34 (32) Mary's Boy Child - Boney M

 

 

"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston.

 

It was first recorded by Harry Belafonte in 1956 and became a UK#1 hit.

The most famous cover of the song is from the German disco-group Boney M. from 1978 which again made UK#1.

 

33 (18) Baby It's Cold Outside - Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews

 

 

... But this version is so, so wrong.....

 

Shane Richie & Jessie Wallace (Eastenders)

 

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a pop standard with words and music by Frank Loesser. Loesser wrote the duet in 1944 and premiered the song with his wife at their Navarro Hotel housewarming party. The female voice in the song is called "The Mouse" and the male "The Wolf." The lyrics consist of his attempts to convince her to stay with him at the end of a date; her indecisive protests reveal that although she feels obligated to go home, she is tempted to stay, partially because, as the title suggests, "it's cold outside." In at least one published version the tempo of the song is given as "leserado," a humorous reference to the composer's name.

 

In 1948, after years of informally performing the song at various parties, Loesser sold its rights to MGM, which inserted the song into its 1949 motion picture, Neptune's Daughter. The film featured two performances of the song: one by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams and the other by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett. These performances earned Loesser an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

 

There have been several cover versions including the most famous (at least in the UK) version by the two Welsh singers which made UK#17 in 1999.

 

=31 (39) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Standard (Various including Bruce Springsteen)

 

 

Carpenters (1974)

 

"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (sometimes with Coming changed to Comin') is a Christmas song. It was written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and over 400,000 copies sold by Christmas.

 

Again, it is another one of those you name an artist, and there is a good chance they've covered this song. In the UK Bruce Springsteen's live cover treached UK#5 in 1985.

=31 (19) The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting ..) - Standard (Various including Nat King Cole)

 

Nat King Cole

 

Christina Aguilera

 

Celine Dion

 

"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song, written in 1944 by vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé , the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool," the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.

 

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest (and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records), a second recording was made the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole re-recorded the song in 1953 and again in 1961, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra; the latter recording is generally regarded as definitive and continues to receive considerable radio airplay each holiday season, while Cole's original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

 

It has since become a standard of seasonal Christmas albums.

30 Frosty The Snowman - Standard (Various including the Ronettes)

 

Ronettes

 

Cocteau Twins

 

Frosty the Snowman is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson and recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like Jingle Bells and several other songs about winter, Frosty the Snowman is considered to be a Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all.

 

The song is about a snowman who came to life thanks to a magical hat some children found; he then had playful adventures before he "hurried on his way". It has been covered by many artists over the years, including The Ronettes, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Larry Groce, Ray Conniff, the Cocteau Twins, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Beach Boys.

29 Winter Wonderland - Standard (Various including Eurythmics)

 

Darlene Love

 

Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton

 

But this duet is not so good.... :lol:

Ozzy Osbourne & Jessica Simpson

 

"Winter Wonderland" is a pop standard written in 1934 by Felix Bernard (composer) and Richard B. Smith (lyricist). It has been recorded many different times by such artists as Dolly Parton, Eurythmics, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Karen Carpenter, Cyndi Lauper, and the Cocteau Twins.

=26 Have A Cheeky Christmas - Cheeky Girls

 

 

This song from the Romanian duo (somehow) reached UK#10 in December 2003.......

=26 (36) Mistletoe And Wine - Cliff Richard

 

 

Written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan, it was originally performed by Twiggy in a TV musical based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl in 1986. Richard liked the song but wanted to change the lyrics to reflect a more religious theme, to which the writers agreed. Cliff's 99th single, it became his 12th UK number one single, spending four weeks at the top in December 1988 - selling 750,000 copies in the process (Kylie & Jason spent all four of those weeks at #2 before they reached the top of the chart). It was also used in a British public information film about drink driving, with the intention of scaring motorists.

To say I hate Sharon I like her little bit in Winter Wonderland :lol:

=26 Have A Cheeky Christmas - Cheeky Girls

 

 

This song from the Romanian duo (somehow) reached UK#10 in December 2003.......

 

:lol: I loved this :cheer:

 

Still do -_-

=26 (29) Silent Night - Traditional carol (Various)

 

Enya

 

Sinead O'Connor

 

Josh Groban

 

"Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the priest Father Josef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz X. Gruber. The version of the melody that is generally sung today differs slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original. Today, the lyrics and melody are in the public domain.

 

 

OK, Tonight I'm going to countdown #25 - #11, based on how these songs did in the Final stage of the Favourite Xmas Song Game....

 

 

 

 

25 (37) Jesus Take The Wheel - Carrie Underwood 8 Pts

 

 

"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a Grammy Award-winning song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. It is the first single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. The song was nominated for Song of the Year, and won Best Female Country Vocal Performance as well as Best Country Song at the Grammy Awards.

 

The song topped the US Country Charts over Christmas 2005 for 6 weeks.

 

It proved to be a crossover hit, eventually making it to number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and selling around 914,153 digital downloads. Proving the song's success, at the 41 Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was named Single of the Year.

 

On December 11, 2006, Oprah Winfrey held an "iTunes" Christmas concert featuring Carrie Underwood, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, and Tony Bennet. Carrie performed "Jesus, Take the Wheel" there.

 

 

24 My Only Wish (This Year) - Britney Spears 24 Pts

 

 

"My Only Wish (This Year)" is a song written and produced by Brian Kierulf, co-written by Josh Schwartz and recorded by American singer Britney Spears. It was released as the first Christmas single by Spears in December 2000. The song has reached the top ten in several countries, and it is one of the most commercially successful Christmas singles of the modern era.

 

According to Entertainment Weekly, it is "one of the best holiday songs, and one of the best of 2000 late 2006, it had become the second best-selling holiday ring tone of all time in the U.S. (behind a certain song by Mariah Carey). In the end of 2007 the song has huge popularity worldwide in the iTunes store and radio airplay in the USA.

 

 

 

23 (22) I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake 38 Pts

 

 

"I Believe In Father Christmas" is a song by Greg Lake (most famously a member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer). Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song this was not Lake's intention. It is widely believed that Lake wrote the song in protest at the commercialization of Christmas and its effect on the Middle East.

 

The song is often misinterpreted as an anti-religious song and, because of this, Lake was surprised at its success. He said in a Mojo magazine interview:

 

"I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season.' Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance. And I do believe in Father Christmas."

The song was recorded by Lake in 1975 and released separately from ELP, it is currently his only hit solo release. The original later appeared on the group's 1977 album Works Volume II. It has also appeared on several other ELP and Christmas compilation albums. Mostly notable of these re-releases is the 1995 album titled I Believe in Father Christmas which also featured a re-recorded version of the song by the whole band.

 

The video for this song contains shots of the Vietnam War which has led to complaints from some that it should not be shown with light-hearted Christmas songs. These images of rocket barrages, air strikes, and mobile artillery are a violent backdrop to a peaceful sounding song and create a hard-hitting message.

 

The instrumental riff between verses comes from the "Troika" portion of Sergei Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije Suite" written for a 1934 film.

 

In 1982, it was covered by Toyah Wilcox. In recent years it has been covered by Human Drama (1999), Vertical Horizon (2002), and The Sloppy Horse (2006).

 

22 (26) Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) - The Darkness 47 Pts

 

 

"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" was a single released by The Darkness in the UK during December 2003, to fall in with the famous UK Christmas Number One Race.

 

The song was favourite with the bookmakers to reach number one in the official UK singles chart, but was put down to second place by the relatively unheard-of Gary Jules and Michael Andrews with a cover of Tears for Fears Mad World. Justin Hawkins was reportedly very bitter about the defeat, especially after Jules branded the Darkness as being "Hilarious", showing again that The Darkness were predominantly viewed as a novelty act. Even so, the song reached Number Two in the UK singles chart.

 

The school choir providing backing vocals, heard on the single and seen in the song's video, came from Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College school, in New Cross, London, where Justin's mother once attended.

 

21 (42) Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea 50 Pts

 

 

The song by Middlesbrough's born singer/songwriter guitarist was originally only a minor hit in the UK in December 1988 when it was originally released peaking at UK#53. But it reached it's chart peak last week thanks to downloads at #35.

 

 

 

 

20 (31) New Year - Sugababes 60 Pts

 

 

"New Year" is a pop song written by British group Sugababes (then Keisha Buchanan, Siobhán Donaghy & Mutya Buena), Jony Lipsey, Cameron McVey, Felix Howard, Matt Rowe and Paul Simm for their debut album One Touch. The song was produced by Lipsey, McVey and Simm and received a positive reception from music critics. It was released as the second single in the winter of 2000 and reached the top fifteen in the United Kingdom, where it sold 75,000 copies. It reached the top thirty in Ireland, but failed to make an impact on the singles charts elsewhere.

=18 (13) Santa Baby - (originally) Eartha Kitt 61 Pts

 

Eartha Kitt

 

Madonna

 

Kylie Minogue

 

"Santa Baby" is a Christmas song written by Joan Javits (the niece of Jacob K. Javits), Philip Springer, and Tony Springer.

 

The song is a tongue in cheek look at a Christmas list sung by a woman who wants the most extravagant gifts like sable, yachts and decorations from Tiffany's.

 

"Santa Baby" was originally sung and recorded in 1953 by Eartha Kitt. The song was a huge hit for Kitt, and she later said that it was one of her favorite songs to record. A sequel, "This Year's Santa Baby", was recorded by Kitt in 1954, to no commercial success; Kitt also reprised the original song for a 1963 re-recording with a more uptempo arrangement.

 

"Santa Baby" has been covered in recorded and live performances by many other female artists throughout the years, including Maria Muldaur, Everclear, RuPaul, Madonna, Jhene, Cynthia Basinet, Macy Gray, Natalie Merchant, Faith Evans, Boney James, Kylie Minogue, The Pussycat Dolls, LeAnn Rimes, Kellie Pickler, and Taylor Swift

 

=18 (10) White Christmas - Bing Crosby 61 Pts

 

 

"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. The morning after he wrote the song — Berlin usually stayed up all night writing — the songwriter went to his office and told his musical secretary, "Grab your pen and take down this song. I just wrote the best song I've ever written — hell, I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever written!"

 

"White Christmas" was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1942 musical Holiday Inn. In the film, he sings it in a duet with Marjorie Reynolds. The song went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Though Marjorie Reynolds was the actress playing Linda Mason, her voice was dubbed by Martha Mears for the movie, and in the script as originally conceived, Reynolds, not Crosby, was to sing the song.

 

The song topped the US Billboard singles charts on three separate occasions around Christmas' 1942, 1945 & 1946 spending a total of eleven weeks at the top of the charts. It is the most covered Christmas song of all time and has sold over 50 million copies.