Although this song may not be considered a “traditional” Christmas song, I still feel it IS a Christmas song because it does mention Christmas Eve. I consider it one of my faves because of its bittersweet story. The story just so happens to be true.

Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg wrote this and it was released as a single in 1980. It tells the story of a man who runs into his old flame at a grocery store on Christmas Eve and they reminisce about old times over a few beers in her car.

As the story goes, in 1975 Fogelberg had returned home to Peoria, IL to visit family at Christmas. While there he went to a store and ran into his old high school girlfriend Jill Anderson. The two did sit in her car and split a six pack while chatting for two hours.

Imagine Jill’s surprise five years later when she hears “Same Old Lang Syne” on the radio at Christmas. She has said in interviews that she is so glad to have known Dan Fogelberg.

My favorite line from the song is

“She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said, “The audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell”

Which is something I’m sure more than one musician has felt over time.

If anything I feel this song doesn’t get nearly it’s due at Christmas. It really isn’t played as often as it should be.

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and along with it, the opening song “Christmas Time Is Here”.

The song, written by Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson in 1965 was originally written as an instrumental but Mendelson decided it needed lyrics. Add in the children’s choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael and you have yourself a standard Christmas hit.

Why I love it: I’m a huge Peanuts fan, especially Snoopy. I have the soundtrack and listen to it even when it isn’t Christmas. Shit, I watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” even when it isn’t Christmas. And the music makes me happy. It’s jazzy. It’s Christmasy. It’s a great combination.

We all know “River” was written and originally sung by Canadian icon Joni Mitchell in 1971.

But do you know about my favorite version of this song sung by Robert Downey, Jr. in 2000? Yes, Iron Man can sing. And he performs this song so well.

Downey performed the song while a cast member on the hit TV show “Ally McBeal”. His version appears on the “Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas” soundtrack.

So why is this my favorite version? Well, it’s Robert Downey, Jr. A man who has overcome so much in his 59 years and has proven time and time again how talented he is, not just in acting but in singing. This song isn’t the only music Downey has ever recorded. There’s many more. Do yourself a favor and scan Spotify or any music streaming service for his tunes. You won’t be disappointed.

All it took was a heat wave in July 1946 for composer Leroy Anderson to come up with the song “Sleigh Ride”. Then BOOM! You have Arthur Fiedler’s Boston Pops first performing it on May 4, 1948. And it’s all fully enjoyable from there.

A few years later in 1950 Mitchell Parish came up with the great idea of adding lyrics and suddenly we were enjoying coffee and pumpkin pie at Farmer Gray’s birthday party. You know, it’s nearly like a picture print by Currier and Ives. Which is one of the things I love about it the most. You can close your eyes and listen to this piece and picture yourself on a sleigh ride, then stopping to have fun and warm up at an old farmhouse. It’s so Christmasy!

Fun facts about this song: ASCAP named it the most popular piece of music in the U.S. between 2009 and 2012 based on performance data from over 2,500 radio stations. Anderson’s recording remains the most popular instrumental version, while Johnny Mathis‘s has become the most popular vocal version.

Yes, the Leroy Anderson version of this song is my favorite but my second favorite is Bob Rivers’ “Flu Ride”.

I’ll also add that it’s origination is entirely based in Massachusetts: Anderson was born in Cambridge, MA and the song was first performed by the Boston Pops. Yeah! Another feather in our Masscaps!

Although the song “Blue Christmas” has been recorded by everyone from Billy Idol to Porky Pig, the best version in my opinion is by Elvis.

The song was written in 1948 by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson and was first recorded by Dove O’Dell. Elvis really put it on the map when he recorded it in 1957.

What I like most about it is that Elvis doesn’t sing it like it’s a sad song, he sings it with soul and style.