Twelve Days of Christmas Songs (Day 3)

Hold on!  You placed Bing Crosby's White Christmas at #10??  How did you find nine other songs to place ahead of this most classic of Christmas songs?  

Well, I guess you'll just have to keep checking back to see which ones they are!

As I began choosing the songs to compile these countdowns (the vocal one in particular), I discovered how varied the songs were that I chose: from the artists, to the age of the song, to the nostalgic value.  The task of finding 12 classic Christmas songs for my countdowns - songs that everyone knows and grew up with - would be a piece of cake.  But that was never the intent of these countdowns. What was the intent and what made the compilation of these 12 songs difficult, was deciding what 12 were my favorite and furthermore how to rank them on the list.

Personally, I think Bing Crosby is one of if not THE most notable Christmas singers of all time, and White Christmas his most famous Christmas song.  While that was my preconceived opinion when I started my lists, I also found that it is factual, when you look at records sales, repeated renditions, radio airtime, and other similar statistics.  But even with all that going for this song, the top spot I could give it was #10.  The other nine songs above it on the list are simply songs that I find more enjoyable listening to or that mean more to me.  I know I have used the root-word "nostalgia" many times already in these first three days, but that word has much to do with countdowns like these (Christmas/musical).  My exposure to this song during childhood, or otherwise, was limited and not as sentimental, compared to the remaining nine songs.

I suppose the explanation I give for why I chose this and other songs could end up being a broken record by the time these countdowns are finished.  That is, if I stop every time to "defend" the songs I've chosen for these countdowns.  And so that I don't keep giving long-winded explanations for why I did or didn't include a particular song on the list, this will be the last time I give a long, "defensive" description for a song.  The songs are purely what I enjoy the most, and that's all.  But since you took the time to read this and visit my countdowns, I wanted to provide an sufficient explanation, one last time, for why I chose the songs I did.

Bing Crosby - White Christmas

Scene from Holiday Inn (1942), with the first big screen performance of White Christmas.

Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (vocal)
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10- Bing Crosby  - White Christmas
11- Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
12- Celine Dion - Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

Charles Schultz's A Charlie Brown Christmas was a movie most of us grew up with.  First aired on CBS back in 1965, this annual TV special has been a childhood Christmas staple since my parents were kids.  If yesterday's The Christmas Song would be Stacie's favorite (vocal) song, Christmastime Is Here (the movie's main title) would likely be her favorite instrumental song.  Her and her sister, Jennie, send each other texts/emails/messages every December when the show is airing.  The tradition of sending messages to each other today is as much a tradition as was watching the show as children.  I have heard about all their favorite parts and experienced their hysterical laughter as they describe those parts of the show.  I like the movie more for that reason than I do simply from my own memories of watching the show as a child.  Either way, this song is from one of the all-time classic Christmas movies and one that was an easy choice to include in my instrumental countdown.

I have included the full instrumental version below (1st video) as well as the opening 2 minutes of the movie (2nd video), which includes the shorter, vocal version of the song.  The second video is included purely for Stacie and Jennie's entertainment. :)

Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (instrumental)

Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (vocal)

 Jesse's top 12 favorite Christmas songs (instrumental)
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10- Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
11- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve
12- Boston Pops Orchestra - Sleigh Ride

Twelve Days of Christmas Songs