The Chipmunk Song {Christmas Don’t Be Late} was written for the Chipmunks, a cartoon band, consisting of Alvin, Simon and Theodore. In the recording, Dave ask the Chipmunks if they’re ready to sing and they sing about what they want for Christmas. Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. who starred on the cartoon as Dave Seville, wrote and Read More
Christmas Songs: Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer
Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer is a novelty song originally performed in 1979 by the husband and wife duo, Elmo and Patsy Trigg Shropshire. The couple released a music video in the mid-1980s. The song was written by Randy Brooks. He stated he played the song for the couple, and then recorded it Read More
Christmas Songs: You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch is based on the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas and written for the 1966 cartoon special based on the book. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel wrote the lyrics, while the music was composed by Albert Hague. The song was performed on the special by Thurl Ravenscroft. The Read More
Christmas Songs: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Santa Claus is Coming to Town is a Christmas song written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known version of the song dates back to 1934 and became an instant hit. This recording was by Harry Reser and his band. “Cantor’s original performance, broadcast at the height of the Great Depression, included Read More
Sleigh Ride
Sleigh Ride leads one to things of curling up together in a sleigh to trapeze through the snow. The song was composed by Leroy Anderson as a light orchestra standard. The original idea came to him during a heat wave in June 1946. He worked on the song for over a year before finishing in Read More
We wish you a merry little Christmas
We wish you a merry little Christmas is a popular English carol from the West Country or south west area of England. The early history of the carol is unknown and not found in 19th and 20th Century book of carols. However historians describe the song as “English traditional” and “the remnant of an envoie Read More
Deck the Halls
Deck the Halls is a traditional Christmas, yuletide, and New Years’ carol. The melody is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century. It belongs to a winter carol, “Nos Galan”, which means New Years celebration or gift. The tune is an old Welsh air, which was first found in a musical manuscript by Welsh harpist Read More
Sussex Carol
The Sussex Carol is a popular Christmas Carol in the United Kingdom. The song is often known by its first line “On Christmas night all Christians sing“. Luke Wadding, a 17th Century Irish Bishop, first published the song in the 1684 Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs. It is unclear and unknown whether Wadding Read More
The Holly and the Ivy
The Holly and the Ivy is a traditional British folk Christmas carol. The song was published during the early 19th Century. William Hone mentioned the work in his 1823 Ancient Mysteries Described. Holly is found throughout Europe and commonly referenced at Christmastime, often as Christ’s thorn. Since medieval times the plant has been a symbol Read More
Ye Jacobites by Name
Ye Jacobites by Name is a traditional Scottish folk song dating back to the Jacobite risings {1688-1746}. The original version attacked the Jacobites from the contemporaneous Whig view point. However, around 1791 Scottish poet Robert Burns rewrote the lyrics providing a more general, anti-war, anti-Jacobite outlook. Burns version was published in 1793 of James Johnson’s Read More