This song was written by songwriter Johnny Marks, who had already written the Christmas classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, a song that proved so popular the stop-motion animators at Rankin-Bass created a half-hour TV special to expand on the song. Ives was brought in for star power, to play the banjo-playing host and narrator, Sam the Snowman, and take over several songs originally slated for the character of Yukon Cornelius.
Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers was one of the hottest blues attractions on the West Coast when their recording of Merry Christmas Baby reached position 3 on Billboard’s R and B Juke Box chart during the Christmas of 1947. Guitarist Johnny Moore commandeered an impressive lineup of players for the recording session, including bassist Eddie Williams, guitarist Oscar Moore (then of the King Cole Trio), and singer/pianist Charles Brown.
Cool Yule is a Christmas song was written by Steve Allen and recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1953.
Mel Torme and Bob Wells were songwriting partners, and used to take turns going over to each others homes to write songs. One particularly hot July day, Mel drove over to Bob’s house in Teluca Lake, Ca., and when he got there he walked into the house, couldn’t find Bob, but found a spiral note pad of paper with some words on it-
Rockin Around the Christmas Tree is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958. Although released it in both 1958 and again in 1959, it did not sell well until Lee became a popular star in 1960; that Christmas season, it hit number 14 on the Billboard pop chart and turned into a perennial holiday favorite.
“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is a Christmas song that was originally written and composed for the 1966 cartoon special “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!”. The lyrics were written by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, the music was composed by Albert Hague, and the song was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft.
All I Want for Christmas Is You” was featured on Mariah Carey’s hit 1994 holiday album Merry Christmas. In the past decade the song has quickly become a contemporary holiday standard selling over 4 million copies around the world.
Stevie Wonder’s “Someday At Christmas” was originally released in 1967. The song is an elegant and eloquent hope for a world that is filled with peace, equality and free of poverty, hatred and hunger. This is one of the first Christmas songs with a social and political message.
Little Saint Nick is a Christmas song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and originally performed by their group The Beach Boys. It was first released as a single in December 1963, reaching number three on the Christmas charts. The song borrows its rhythm and structure from the group’s 1963 hit Little Deuce Coupe.
