2011 Christmas Songs

Christmas is a festival of joy and celebration. While decorating the house, practicing religious rites and preparing luscious food are the major part of every celebration, know that no celebration is complete and no joy is merry enough without some good music. Music brings in the flavor of the season into our lives. In true sense, music brings out the emotions in our heart into our living room and mixes it with the happy moments in our life. At Christmas time, this happiness gets raised exponentially whenever you add a Christmas song at the background. Intrinsic as they are, Christmas songs have this mystical quality of transporting you back to the days when you used to be children. Heartwarming, emotional, cheerful, graceful, funky yet soft that’s Christmas music for you! This Christmas, we bring you a list of seven all time great Christmas songs that you will love to swing to. Just put one of these on and swing a leg or two with your family. Merry Christmas!

 

 

You just can’t tend to miss this song when Christmas and the chilly winter season are around. Written by Richard B. Smith, the song was composed by Felix Bernard and first released in 1934. Since then, it has been a favorite on the list of Christmas songs throughout. For a more classic and festive touch, you can pick up the more popular version, recorded by the Andrews Sisters and Perry Como. Experience the magic of building snowmen and transform fantasy Christmas into reality with the ‘Winter Wonderland’!

 

If one has to compose the list of the most saddening Christmas songs, ‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is sure to top, without a doubt. Sung by Judy Garland for the first time in 1943, the song was so touching and heart-warming that it induced the audience to break down into tears. With the lyricist of the song being Ralph Blane and music composer Hugh Martin, this song deems to be a must-listen Christmas number.

 

No Christmas song would have ever been easier than ‘Little Drummer Boy’ for the major part of the lyrics constitute ‘rum pum pum pum’. But, that does not stop the song from being a hit amongst all Christians looking for charming and meaningful Christmas songs. Released in 1958, the words and music of the song were composed by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone. The song has undergone several editions, the most unusual combination being of Bing Crosby and David Bowie, making it a blockbuster, especially after the legendary ‘White Christmas’.

 

Wish to keep the classic and traditional Christmas aside? Switch to a more trendy fashion and listen to this pop number sung by the popular American singer Mariah Carey, who has jointly penned the lyrics along with Walter Afanasieff. Enjoy the song as it journeys you through the holiday season of Christmas surrounded by the Santa Claus, laughter, reindeers, presents, and more. Do not miss out the video, if you can grab a copy of it!

 

Released on December 1, 2010, ‘Christmas Lights’ is a melodious and enjoyable number from the cap of British rock band, Coldplay. Within weeks, the song found an important position on the US Billboard ‘Hot 100’ singles chart and ‘Hot Digital Songs’ chart. With Christmas being a celebration and gala time, this song deserves an entry into the list of top Christmas songs for 2011.

 

‘Jingle bells, jingle bells’, and you know the rest how it follows. Almost every Christian child has spent his/her childhood listening and singing this legendary song. To add some spark to your festive time, this song was originally composed for Thanksgiving and not Christmas. Authored and composed by a minister named James Pierpoint, this jingle was compiled for school children in 1857 on Thanksgiving Day. Its popularity led to its repetition on Christmas and since then, it has been enjoying its newly found honor. The entire lyrics of ‘Jingle Bells’ suffice the essence of a traditional Christmas. Go for it and delight all kids with Santa Claus singing ‘Ho-ho-ho’!

 

When you talk of classics, this is the grand daddy of them all! Though this song has been known to exist from somewhere around the 16th century, the song got recognition and turned into a Christmas favorite only from the time when James O’ Halliwell added it to his list of nursery rhymes that cropped up in 1842. Since then, it has seen numerous rendition and even greater number of parodies. This Christmas, listen to any of your favorite versions or make up your own!

 

This is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year. Rollins and Nelson presented their lyrics to Autry, who, in turn, recorded ‘Frosty’ in search of another seasonal hit. The song which was originally titled ‘Frosty the Snow Man’ also gave rise to a Christmas tele-special with the same name.

 

Talk about Christmas songs, and you just cannot miss ‘The Christmas Song’. After all, what is celebration without the intrusion of classics? The popular song was written in the blistering summer of 1944 by vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. The duo was trying to cool off the summer heat by thinking of snow and the Christmas time and was scribbling on the notepad. But an hour later, they realized that they had a song with them. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946, which did not become a major hit. However, in the same year, they recorded a different version of the song, which grew on to become a major hit.

 

If a song had to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling song of all times; then it had to be special; and special it was. ‘White Christmas’ was written by Irving Berlin and the version, which made it to the record books, was sung by Bing Crosby. This version had estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. The song speaks of a Christmas time with snow all around, thus literally visualizing a ‘white Christmas’. The song had been ranked second on the “Songs of the Century” list by the members of the RIAA.

 

This song was composed and written by Tommie Connor. Originally recorded by Jimmy Boyd, the song reached number one on the Billboard charts in 1952. The song describes a scene, where a child creeps down from his bedroom to see his mother kissing "Santa Claus" (presumably his father in a Santa Claus costume) underneath the mistletoe.

 

This may be the Christmas song that was covered the most times in the history of Christmas music. The song was originally written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne on one of the hottest days in the July of 1945 in Hollywood. The song was released next year in the voice of Vaughn Monroe and became the number one on billboard. The song has been covered by greats like Elvis, Smokey Robinson and Frank Sinatra.

 

Home for the Holidays
For all those of you who are staying far away from your home, this song will make you long for your warm bed and the sweet smell of homemade cookies. If you are at home, you will just appreciate the fact much more and thank your stars. The song was released in 1954, to the music of Robert Allen. The lyrics of the song were written by Al Stillman. The song broke into the Billboard Top Ten at the time of release. The version you might like listening to is the one by Perry Como.