Every year around mid-December I start compiling my official holiday CD. I make a list of 30-35 songs and play them for my girlfriend. Together we decide what stays in and what goes out. The CD is always heavy on old jazz/easy listening numbers but also contains rock and folk. The idea is that songs should convey the holiday feel, without necessarily following the Christmas theme. Christmas songs are (of course) mandatory but they shouldn't make up the majority, so every year I include 7-10 of them (out of 20-25). After 11 years, you start to realise there aren't as many of them as you thought and have to struggle to avoid repetition. This is where this compilation comes in handy. It's called "100 Hits - Christmas Legends" and contains all the obvious hits and legends, as well as a lot of yuletide obscurities to choose from. Seeing that it's 100 songs and that I don't intend to spend all of Christmas Day in front of the computer, I won't do a complete presentation and rating as I usually do. Suffice it to say you get all the must-haves concerning both hits (Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Deck The Halls, Let It Snow!, Winter Wonderland, Silent Night, O Christmas Tree, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Frosty The Snowman, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer etc) and legends (e.g. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Andrews Sisters and Doris Day - all of them just in the first of five CD's). The highlights are too many to mention but some of my favorites are Dean Martin's "Let It Snow!", Eartha Kitt's sultry "Santa Baby" and Louis Armstrong's "Zat You Santa Claus". It also contains some lesser known nuggets that always crack me up: Ella Fitzgerald's "Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney" and Spike Jones' "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" - yes, I've heard a bunch of versions but this is the funniest. I also enjoyed the two relatively unknown tracks by the BBC Dance Orchestra. I've always loved the Bonzo Dog Band's 30's pastiches and after listening to "The Santa Claus Express" I saw where they got their inspiration from. I'm posting the complete tracklist below, plus a clip from every CD. And, if you're looking for something appropriately Christmas-y for next year's holidays, this one currently costs only £5.99 on Amazon. It should do just fine - until my home-made compilations hit the market and wipe out all competition, that is. Enjoy, and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
CD1
Bing Crosby -White Christmas
Frank Sinatra -Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)
Perry Como -It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Nat King Cole -The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
Dean Martin -I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Judy Garland -Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Eddie Fisher -You're All I Want For Christmas
Harry Belafonte -Mary's Boy Child
Louis Armstrong -Cool Yule
Anne Shelton -Merry Christmas
Mitch Miller And The Gang -Deck The Halls
Dean Martin -Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
The Andrews Sisters -The Merry Christmas Polka
Doris Day -Here Comes Santa Claus
Vic Damone-Marshmallow World
Dave King -Christmas And You
Frank Sinatra -O Come All Ye Faithful
Peggy Lee -Ring Those Christmas Bells
David Whitfield -Santo Natale
Mario Lanza-Ave Maria
CD2
Nat King Cole -The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot
Perry Como -Winter Wonderland
Johnny Mathis -What Child Is This?
Brook Benton -This Time Of Year
Frank Sinatra -Silent Night
Bing Crosby -I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)
Mario Lanza-O Christmas Tree
Connie Francis -Baby's First Christmas
Dinah Shore -Ole Santa
Paul Robeson -Mary Had A Baby, Yes, Lord
Dean Martin -The Christmas Blues
Louis Armstrong -Christmas In New Orleans
Peggy Lee -Winter Weather
Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee And Trudy Erwin -Snow
Eddie Fisher -That's What Christmas Means To Me
June Hutton -Song Of The Sleighbells
Gracie Fields -Christmas Eve In Fairyland
Eddie Arnold -Christmas Can't Be Very Far Away
The Orioles -(It's GonnaBe) A Lonely Christmas
Billy Eckstine-Blue Christmas
CD3
Eartha Kitt-Santa Baby
Brenda Lee -Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Ella Fitzgerald -Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney
The Andrews Sisters -Christmas Island
Perry Como -TwasThe Night Before Christmas
Mario Lanza-We Three Kings Of Orient Are
The Beverly Sisters -Little Donkey
Nat King Cole -Frosty The Snowman
Bing Crosby -Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Petula Clark -Where Did My Snowman Go?
Spike Jones -All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
Dickie Valentine -Christmas Alphabet
Frank Sinatra -Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Frankie Laine And Jo Stafford -Christmas Roses
Gracie Fields -Christmas Bells At Eventide
Judy Garland -The Birthday Of A King
Peggy Lee -It's Christmas Time Again
The Weavers -One For The Little Bitty Baby (Go Where I Send Thee)
Eddie Fisher -Christmas Day
Rosemary Clooney -Suzy Snowflake
CD4
The Weavers -We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Elisabeth Schmann-Coventry Carol
Frank Sinatra -Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Georges Thill-CantiqueDe Noel
Judy Garland -The Star Of The East
Lonnie Donegan-On A Christmas Day
Mario Lanza-O Holy Night (Cantique De Noel)
Bing Crosby -God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
Anne Shelton -Away In A Manger
Glenn Miller -Jingle Bells
Perry Como -The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Dick Haymes-O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Frank Sinatra -It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Nat King Cole -There's A Train Out For Dreamland
Kay Kyser-Hello Mr. Kringle
Tino Rossi -Petit Papa Noel
Django Reinhardt And Stephane Grappelli-Christmas Swing
Lita Roza-St. Nicholas Waltz
Boston Pops Orchestra -Sleigh Ride
BBC Dance Orchestra -The Santa Claus Express
CD5
Louis Armstrong -Zat You Santa Claus
Louis Prima -Shake Hands With Santa Claus
Bobby Helms -Jingle Bell Rock
Mabel Scott -Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
Margaret Whiting -The Mistletoe Kiss Polka
Nat King Cole -Mrs. Santa Claus
The Beverly Sisters -I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
BBC Dance Orchestra -The Fairy On The Christmas Tree
Dick Haymes-The First Nowell
Frank Sinatra -The Christmas Waltz
Glenn Miller -Cradle Song
Jack Teagarden With Johnny Mercer -Christmas Night In Harlem
Perry Como -Joy To The World
Judy Garland -Happy New Year
Bing Crosby -Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian Christmas Song)
Vera Lynn -I'm Sending A Letter To Santa Claus
Richard Crooks -The Star Of Bethlehem
Eddie Arnold -C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
Mario Lanza-The Virgin's Slumber Song (Maria Wiegenlied)
The Four Ramblers -Christmas In Killarney
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