Tag Archives: Bob Wells

Favorite Christmas Music

‘Twas two days after Christmas, and all through the land

Holiday music still played, all joyful, though bland.

If you know me well, you probably know I don’t like Christmas music. Maybe more than any other genre of pop music, our experiences and traditions shape what songs we put on once Black Friday starts. For me, a few years working in retail – with its crazed, often rude customers and non-stop cheery Christmas playlist – was enough to turn me off most of it. But I’m not being entirely truthful when I say I hate Christmas music. There are a few songs I need to listen to every year before it really feels like Christmas. Here they are, in no particular order.

Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Christmastime Is Here”

I listen to the whole soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas a few times every holiday season, and though “Skating” is a runner-up, “Christmastime Is Here” is my favorite. Like most people, I grew up on the Peanuts holiday specials, and Vince Guaraldi’s melancholy-tinged soundtrack grants the music an extra bit of nostalgia. What I love best about “Christmastime Is Here” is its unusual melody, which descends through a major triad. The song features a lot of major 7 chords (in this case, “major-major” seventh chords), which give you the feeling of wanting to linger. It’s different from most Christmas carols, which have more more predictable chords and ascending melodies: think of the first few notes of the choruses of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” or “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”.

Leroy Anderson, “Sleigh Ride”

When I was in college, the wind symphony played “Sleigh Ride” every year in the holiday concert. The one year that it didn’t show up on the program, a petition circulated throughout the band, but we were unsuccessful at getting it in the concert. I think every wind band person loves “Sleigh Ride” because it’s a fun, well-written song, and it has something for everyone. The percussion parts are great, of course (like the best whip part in history, first appearing here at 1:07), but everyone envies the low brass when the song slips inexplicably – and wonderfully – into a swing feel for one refrain (starting around 1:54). And of course, there’s the amusing horse whinny played by the trumpet at the end.

Bob Wells and Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song”

I have memories of MTV doing a Christmas special on a sunny beach every year, and for some reason the perennially-cool Mel Tormé was always there with a digital keyboard to perform “The Christmas Song”. I love the laid-back nature of this one. I recently learned that Wells and Tormé wrote this one on a very hot summer day. Wells had jotted down some phrases like “Folks dressed up like eskimos” in an attempt to cool himself off. He and Tormé made it into a hit song in less than an hour.

Stevie Wonder, “What Christmas Means To Me”

This is one of the few songs I actually enjoyed from my days working in retail. I worked at Old Navy for a little while, and this was on the regular Christmas mix (along with some good Brian Setzer covers). Though it will always remind me of Polar Fleece, I like this one.

Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”

Don’t judge. At least it gives me an excuse to link you to this amazingness. (h/t Tenley)