Top 10 Christmas LPs:
10. James Brown’s Funky Christmas - James Brown
9. Elvis’ Christmas Album (original 1957 track list/album art) - Elvis Presley
- Definitive “Blue Christmas,” “Here Comes Santa Claus”
8. Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music (mono 1956 track list).
- Definitive “T’was the Night Before Christmas,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman”
7. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
- Definitive “The Christmas Song”
6. The Andy Williams Christmas Album - Andy Williams
- Definitive “The Holiday Season,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
5. Merry Christmas (mono 1955) - Bing Crosby
- Definitive “White Christmas,” “Christmas in Killarney,” “Mele Kalikimaka”
4. A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra - Frank Sinatra
- Arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins, definitive “Jingle Bells,” “Mistletoe and Holly,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “The Christmas Waltz”
3. A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records - Various Artists
- Definitive “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Marshmallow World,” “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
Phil Spector at his best. Grandeur unmatched.
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi Trio
- Greatest collection of original Christmas music of the last 75 years.
“Christmas Time is Here,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Skating,” “Christmas is Coming.”
The version of “Little Drummer Boy” (‘My Little Drum’) is Guaraldian genius.
Just as great as the Spector LP but in the exact opposite way; cozy, intimate, gentle and improv-heavy
1. Bing Crosby’s Christmas Classics - Bing Crosby
- Recorded in 1962, arranged and conducted by Bob Thompson, Peter Matz and Jack Halloran.
1977 Capitol version is the one (original ‘62 is I Wish You a Merry Christmas) for the track listing and LP art.
Perfection.
Perfect blend of the elite vocals and production of Spector’s and the warmth and intimacy of Guaraldi’s.
Arrangements are richly detailed and ornate yet tasteful; never too busy.
“Winter Wonderland,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!,” “I Wish You a Merry Christmas” (each definitive) and “Frosty the Snowman” (almost as great as Perry’s) get the full treatment.
“What Child is This?/The Holly and the Ivy” is a goosebumps-inducing arrangement featuring only a huge choir and Bing’s perfect voice in the foreground.
“O Holy Night” (definitive version) and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” are mainly choral (each choral arrangement on this LP is perfect) with tastefully employed harp, organ, and bells.
The x-factor on this album is the somewhat obscure song “The Littlest Angel,” a track that never fails to get me verklempt. A real gem.
Every conceivable nook and cranny of this LP is perfectly ”decorated.”
Listening to the LP is like being in the most perfectly decorated Christmas cabin, every piece of vintage bric-a-brac perfectly placed, a perfectly decorated Christmas tree with vintage ornaments, room glowing with incandescent Christmas lights, cracklin’ fireplace, egg nog…the whole shebang.
Perfect mixture of songs. Perfect voice.
Depth and excellence in recording quality not present in Bing’s Christmas “salad days” of the ‘40s.
Perfection.
It goes without saying that a version of your choice of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a must.
Odds-and-Ends Playlist:
- “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” - Perry Como & The Fontaine Sisters
- “This Christmas” - Donny Hathaway
- “Jingle Bell Rock” - Bobby Helms
- “Meeting of the Minds” (from original A Christmas Story soundtrack) - Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza
- “Someday at Christmas” - Stevie Wonder
- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” - Brenda Lee
- “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” (original 1958) - Alvin and the Chipmunks
- “Pretty Paper” - Roy Orbison
- “Run Rudolph Run” - Chuck Berry
- “Silver and Gold” - Burl Ives
- “Here Comes Santa Claus” - Big Tiny Little
- “It’s Christmas Time” - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (gorgeous, grossly underrated Stevie Wonder-penned track)
- “Main Title / Heaven” (original It’s a Wonderful Life soundtrack) - Dmitri Tiomkin
- “Sleigh Ride” - The Ventures
- “All I Want for Christmas is You” - Mariah Carey
- “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” - Thurl Ravenscroft
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” - The Temptations
- “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” - David Bowie & Bing Crosby
- “White Christmas” - The Drifters
- “True Blue Miracle” - The Sesame Street Cast
- “Winter Wonderland” - Aretha Franklin
- “Twistin’ Bells” - Santo & Johnny
- “What Christmas Means to Me” - Stevie Wonder
- “Do You Hear What I Hear?” - Bing Crosby
- “Susie’s Dream House / Store Montage” (original 1947 Miracle on 34th Street soundtrack) - Cyril Mockridge
- “The Spirit of Christmas” - Ray Charles
- “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer soundtrack version) - Burl Ives