Since Thanksgiving my children have enjoyed listening to an endless stream of Christmas music on the Boston radio station Magic 106.7. I’ve been surprised that despite a 24/7 Christmas music format that the playlist of Magic 106.7 seems extremely limited. They do not play any overtly religious songs which is not surprising as they would want to appeal to the largest audience possible. And as Magic 106.7 has a pop “adult contemporary” radio format, I would not expect them to play any folk, traditional, or foreign language tracks either.
Nevertheless, there is a still a large body of popular Christmas music that they seem to ignore. Tune in for an hour, or even half-an-hour and you are certain to hear some rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” as well as Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.”
I decided I would use Rdio to make a playlist of Christmas songs to see how many I could get without repeating. I decided to set the following guidelines. I would only select “modern” Christmas and winter-themed songs, that is ones that were written to be recorded and sold to the public (roughly the 1930s to the present). I also chose the earliest recording of the song I could find as many have obviously been recorded numerous times by multiple artists. So far I have 105 songs, more than 5 1/2 hours of Christmas music without repeating a song, and this doesn’t even include modern interpretations of traditional Christmas carols from the 19th-century and earlier.
Check out the playlist on Rdio. If you use Rdio, feel free to add additional tracks, and if not please feel free to make suggestions in the comments on this post.
Songs that qualify for the playlist, but are not available through Rdio:
- “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl
- “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid
- “Three Kings” by Robbie O’Connell
- “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade
- “Christmas Time” by Bryan Adams
Songs that qualify for the playlist, but I cannot bear to listen to:
- “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney
- “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” by Elmo & Patsy
The complete playlist:
| Name | Artist |
| ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? | Louis Armstrong & The Commanders |
| (There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays (1954 Version) | Perry Como |
| 2000 Miles | Pretenders |
| A Child Is Born | Oscar Peterson |
| A Holly Jolly Christmas | Burl Ives |
| Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects | Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings |
| All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) | Spike Jones |
| Anderson: Sleigh Ride | The Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler * |
| Another Lonely Christmas | Prince |
| Auld Lang Syne | Guy Lombardo |
| Baby, It’s Cold Outside (78rpm Version) | Dinah Shore |
| Back Door Santa | Clarence Carter |
| Blue Christmas | Ernest Tubb |
| Boogie Woogie Santa Claus | Mabel Scott |
| Carol of the Drum | Trapp Family Singers |
| Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Darlene Love |
| Christmas Canon | Trans-Siberian Orchestra |
| Christmas In Heaven (Monty Python Sings) | Monty Python |
| Christmas in Hollis | RUN-DMC |
| Christmas in Killarney | Dennis Day |
| Christmas In New Orleans | Louis Armstrong |
| Christmas In The Trenches | John McCutcheon |
| Christmas Is | Run-D.M.C. |
| Christmas Island | The Andrews Sisters |
| Christmas Medley | The Swingle Singers |
| Christmas Rappin’ | Kurtis Blow |
| Christmas Song | Dave Matthews Band |
| Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal – Album Version) | Vince Guaraldi Trio |
| Christmas Will Soon Be Here | John Gaudet & The Laurels |
| Christmas Wrapping | The Waitresses |
| Do You Hear What I Hear? | The Harry Simeone Chorale |
| Dominick the Donkey | Lou Monte |
| Donde Esta Santa Claus? | Augie Rios |
| Father Christmas | The Kinks |
| Feliz Navidad | José Feliciano |
| Frosty the Snowman (78rpm Version) | Gene Autry |
| Gee Whiz, Its Christmas | Carla Thomas |
| Give Love On Christmas Day (Group A Cappella Version) | The Jackson 5 |
| Happy Holiday | Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby |
| Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (2010 Digital Remaster) | John Lennon |
| Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Judy Garland |
| Here Comes Santa Claus (Right down Santa Claus Lane) | Gene Autry |
| I Believe In Father Christmas (Album Version) | Emerson, Lake & Palmer |
| I Don’t Intend To Spend Christmas Without You | The Garlands |
| I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day | Fred Waring And His Pennsylvanians |
| I Just Can’t Wait Till Christmas | Teresa Brewer |
| I Pray On Christmas (Album Version) | Harry Connick, Jr. |
| I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | Jimmy Boyd |
| I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas | Gayla Peevey |
| I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday | Wizzard |
| I’ll Be Home For Christmas | Bing Crosby |
| I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm | Dick Powell |
| If It Doesn’t Snow On Christmas Day (Album Version) | Gene Autry |
| It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas | Perry Como |
| It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year | Andy Williams |
| Jingle Bell Rock | Bobby Helms |
| Just Like Christmas | Low |
| Last Christmas (Single Version) | Wham! |
| Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! | Vaughn Monroe |
| Little Saint Nick | The Beach Boys |
| Lord Of The Dance | The Christmas Revels |
| Lumberjack Christmas / No One Can Save You From Christmases Past | Sufjan Stevens |
| Marshmallow World | Dean Martin ** |
| Mary’s Boy Child (Remastered) | Harry Belafonte |
| Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) | Bing Crosby |
| Merry Christmas Baby | Charles Brown, Johnny Moore, Eddie Williams |
| Merry Christmas Everyone (Remastered) | Shakin’ Stevens |
| Merry Christmas from the Family | Robert Earl Keen |
| No More Christmas Blues | The Vacant Lots |
| Nuttin’ for Christmas | Art Mooney Orchestra |
| Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy (Medley) (2006 Digital Remaster) | Bing Crosby |
| Percy, The Puny Poinsettia (Album Version) | Elmo & Patsy |
| Please Come Home for Christmas | Charles Brown |
| River | Joni Mitchell |
| Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree | Brenda Lee |
| Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | Gene Autry |
| Run Rudolph Run | Chuck Berry |
| Santa Baby | Eartha Kitt |
| Santa Claus | The Fuzztones |
| Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto | James Brown |
| Santa Claus Is Coming to Town | Harry Reser & His Orchestra |
| Santa Claus Is Coming To Town | The Smothers Brothers |
| Silver Bells | Bob Hope |
| Sleigh Ride | Andrews Sisters * |
| Snoopy’s Christmas | The Royal Guardsmen |
| Someday At Christmas | Stevie Wonder |
| Step Into Christmas | Elton John |
| Suzy Snowflake | Rosemary Clooney |
| Suzy Snowflake | Rosemary Clooney |
| Swiss Christmas | The Smothers Brothers |
| The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) (1999 – Remaster) | Alvin and The Chipmunks |
| The Christians and The Pagans | Dar Williams |
| The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) | Nat King Cole Trio |
| The Closest I Can Get | Sunturns |
| The Secret Of Christmas | Ella Fitzgerald ** |
| The Shepherd’s Carol (vocal by Kip Ledger) | Charlene Lockwood |
| This Christmas | Donny Hathaway |
| Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights) | JD McPherson |
| We Need A Little Christmas | Angela Lansbury (And Cast) |
| What Christmas Means To Me | Stevie Wonder |
| White Christmas | Bing Crosby |
| Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas | The Staple Singers |
| Winter Song | Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson |
| Winter Wonderland (feat. Joey Nash) | Richard Himber and his Orchestra |
| Yes, There Is a Santa Claus | Betty Madigan |
| You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch | Thurl Ravenscroft |
Footnotes:
* The only song repeated in this playlist is “Sleigh Ride.” First there is the iconic orchestral rendition by The Boston Pops. The Andrews Sisters provided one of the early vocal recordings with the song’s lyrics.
** Bing Crosby is credited as the first person to record “Marshmallow World” and “The Secret of Christmas,” but as this playlist was already heavy with Crosby’s crooning, I chose the Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald versions of these songs respectively.
Panorama of the Mountains 