Top Christmas Songs of All Time

 

By Mark Pukalo

Here's my work on the top 20 Christmas songs of all time. There are so many great versions to some of these songs, but I went with what I thought was best for each. Merry Christmas everyone!

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Chrissie Hynde with the Pretenders - Chrissie's voice perfectly fits this song that was unveiled first by Judy Garland in the 1944 musical "Meet Me in St. Louis."

2. Please Come Home for Christmas, The Eagles - Blues singer and pianist Charles Brown wrote the song in 1960, but no one sang it better than Don Henley.

3. Happy Xmas (War is Over), John Lennon - John and Yoko wrote it as a protest song against the Vietnam War, but it has since fit in smoothly on Christmas.

4. River, Joni Mitchell - The Canadian great never released this beautiful sad song as a single, but apparently it has been recorded by other artists second most among her tunes. When I hear this song now, I always think of the long winding river from the airport to downtown Ottawa I drove back in the 90s. For miles and miles, I saw people skating "away."

5. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Bruce Springsteen - Clarence's Ho Hos put the cap on this classic live tune from the Boss. "Everybody out there been good or what? Oh, that's not many, that's not many, you people in trouble out here."

6. Feliz Navidad, Jose Feliciano - The Puerto Rican star wrote this simple song with a Spanish greeting in 1970. Jose wished a Merry Christmas from "the bottom of my heart."

7. The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole - Robert Wells and Mel Torme wrote the song in 1945 and no one performed it better than the great singer and jazz pianist.

8. Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy, Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The dynamic duo sang the two songs together on Bing's Christmas special in 1977, and the single made it to No. 3 in the UK.

9. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg - This one tends to be forgotten by many, but it is a beautiful song about former lovers meeting by chance years later on Christmas Eve before the "snow turns into rain."

10. Little Saint Nick, The Beach Boys - Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote this fun song, released it as a single in December of 1963, and it went all the way to No. 3.

11. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

12. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Jackson 5

13. Let it Snow - Frank Sinatra

14. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey

15. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

16. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - Alvin & the Chipmunks

17. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2

18. Jingle Bell Rock - Hall & Oates

19. Last Christmas - Emilia Clarke/Wham (I like Queen Daenerys' version best)

20. Do They Know it's Christmas? - Bandaid

Others Considered

Santa Baby - MaDonna

Christmas Pics - Barenaked Ladies

Blue Christmas - Elvis Pressley

Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen

I'll Be Home for Christmas - Aimee Mann

Winter Wonderland - Michael Bolton

Run Run Rudolph - Chuck Berry

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

The Very Best of the Talking Heads

 

By Mark Pukalo

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band was formed in 1975 and put out eight albums in just over 10 years, creating a new wave sound that mixed several forms of music. They were certainly one of a kind while lead singer David Byrne's Broadway show and the movie version "David Byrne's American Utopia" features some of their best songs. Here's my list, although I have to say after the top 12 many tunes are about even.

1. Once in a Lifetime - Same as it ever was. A great tune. The lyrics and vocals were said to be inspired by preachers doing sermons.

2. This Must be the Place - Byrne said this was rare love song he wrote and it sounded great in the movie "Wall Street." It is one of the highlights "American Utopia" as well.

3. Burning Down the House - The Heads' only top 10 single on the US Billboard chart. Inspired by Parliament Funkadelic. 

4. Road to Nowhere - The group's lone top 10 hit in the UK. Byrne wrote it as a "joyful look at doom."

5. And She Was - The brilliant tune is said to be basically about a woman with the power to levitate above everyone and the man who loves her, wanting her to be normal. 

6. Life During Wartime - A song written apparently about "a post-apocalyptic landscape" with a punk/funk feel.

7. Take Me to the River - The Heads' cover of a song written and performed by the Reverend Al Green. The version by Green was ranked 117th by Rolling Stone magazine among the top 500 songs of all time.

8. Wild Wild Life - Ranked second among its singles on the Billboard chart, making it to No. 25. It won Best Group Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.

9. Stay Up Late - Bouncy song about a cute little baby from the 1985 album "Little Creatures."

10. (Nothing but) Flowers - From the band's final album "Naked." Johnny Marr from The Smiths plays guitar on the song. Used to open Kevin Smith's film "Clerks 2."

11. The Lady Don't Mind

12. Psycho Killer

13. Slippery People

14. I Zimbra

15. Making Flippy Floppy

16. Blind

17. Girlfriend is Better

18. Don't Worry About the Government

19. Pulled Up

20. No Compassion

Others Considered

Cross-eyed and Painless

The Big Country

Houses in Motion

Born Under Punches

Found a Job

Television Man

Radio Head

Love > Building on Fire

Heaven

Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town

Mr. Jones

The Good Thing

Cities

The Book I Read

The Great Curve