Tag Archives: music

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 24

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Merry Christmas Eve!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

o-holy-night-390x250

 (Original source unknown)

Today’s song dates back to 1847 and combined the words of French poet Placide Cappeau and the music of Adolphe Adam.  The more familiar singing edition came to life in 1855 courtesy of Unitarian Minister John Sullivan Dwight.

In whatever language this song is sung, the message is clear:  to rejoice over the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  No matter how many signs we see at stores that read “Jesus is the reason for the season”, it may be easy to forget that Christmas is a religious holiday for those who believe in him.  We all know how commercial this holiday has always been (even Charlie Brown commented on that in 1965) and how it is arriving earlier and earlier in stores and the media each year.  But the little Catholic school girl I used to be 100 years ago cannot choose any other song for Christmas Eve than the one which celebrates the greatest gift God gave us.

These are my top three favorite versions of this song:

aretha-franklin al-green-pic[1]Mahalia Jackson 
                                                                                             (Original sources unknown)                                        

Aretha Franklin:  “O Holy Night”

Al Green:   “O Holy Night”

Mahalia Jackson:  “O Holy Night”

And for the sarcastic adult that I have become, I cannot resist including this irreverent version every year because it makes me laugh until I cry.

Eric Cartman:  “O Holy Night”

south-park

 (Original source unknown)

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 22

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

silver-bells

(Original source unknown)

Today’s song is from 1950 and like others included in the countdown, it was featured in a movie (“The Lemon Drop Kid”).  As pretty as the melody is, the lyrics are what I like most about this song.  It paints such a descriptive picture of how the holiday looks and feels from the point of view of a city street as opposed to the coziness of home.  Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.  Perhaps that is what is meant by “the magic of the season”.

For someone who loves words as much as I do, there is no way I can listen to this tune and not marvel at how well the words not only tell the story, but show it as well.  And I am able to see it just as clearly in all four versions of this song I love the most:  swing/big band, country, soul & acoustic.

tony bennett     martina

                      Tony Bennett (R) & Martina McBride (L) (Original source unknown)

Wilson Pickett     she and him

                                   Wilson Pickett (R) and She & Him (L) (Original source unknown)

Tony Bennett & the Count Basie Orchestra:  “Silver Bells”

Martina McBride:  “Silver Bells”

Wilson Pickett:  “Silver Bells”

She & Him:  “Silver Bells“

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Songs: Day 21

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

durango-co-christmas

(Original source unknown)

My love for Motown is immense.  I have adored it since I was a kid, thanks to my parents.  They bought one of those K-Tel compilations which consisted of four albums of the Motor City’s greatest hits and the rest is history.

So many great songs and singers came out of that era, and to this day four of them are still on my list of favorite voices of all time:  Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, David Ruffin (lead singer of the Temptations) & Levi Stubbs (lead singer of the Four Tops.

Despite the fact that Motown gave us some of the greatest music ever made, so many of the holiday music recorded by those artists is hardly ever heard during the Christmas season.  With radio stations starting earlier and earlier every year to play holiday songs, I do not know how this era of music gets overlooked.  I listen to these four Christmas songs year round, and maybe after hearing them you will understand why.

marvin gaye     Temptations

Marvin Gaye (R) – The Temptations (L) (original sources unknown)

Stevie Wonderthe-four-tops-abdul-duke-fakir-levi-everett

Stevie Wonder (R) – The Four Tops (L) (original sources unknown)

Marvin Gaye:  “I Want To Come Home For Christmas“

Stevie Wonder:  “What Christmas Means to Me“

The Four Tops:  “Away In A Manger“

The Temptations:  “Silent Night”

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 19

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

truck-with-wreath

(Original source unknown)

For most of the countdown, I have had trouble choosing only one song each day because I feel like there are so many great versions of so many holiday classics, I just want to share as many as I can with you.  And while this song is no exception in the amount of great renditions it has, for me there is only one.  Why?  Because that one is by Ray Charles Robinson.

I fell in love with his version the first time I heard in the 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally” and it has been one of my all time favorite Christmas songs ever since.  In my heart he made this song his own the same way he did with “America The Beautiful“.  There is a reason why he was called “The Genius”, and it is clear in every note of every song he ever played.

ray 2

(Original source unknown)

Ray Charles:  “Winter Wonderland”

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 18

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

book-trees

Christmas trees made from stacks of books!!!  (Original source unknown)

Today’s Christmas song is a duet first introduced to the world in the 1949 movie, “Neptune’s Daughter”.  It starred Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban (yes, Fantasy Island’s Mr. Rourke & Star Trek’s Khan), Betty Garrett (a/k/a Archie Bunker’s nemesis Irene Lorenzo, Laverne & Shirley’s landlady Edna Babish or Sarah a/k/a “Mrs. Caligula” on the Golden Girls Season 7 Episode 13 “Old Boyfriends”) and one of my favorite people in the world, Red Skelton.  The four leads sang the version from the movie as two duets and it was magic.

After that, it was re-recorded over a dozen of times, and these are my top four faves:

Another 1949 version by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan:  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (Just perfect!).

Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This is from their nightclub act so the singing is peppered with jokes.  It was recorded in the early to mid 1950’s & it is fabulous!).

Elf

Leon & Buddy in “Elf” (courtesy of New Line Cinema)

From 2003 – Will Ferrell & Zoey Daschanel (from “Elf”):   “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This is a really nice version from the movie, but for the film’s soundtrack she sings this with Leon Redbone.  In the movie he provides the voice of Leon The Snowman & as a bit of trivia, he sang the theme song to “Mr. Belverdere”).

From 2012 – Rufus Wainwright & Sharon Van Etten:  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  (This one has a nice easy piano bar kind of feel to it).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 17

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

img_20161206_1525021

Of course the music world is made up of all types of voices:  good, bad, in-between, God awful and so on.  But I think only a few qualify as beautiful, and this man’s voice is at the top of that list.

Whether it is opera, contemporary, holiday, pop or any other type of music you can name, this man sings it with his own unique style and interpretation.  And the fact that he sings most of his songs in two languages-Italian & English-well, that is a swoon-worthy bonus.

I love so many of his duets-and he has done several with such diverse artists as Celine Dion, Reba McEntire, David Foster, Mary J. Blige, Sarah Brightman, Ed Sheeran, Luciano Pavarotti and others.  But it is when he sings his solos that I find myself most enthralled by his voice.

In 2009 he released “My Christmas” and it instantly became a permanent part of my holiday music collection.  These two songs are my favorites from that CD.

andrea-bocelli-cieco

(original source unknown)

Andrea Bocelli:  “Angels We Have Heard On High”

Andrea Bocelli:  “Adeste Fideles“

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 15

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello. Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

img_17421

Today’s post is basically a contradiction of every opinion I have given on Christmas music thus far.  That is because I feel that today’s song only has, or should only have, one singer.  This song is not covered nearly as much as other Christmas songs, and it does seem to have a wider appeal to country singers.  I do like Faith Hill’s version , but I still love the original the best.

Actually, I cannot even refer to it as the original version because the man who sang my favorite take on it was the second one to record it in 1964, but he was the one who made the song famous.  And millions of people have heard him sing it in “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” over the last 53 years.  Ironically, his character was not supposed to sing this song-it was originally going to be sung by Yukon Cornelius.  Given his character’s somewhat abrasive voice, I am glad the powers that be changed their minds and let Sam the Snowman sing it instead.  Otherwise, we would not have this man’s version for posterity.

burl ives 2

(Original source unknown.)

Burl Ives:  “A Holly Jolly Christmas“

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 14

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

country-living

(Original source unknown.)

There is no need for me to write a lot here because the legend behind today’s songs is none other than the King himself, Elvis Aaron Presley.  While “Blue Christmas” is probably his most popular Christmas song, it is obviously not his only one.  There are several Elvis Christmas collections, including  “Christmas With Elvis And The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra“.  That was released in October, 60 years after his first Christmas album’s release, 1957’s “Elvis’ Christmas Album”.

I already love the big band sound, but when it is combined with Elvis and Christmas music, it is heaven on earth.  I picked two because it is so hard to pick one of anything by Elvis.  The first song defines the big band sound I referenced above, while the other is such a fun tune that is sung in a similar vocal to that of “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear“.  Enjoy!!!

elvis-presley-feceb2b6-0462-428f-b5ec-944f9fe39705

Courtesy of Bettmann/Getty.

Elvis Presley :  “Santa Claus Is Back In Town”

Elvis Presley:  “Here Comes Santa Claus”

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 13

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

small-town-christmas

(Courtesy of Cape Night Photography)

There are a lot of people who like their Christmas music old school.  I can totally understand that, being the music purist that I am.  And I love those songs, too (well, most of them anyway.)  But then I started hearing different versions of holiday music thanks to TV shows & movies using newer recordings in the soundtracks, or from watching videos of  fresh covers during MTV’s heyday, or hearing them performed in more novel ways during Christmas shows and specials.  And I fell in love with the songs all over again.

For years I did not hear any other version of this song except the original one from 1942.  There is no denying it is beautifully done.  Heck, it is the best selling single of all time.  But there are many different definitions of beautiful, and if I never heard this interpretation, what a misfortune that would have been.  For anyone who loves his original version of “What A Wonderful World“, today’s song is for you.

louis-armstrong-4

Louis Armstrong (date and original source unknown)

Louis Armstrong:  “White Christmas”

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!

 

25 Days Of Christmas Music: Day 12

Posted in Christmas, Music by

Hello, Vixens!!!  Welcome back to the countdown.

perfect-snowman

(Original source unknown)

When the original version of this song came out in 1958, the singer was only 13 years old.  For nearly 60 years it has been a holiday staple.  I like it a lot, but there are two covers of this song I enjoy as well.  Then I remembered my favorite version of this song, which I could not get enough of when I was kid.

I have included all four here today so you may choose your favorite.  But for me and the rest of the little girls who grew up thinking someday they would marry David Cassidy,  the Partridge Family version is dedicated to you.

Here is to our dreams of youth, and for getting the chance to relive them however briefly each time we hear one of these songs.  RIP Keith.  We all still love you!!!

Partridge 1

(Original source unknown)

Partridge 2

(Original source unknown)

The Partridge Family:  “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (1971)

Brenda Lee:  “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (original 1958)

Ronnie Spector & Darlene Love:  “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from (1992)

Bill Haley & The Comets:  “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (1968)

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you   🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy listening!!!