A very long time ago, radio stations put occasional Christmas records into the rotation in December, but that’s a thing of the past. A few stations began playing Christmas music full time on some weekends, and their ratings soared (this is long before streaming made it easy to hear whatever you wanted). It wasn’t too long before we started getting wall to wall Christmas music on some stations as soon as Thanksgiving, and this year it started up as soon as the Halloween parties ended. SiriusXM radio even has Christmas music on at least one channel all year long.
While the expansion of Christmas music may sound like a good idea, that isn’t quite what we got. Instead of stations playing hundreds of different Christmas records, we get what seems to be the same ten songs by various artists over and over and over. And over.
Sure, it’s nice to hear George Michael sing Last Christmas again (even though the label says “Wham”), but a half hour later we hear the song “performed” by the Glee crowd or Ariana Grande or even Taylor Swift. Then here comes Little Drummer Boy by Joan Jett or Justin Bieber or the Temptations or somebody else at least once per hour. Lots of cover versions of the Christmas Song (“Chestnuts Roasting”), White Christmas, Blue Christmas, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, and maybe even a few politically incorrect versions of Baby It’s Cold Outside (and, sadly, a few newer versions that have new lyrics that are politically correct — sigh). I can barely stand to listen for even an hour thanks to the endless repetition.
It didn’t take long to make up a list of songs that have been “misplaced” and no longer seem to be on the air. The hard part was winnowing down the list to a manageable number. In no particular order, here are a few songs that might help you remember a Christmas past:
Whatever Happened To Christmas by Frank Sinatra. This 1969 song was on the Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas album. The actual surprise is that Jimmy Webb wrote the song.
Christmas Mem’ries by Rosemary Clooney. Rosemary sang and danced her way through the movie White Christmas in 1954 (which was a remake of 1942’s Holiday Inn, renamed because of the popularity of Bing Crosby’s biggest record). Alan and Marilyn Bergman wrote this version of memories of the past, and Don Costa put it to music by 1975.
This Time of the Year by Brook Benton. A 1959 television performance of Brook lip-syncing the song, one of the 67 records that Brook got onto the Hot 100 pop charts.
Old Toy Trains by Roger Miller. While he may have continued climbing the Country charts for a few more decades, this record came near the end of Roger’s success on the pop charts.
Christmas Night In Harlem by Louis Armstrong. At about the midpoint of his career, Louis recorded this Christmas song in 1955. The original hit version of the song was by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra in 1934, but that version contains some lyrics that aren’t exactly acceptable in these modern times.
Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells by Vaughn Monroe. From 1945 to 1952 Vaughn usually had 4 or 5 hit records each year. The only exception was 1950, the year he released this Christmas song. Perhaps the present Santa left under his tree was the three top ten records he had in the next five months!
It’s Gonna Be a Lonely Christmas by The Orioles. This 1948 release by one of the first doo-wop groups shows much of the promise that bloomed later in their career (you are most likely familiar with their biggest hit, Crying in the Chapel, which Elvis later covered).
The Marvelous Toy by the Chad Mitchell Trio. Tom Paxton wrote and recorded the song. He briefly joined up as a member of the group, but the group dropped him when his voice apparently didn’t blend in well enough. Other members of the group also included Harry Belafonte and John Denver, but Chad Mitchell, Mike Kobluk, and Joe Frazier were in the group for this single in 1963. Many other versions have been recorded since then, but the radio ignores them.
Merry Christmas, Baby by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. This is the original 1947 version of the song that features vocals by Charles Brown. The 1962 version that Charles recorded as a solo record didn’t get much traction, but the two different versions of the record recorded the next two years and a later third version went into heavy rotation at Christmas and all the modern covers followed that last version.
The River by Joni Mitchell. Few Christmas songs get released in June, but this entry was on the album Blue, which Joni released that month in 1971. Many consider that album her best. It appears Joni wrote The River about her breakup with Graham Nash (of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, and Nash) and it is one of the saddest of the Christmas songs. In 2019, Elle Goulding released her version of the song and it topped the charts in the UK.
A 5 Pound Box of Money by Pearl Bailey. I really don’t need to hear Santa Baby once an hour by Ertha Kitt or Madonna or Glee or Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift or… hmm, isn’t this list starting to sound familiar? Here’s a similar plea from Pearl Bailey from 1959 that concentrates on one simple gift request.
A Howdy Doody Christmas by The Fontane Sisters and Howdy Doody. Once upon a time I got to sit in the Peanut Gallery, so how can I ignore Howdy Doody’s 1957 entry into the Christmas Hall of Fame?
May Every Day Be Christmas by Louis Jordan. If we stop the radio from playing Baby It’s Cold Outside by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, perhaps the record Louis cut two years later can gain some traction.
Santa’s Beard by the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys Christmas Album in 1964 contained their most played Christmas song, the Little Saint Nick and a stack of covers of classic Christmas tunes. This song about searching for the real Santa Claus seems all but forgotten.
It took some time to embed all the videos I had listed last year, and I also had to find a replacement for one video that got taken down, so I didn’t make a new list for this year… Next year for sure!
In the meantime, Merry Christmas, Everybody, Everywhere!
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What Was Left In 
Thank you for posting this! Since some stores and stations began playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, we’re already sick of “the standards.”
(Please keep searching, and posting! We found a little song called ‘Take Jesus Shopping’ that cheers us up as much as Pearl Bailey’s ‘Five Pound Box Of Money’ – which we all could use this year!)
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