Tag: Christmas carols

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MUSIC IS THE SONG SUNG WITH FRIENDS

Posted on by Kim Smith

CHRISTMAS MUST BE TONIGHT

Posted on by Kim Smith

A sweet and quietly magical Christmas song, “Christmas Must Be Tonight” was written in 1977 by Robbie Robertson as a gift to his newborn son Sebastian. Just beautiful.

Illustration from The Christ Child by Maud and Miska Petersham

I’M GONNA LASSO SANTA CLAUS

Posted on by Kim Smith

FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

Known as “Little Miss Dynamite,” Brenda Lee was only nine years old when she recorded “I’m Gonna Lasso Santa Claus.” I’ve been singing this to Charlotte, and she Loves it!

 

In 2002, Brenda Lee was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

SIX DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS CAROL COUNTDOWN

Posted on by Kim Smith

Penned in 1954 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song” was written during a sweltering hot summer in an effort to keep cool! Read more here.

SEVEN DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS CAROL COUNTDOWN

Posted on by Kim Smith

2018 Marks the 200th Year Anniversary of Silent Night

“Silent Night,” arguably one of the most popular and beloved of Christmas carols, was written by a young priest, Father Joseph Mohr. He brought the lyrics to his town’s local schoolmaster and organist Xaver Franz Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve Mass at his parish church in Obendorf, Austria. The carol was first performed in 1818.

With over 30 million in sales, Bing Crosby’s “Silent Night” is the third best selling single of all time, after Crosby’s “White Christmas” (50 million) and Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” (33 million).

Read more here.

Chapel at Obendorf, Austria

TEN DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS CAROL COUNTDOWN WITH “YOU AND ME”

Posted on by Kim Smith

“You and Me” isn’t a Christmas carol but I include the song with my Christmas playlist each year because it’s so sweet and because of the story of how this demo by an unknown soul group that was recorded in 1970 became popular today–so much so that you may recognize the song from the movie Blue Valentine and an Oreo cookie commercial.

The forgotten demo of “You and Me,” recorded by Penny (Nannie Sharpe) and the Quarters (Penny’s three brothers), was discovered at a yard sale by a record collector who later gave the track to the Chicago reissue label Numero Group. Forty years after the demo was made, Ryan Gosling heard the song and recommended it to the director for the film Blue Valentine. Even at the time of the release of the film, the identity of Penny and the backup singers had yet to be discovered.

The sweetly irrepressible song has taken on a life of its own since its rediscovery and you can read the full story here, here and here.

TWELVE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS CAROL COUNTDOWN

Posted on by Kim Smith

It’s hard to believe Christmas is only twelve days away. One of my favorite lines in the Tom Petty song “It’s Christmas All over Again” is “I hope Mama gets her shopping done.” Me, too, I hope I get all my shopping, and cooking, and making done, and I hope you do, too!

Taking requests for our Christmas Carol Countdown. Leave your suggestion in the comments or email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Thank you!

Super Christmas gift idea for your Tom Petty fan or guitar playing honey–
An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty’s songwriting.