Best Christmas Songs - Day 1

Best Christmas Songs - Day 1

My famed "Twenty-five Days of Christmas" is back, baby. Each day I post a new song of what I consider to be the best Christmas songs. These are all songs that put an extra zip into my holiday spirit. This year I have a mix of returning songs and new entries. Let's get to the first one.

Merry Christmas Baby

Merry Christmas Baby is one of the best Christmas songs ever in the history of mankind. It was written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore and recorded way back in 1947 by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and reached #3 on Billboard's R&B Juke Box chart.

It's been covered a gazillion times. From Mae West (seriously) to Pepe the King Prawn (seriously again). This version by Ike and Tina Turner is amazing. They released their version of the song in 1964 on the b-side of a cover of Jesse Hill’s New Orleans R&B classic ‘Ooh Poop A Doo.’ (One of my favorite titles of a song). This version is definitely on my playlist this year.

Lyrics

Merry Christmas baby, sure do treat me nice
Merry Christmas baby, sure do treat me nice
Bought me a diamond ring for Christmas
I feel like I'm in paradise

I feel mighty fine, y'all,
I've got music on my radio
Feel mighty fine, girl,
I've got music on my radio,
oh, oh, oh I feel like I'm gonna kiss you
Standing beneath that mistletoe

Santa came down the chimney
Half past three, y'all
Left all them good ole presents
For my baby and for me, ha, ha, ha

 Merry Christmas baby, sure do treat him nice
You bought me all those little presents
I love you baby rest of my life

Merry Christmas, girl
Merry, merry, merry Christmas baby, sure do treat me nice
Merry Christmas baby, I said you sure do treat me nice
You bought all those lovely things, yeah
I feel like I'm in paradise

I wish you a merry Christmas baby, happy New Year, ha
A merry Christmas, honey, everything here is beautiful I love you, baby
For everything that you give me, I love you, honey  

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

 
Today's song is not only a fantastic song but a cherished tradition on The David Letterman Show. In 1986 the incomparable Darlene Love performed Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and has performed the song every year since then.

A ton of people have covered the song since it first debuted in 1963 on the Phil Spector produced album A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector. But no one sings it like Darlene Love. No one. She's the original. She's the best. In fact, in 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs.

A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector was released on November 22, 1963, the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Neither JFK nor the album faired well. But unlike JFK, the album has found new life over the years and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #142 in their 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time. Pretty darn good for a Christmas album.

Above is video of Darlene Love singing the song this year on Letterman.

Buy the song on iTunes here.

Get it for slightly cheaper on Amazon here.
 

Below is her singing it for the first time in 1986.

Hollywood Undead - Christmas in Hollywood

This Christmas song is not, I repeat, not a family song. It's Christmas in Hollywood by Los Angeles-based rap band Hollywood Undead.

I can't explain why I like this song. It's laced with foul language but I like the hook of the song. So if you're leaning towards a profanity-laced Christmas, this song is for you.

You can buy it at iTunes here.

Buy it at Amazon here.
 

Mel Torme - The Christmas Song (Michael Kessler Open Fire Mix)

What could be better than Mel Torme, The Velvet Fog,  singing The Christmas Song? How about Mel Torme singing The Christmas Song but remixed? Today's song is The Christmas Song (Michael Kessler Open Fire Mix).

I have no idea how this remix came to be but I like it.

The Christmas Song was written in 1944 by Mel Torme and Bob Wells in a blistering 40-minutes. Best 40-minutes of their lives. This is another song in which nearly everyone who has ever lived has covered it: Robert Goulet, Babyface, Twisted Sister, and The Temptations to name just a few. And I mean just a few.

Buy it at iTunes here.

Buy it at Amazon here.
 

Slow Club - It's Christmas and You're Boring Me

Here's a Christmas song for everyone who's bitter at this time of year. It's Christmas and You're Boring Me by the English duo group Slow Club. It's a fantastic break up song. I mean come on, lots of people pick this time of year to break up and it sucks. Well, it sucks any time but it especially sucks at Christmas.

Your mother's heart is bursting for me
As we sit by her impressive tree
Her heart is open, but mine it is torn for her first-born
It's Christmas and you're boring me
Now what can I possibly do?
You've made me happy but you don't excite me
I'll wait till New Years to tell you we're through
This Christmas the bells ring out of tune

It's Christmas and You're Boring Me song was released in 2009 on the Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP. What a fantastically bitter title. So if you're feeling bitter this holiday, this is the song for you.

Buy it at iTunes here.

Buy it at Amazon here.

Aimee Mann - Whatever Happened to Christmas

Christmas. It's all holly and jolly until melancholia sets in. Today's song - Whatever Happened to Christmas - matches my mood.

 Whatever Happened to Christmas was written by Jimmy Webb. I was just talking about him today. Jimmy Webb wrote a gazillion songs, among them Wichita Lineman and MacArthur Park. Whatever Happened to Christmas was first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1968 for the album The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas.

I like the Sinatra version but Aimee Mann's version particularly grabs me. I think it's a beautiful and touching song.

You can but it at iTunes here.

Get it at Amazon here.
 

Lou Rawls - Christmas Is

Christmas Is, sung by Lou Rawls, is my song of the day. This song makes me sway and swoon. It's from Lou's album Merry Christmas Ho Ho Ho, which I believe was released on Jan 1, 1967. Missed the Christmas album buying window by that much.

Christmas Is has been a mainstay on my holiday play list for years. The opening sax is as smooth as a hot chocolate martini. Hmm. That's sounds yummy right about now. If you'll excuse me, I have a drink to make. But first, let me put on a some Lou Rawls.

Buy the song at iTunes here.