Christmas music vs. winter music

Two more songs have become part of the format (although many stations seem to have dropped them in recent years in favor of less folky and understated, more uptempo and oversung numbers) by merely mentioning the trappings of Christmas -- Jim Croce's "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" and Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne." By introducing "Auld Lang Syne" into the proceedings, the latter seems to confuse Christmas Eve with New Year's Eve, although Dan and his old lover's inability to find an open bar make it clear that everything in the song is happening, as the "snow was falling (on) Christmas Eve." Regardless, all the snow, tinsel, corner Santa Clauses and slightly out-of-tune sidewalk bands in the world hardly make either song about Christmas, the religious holiday.

Count me among those who can't stand "My Favorite Things." I've heard all sorts of attempted explanation of how that maudlin piece of show-tune excrement glommed itself onto Christmas, but none has been particularly convincing.

Marshmallow World by Dean Martin. Nothing to do with Christmas. I'm not sure if anyone plays "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis. But that is from Willie Wonka. "Thank God for Kids" by the Oak Ridge Boys is another one I get tired of during Christmas. There are more of these but my memory is getting a little hazy.

frankberry said:

How it wound up on Christmas playlists is beyond me.

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Read the lyrics. She says "Silver white winters." It falls into the category of winter songs:

Raindrops on roses
And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells
And schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver-white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

frankberry said:

How it wound up on Christmas playlists is beyond me.

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The real answer though is the number of artists who've covered the song on Christmas albums over the years:

1964: Jack Jones on his album The Jack Jones Christmas Album[2]
1965: Eddie Fisher on his album Mary Christmas[3]
1965: The Supremes on their album Merry Christmas
1965: Andy Williams on his album Merry Christmas (He also sang it in a duet with his wife, Claudine Longet in 1966 on The Andy Williams Show)[4]
1966: Kenny Burrell on his album Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas
1967: Barbra Streisand on her album A Christmas Album
1968: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on their album Christmas Album (reached #45 on the Billboard 100 the following year)
1968: Tony Bennett on his album Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
1969: Johnny Mathis on his album Give Me Your Love for Christmas
1969: Peter Nero on the album Christmas with Colonel Sanders[5]
1970: Rick Wilkins and the Mutual Understanding on their album Christmas with Rick Wilkins and the Mutual Understanding[6]
1981: Kenny Rogers on his album Christmas
1984: The Carpenters performed an instrumental version on their album An Old-Fashioned Christmas
1993: Lorrie Morgan on her album Merry Christmas from London (Christmas airplay in 1994 and again in 1999, bringing it to #64 and #69, respectively, on the Hot Country Songs chart)[7]
1994: The Whispers on their album Christmas Moments Sampler[8]
1995: Luther Vandross on his album This Is Christmas
1995: Russ Freeman on his album Holiday
1997: SWV on their album A Special Christmas
1997: Petula Clark on her album Merry Christmas...Joyeux Noël[9]
2000: Vanessa Williams, Plácido Domingo, and Tony Bennett on their Live concert Christmas special, Our Favorite Things: Christmas in Vienna[10]
2001: Perry Como on the album A Perry Como Christmas[11]
2002: Barry Manilow on his album A Christmas Gift of Love
2002: Anita Baker on her album Christmas Fantasy
2004: Dionne Warwick on her album My Favorite Time of Year[12]
2005: The Brian Setzer Orchestra on their album Dig That Crazy Christmas
2005: Kenny G on his album The Greatest Holiday Classics
2005: Rod Stewart on the album Sounds of the Season: The NBC Holiday Collection[13]
2007: Yolanda Adams on her album What a Wonderful Time
2007: Connie Talbot on her album Over the Rainbow
2008: Tony Bennett on his album A Swingin' Christmas (Featuring The Count Basie Big Band)
2008: The Brian Setzer Orchestra on the album The Best Of Collection – Christmas Rocks!
2009: Family Force 5 on their album Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant
2011: Deana Martin on her album White Christmas[14]
2011: Carole King on her album A Holiday Carole
2011: Chicago on their album Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
2011: The cast of Glee on Extraordinary Merry Christmas
2013: Kelly Clarkson on her album Wrapped in Red
2013: Jim Brickman on his album The Magic of Christmas[15]
2013: Mary J. Blige on her album A Mary Christmas
2016: Leslie Odom Jr. on his album Simply Christmas

frankberry said:

I've thought about this subject for years.

There are songs which are generally referred to as "Christmas songs" even though there is no mention of Christmas in the lyrics.
A good example is Jingle Bells. It's actually a Winter song rather than a Christmas song.

Care to share your thoughts?

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Yeah and I know that they were already mentioned Winter Wonderland and Frosty Snowman are ones that don't mentioned Christmas, expect for if somebody can correct me if I am wrong isn't the version from the TV special Frosty the Snowman, that you hear him saying "I will be back on Christmas Day". But in the many singers versions of it they sing that he will be back again some day. O Little Town of Bethlehem is another, pretty sure if you look at any signer's version of the song, there is no mention of Christmas. I have even asked how are some of these songs Christmas songs. And yet we are now approaching another Christmas season. It is also a little off the topic, I have always wondered if people on Christmas day eat pumpkin pie, as you know in the lyrics of Rocking around the Christmas Tree, no matter whose version it is they sing the lyric "later on we'll have some pumpkin pie, and we'll do some caroling".

frankberry said:

If I recall correctly, "My Favorite Things" was written for "The Sound Of Music." The song was sung to the children by Maria, during a Summer thunderstorm.
It absolutely has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas.
How it wound up on Christmas playlists is beyond me.

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I am in the same boat I have never listened to this song, or have seen the Sound of music the movie, I might have to check it out, but its is also beyond me how it got onto Christmas music playlists, in fact I don't recall ever hearing a station playing this song during Christmas time.

Pat3 said:

Marshmallow World by Dean Martin. Nothing to do with Christmas. .

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The version that gets played most, though, is the jingly Phil Spector production. (Don't ask me which girl group; they were interchangeable.) Spector could have handed the Crystals/Shirelles/Ronettes "Jailhouse Rock" to sing during that session and that would have become a Christmas season radio perennial as well.

Pat3 said:

"Thank God for Kids" by the Oak Ridge Boys is another one I get tired of during Christmas. There are more of these but my memory is getting a little hazy.

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Keep in mind that the Oak Ridge Boys version was originally recorded for their first Christmas album in 1982. So while it may not technically be a Christmas song, the way it was released defined it as one. It's also a rare moment when William Lee Golden gets to shine as lead vocalist. They've done 8 Christmas albums in their career, and have re-recorded it at least once. In addition, Kenny Chesney recorded it for his first Christmas album about 15 years ago.

The real catalyst for the explosion of winter songs might have been "White Christmas" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas", which were used as morale-boosters during the US's early involvement in World War 2. At that point, most of America's ground combat was in hot weather climates like the Pacific theater and North Africa, so those songs were used to evoke images of snow and holiday cheer back home.

DavidEduardo said:

There are a few more modern Christmas songs, including the best known of all: José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad".

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BTW just saw an article about popular Christmas songs, and that one topped the chart. So the fact that it still gets a lot of airplay across multiple formats after 50 years says a lot about the song and Jose's timeless performance.


https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/171170/nielsen-debunks-myths-about-holiday-music

DavidEduardo said:

My question, though, is with the increasing diversity of America and the celebration of that diversity, will Christmas music gradually decline in its appeal in the future?

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That's a fair question. My observation is that it hasn't, largely because of the influx of so many non-religious songs to the playlist. So sociologically speaking, Christmas becomes less of a religious holiday and more of a family holiday. That's especially the case in mixed marriages, where a Christian marries a Jew, and the family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukah, and raises their children with Christmas music and a Christmas tree. I know of many who live that way. So unless you're raised in strict isolation from the mass culture, then Christmas music in some way will continue to have mass radio appeal.

DavidEduardo said:

My question, though, is with the increasing diversity of America and the celebration of that diversity, will Christmas music gradually decline in its appeal in the future?

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I hope not. Many secular stations have already shunted the religious Christmas music. Once in a while I may hear "Do You Hear What I Hear". But songs like "Little Town of Bethlehem", "Silent Night", Oh Holy Night" or even "We Three Kings" are notoriously absent. I much prefer a mix of religious and secular in a presentation on Christmas Eve, with "Silent Night" coming on around midnight. And for gosh sakes, if I hear that Mariah Carey song "All I Want For Christmas" just one more time.........

DavidEduardo said:

There are a few more modern Christmas songs, including the best known of all: José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad". But such songs are not common.

Some Spanish language formats don't play any Christmas songs at all. Others may play one a daypart from early December, increasing to one an hour mid-month and perhaps a couple per hour towards Christmas.

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Love that Feliciano song! From 1969, correct?? Do Spanish language music stations have their own playlists of Latin artists Christmas music that sound totally different than what we normally hear in the US during the Holiday season? In other words, their own work and not Spanish translations of Christmas music heard on radio stations here.

DavidEduardo said:

As of a week ago, one of the top music stations in Bogotá is playing a traditional (think 70's and even 60's) tropical dance song every 4th song with positioners that say "the songs of those great Decembers of the past". They don't even say "Navidad". They refer to the holiday season, when everyone parties.

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Well, thanks for the info. Interestingly that's my favorite period in Latin music history (60's and 70's) and the Nueva Ola, Cumbias, and so forth. I would highly imagine a lot of this older music that Bogota is playing would be highly appealing. Which station is this? And hopefully they stream. Have you heard the new song "Havana" by Camila Cabello? Like a blast to an older period.

DavidEduardo said:

While Christmas music has a truly disruptive effect on general market radio, the opposite is true in Spanish language radio in the US. There is very little Spanish language Christmas music, with the most common songs being versions of traditional Spanish (as in "Spain") "villancicos" which are songs with a centuries old heritage dating back to the 1500's.

There are a few more modern Christmas songs, including the best known of all: José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad". But such songs are not common.

Some Spanish language formats don't play any Christmas songs at all. Others may play one a daypart from early December, increasing to one an hour mid-month and perhaps a couple per hour towards Christmas.

A few years ago, an LA Spanish language station tried to do all Christmas music. It's ratings fell by 70%!

Given the percentage of Hispanics that listen to stations like KODA and KOST in the Christmas season, it would appear that later generations of Hispanics acquire a taste for Christmas music. My question, though, is with the increasing diversity of America and the celebration of that diversity, will Christmas music gradually decline in its appeal in the future?

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It doesn't seem very likely, with 36% of its audience being made up of Milennials, according to a recent Nielsen study. That's compared with 31% for Gen-X and 25% for Baby Boomers.