Dec. 13: Christmas CD 2007

As we do every year, Vic and I had a lot of fun choosing the songs for our Christmas CD over the past few months. Here is the final order, with a few comments.

1 - The Man With the Bag — Jane Monheit
2 - Santa Claus is Back in Town — Elvis Presley
3 - I Love the Winter Weather Medley — Tony Bennett
4 - Blue Christmas — Dean Martin
5 - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer — Jack Johnson. I love Jack Johnson, but I do not love that he says “reindeers” in this song. Shouldn’t he know better?
6 - Someday at Christmas — Stevie Wonder
7 - Winter Wonderland — Louis Armstrong
8 - Last Christmas — Darren Hayes. This guy is in Savage Garden. I love the part at the end when he sings “Guilty feet have got no rhythm, guilty feet have got no rhythm...” Quotes from Careless Whisper toooootally belong in a Christmas song, huh?
9 - Buon Natale (Means Merry Christmas to You) — Nat “King” Cole
10 - My Christmas Prayer — Bebe Winans & Rob Thomas. In four CDs, this is the first time we’ve ever had a re-run; we put this song on our first CD in 2004. But it’s so beautiful, and I thought it was worth hearing again. The past twelve months were tough for some people I care about, and I wanted to honor them a little this year. It is included here especially for Annalee, Mark, Eva, Cassie, Erika, Alec, Nelda, and all of the Knudsons.
11 - Frosty the Snowman — Bing Crosby. A Christmas CD without Bing Crosby? That’s un-possible!
12 - Step Into Christmas — Elton John
13 - All Alone on Christmas — Darlene Love
14 - It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year — Johnny Mathis
15 - Please Come Home for Christmas — The Eagles
16 - Santa Claus is Coming to Town — Lena Horne. I had never heard this arrangement and loved it immediately.
17 - Happy Xmas (War is Over) — John Lennon
18 - The Man With All the Toys — The Beach Boys
19 - O Holy Night — Al Green
20 - Sleigh Ride — The Carpenters. I grew up listening to The Carpenters, and until I met Kim (Felkley) Nelson, I never knew anyone who loved them as much as Kathy and I did. So nowadays when I hear The Carpenters I think of my sister AND my dear friend Kim. I try not to think about how Debi suggests I am insane for loving The Carpenters.
21 - Run Rudolph Run — Chuck Berry
22 - Happy Holiday — Peggy Lee
23 - Jingle Bells Cha Cha Cha — Pearl Bailey. I was torn on this song; I had a different arrangement by Frank Sinatra that I really liked too. But this was just too good to leave off this year. NEXT year you’ll hear Frank’s version.
24 - Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree — Brenda Lee
25 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas — Mel Tormé. Gotta love the Velvet Fog.
26 - Peace — Norah Jones

If I didn’t send you a CD and you’d like one, let me know. We made lots of extras this year and I’ll toss one in the mail to you right away.

Previous years’ playlists can be found here: 2004, 2005, 2006.