me wish they were still here. However, this song also lets me appreciate the time I had and have with my family while they are here.
"Wonderful Christmastime" - Paul McCartney (McCartney II)
As many of you know, my love for The Beatles came from my parents, who are big fans. So, naturally this song is in my top list. I love the up-beat-ness of the music, and of course you can never go wrong with Sir Paul on vocals. For years I thought this was a Beatles track, and not Paul doing it solo. I blast this every year when putting up my tree!
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee (Merry Christmas From Brenda Lee)
This song is fun. It's an oldie but a goodie. I also love the movie Home Alone, which this is a part of the soundtrack. This makes me think of when Kevin realizes he made his family disappear and starts partying it up. Again, such a great song.
Merry Christmas From Brenda Lee
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Andy Williams (Live - Christmas Treasures)
Just like the last song, this is such a solid hit. I love these old singers who would just be very jovial and loud, a la Frank Sinatra. Andy Williams is definitely such an example. Using big band and back up vocal singers, Andy created a great song. Although it may not always seem like it's the most wonderful time of the year, but Andy consistently believes it.
"All I Want For Christmas is You" - Mariah Carey (Now That's What I Call Christmas Vol 4)
I mean...this is it. This is the mountaintop to me. It is such a catchy and up-tempo song. Mariah is an excellent singer regardless, but here she just shined. This track was originally on her first Christmas album titled "Merry Christmas", which came out in 1994. I play this on repeat sometimes while in the car, especially if it takes me longer to get to work because of the snow. Best Christmas song ever.
