The Christmas Thread

[java]

Please feel free to share whatever you like, whatever is in your heart, whatever your passion is this time of year, whatever burdens your heart. Stories, photos, memes, music. All are welcomed. I'll start.

Alabama, "Angels Among Us". Track #11 from the album, "Cheap Seats", Oct 1993. Released as a Christmas single in Dec 1993.

[java]

[java]

Written in 1979 and made famous by Barbara Mandrell in 1986 and Barbara Streisand in 2002. I also like the Vikki Carr version from 2008.

Barbara Mandrell, "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)". Track #7 from the album, "Christmas at Our House", 1986.


Streisand. 


Carr.

[nathanfan1]

What an EXCELLENT idea, Java!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for starting this thread so we have many days to share fun and inspiration with each other. I'll have to dig up a few of my favorites to contribute too, but I love that you started with Alabama. Not too many artists do Christmas better than they have.

[java]

Celtic Woman, "O Come All Ye Faithful". Track #9 from the album, "Celtic Woman: A Celtic Christmas" (2011).

O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant
Oh come ye O come ye to Bethlehem;
come and behold him born the King of angels;

CHORUS:
O COME LET US ADORE HIM
O COME LET US ADORE HIM
O COME LET US ADORE HIM
CHRIST THE LORD

God of God light of light
lo he abhors not the virgin's womb;
very God begotten not created:

CHORUS

Sing choirs of angels sing in exultation
sing all ye citizens of heaven above;
glory to God in the highest:

CHORUS

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:

CHORUS

[1Lincoln40]

Hi everyone

Java, I love the Castle snow picture. If only.... sigh.

B.x

[motowncf]

My all-time favorite Christmas special.....

[java]

Sara Bareilles, "Love is Christmas". Released as a single in 2011.


"Rick & Kate 'Love is Christmas' Castle" by LovingCastle, Dec 18, 2012.

[java]

The PianoGuys, "Angels We Have Heard on High". Track #1 from the album, "A Family Christmas" (2013).


The original French version is called 'Les Anges dans nos campagnes" (angels in our countryside) per wiki.

[java]

Jim Brickman featuring Jane Krakowski (Jenna Maloney on NBC's "30 Rock"). The original song, "You", was track #12 from the album, "Love Songs and Lullabies" released in 2002. A Christmas version, "You (Holiday Version)", was also recorded and released as a free mp3 download from Jim's website but is no longer available.


The original, "You", from the concert DVD.

[java]

Cyndi Lauper, "December Child". Track #9 from the album, "Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life" (1998).

[ProudTVJunkie]

Dec 3, 2015 20:53:20 GMT -5 motowncf said:

My all-time favorite Christmas special.....


View Attachment

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Yes! I think we've watched this special at least five times this week already. My daughter can't get enough of it. Thankfully it's also one of my favorites too.

[java]

Originally a love song about the dependability of true and faithful fir trees in contrast to an unfaithful lover, the song later evolved into a Christmas carol.

In the 60's, the Peanuts strip became world famous and a documentary, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", was created. Vince Guaraldi was approached to perform the music. The networks were not interested but in 1965 Coca-Cola commissioned the TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and Guaraldi was asked to return.

The Vince Guaraldi Trio, "O Tannenbaum". Track #1 from the LP, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965).


For contrast, here's the song from the #1 Christmas album of 2009. Andrea Bocelli, "O Tannenbaum". Track #8 from the album, "My Christmas" (2009).

[java]

The Carpenters, "Merry Christmas, Darling". A little bit of explaining is in order from this LINK. Unfortunately, the audio is subpar but I'll quote the description.

Richard Carpenter composed the music for this song in 1966 when he was 19 years old. Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics twenty years earlier, in 1946, when he also was only 19 years old. The song Pooler had written was to be a Christmas gift for his girlriend, whom he was missing while being away from her during a visit with his parents at Christmas time. However, their relationship ended before he could present it to her.

Twenty years later, Pooler was the choir director at California State University in Long Beach, when both Karen and Richard Carpenter were members of the choir. Richard and Karen were performing locally and had tired of playing the usual Christmas fare. Richard asked Pooler, their favorite professor, if he had any ideas for different Christmas songs.

Pooler remembered the Christmas song he had written many years before and mentioned it to Richard, adding that he didn't think much of the melody anymore. Richard said he would try his hand at writing new music for the lyrics. Within about 15 minutes he was finished creating a song, written by two teenagers who were a generation apart, that was destined to become a Christmas classic.

The song was first released as a single (yes, a 45) on November 20,1970, and earned gold record status. This song sparked the idea of a Christmas album by The Carpenters, and on October 13, 1978, "Christmas Portrait" was released with this newly recorded version of the song. Karen re-recorded her vocals for the album version as she felt that she could give the vocals a more mature treatment. This newly recorded version was presented on their TV Christmas special in 1978, as seen here, and became a hit all over again.

Here's the recording from the 45 released in 1970 sung by a 20(?) year old Karen Carpenter.


Here's the 1978 recording. The video is from the 1978 Christmas special.

[java]

Originally penned as "Tinkle Bells" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans until Livingston's first wife pointed out the double meaning, "Silver Bells" was performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell while filming the movie, "Lemon Drop Kid", in July-August of 1950, set for release in March 1951. In October 1950, Bing Crosby and Carol Richards released the first recording for Decca Records.

For our purposes, "Silver Bells" is track #9 on the CD, "White Christmas", 1986/1987, performed by Crosby and Richards in the original mono recording. There does exist a "stereo" version but many consider it inferior due to the reverberations from manipulating the original. A new LP (vinyl) was released in 2014 with the original album cover, from 1955 I think, and title, "Merry Christmas", and can be found on Amazon.