The Ten Best Christmas Songs of All Time

Having played Scrooge with my choices for the five worst Christmas songs of all time, I now present (no pun intended) my choices for the ten best Christmas songs of all time. And because it's Christmas Eve and I don't want to spend all night typing this thing when I could actually be listening to any of these songs, I'll keep my comments brief. My choices are in more or less chronological order. So here they are:

"White Christmas" as recorded by the Drifters. Bing Crosby's version has a lot of heart, but the Drifters, with Clyde McPhatter delivering a transcendent falsetto, gave the song a lot of soul.

"Run Run Rudolph," Chuck Berry. The crispness of Berry's guitar matches the deep, even snow on the ground, and his lyrics are as acerbic as cranberry sauce.

"Mistletoe and Holly," Frank Sinatra. At times traditional ("Tasty pheasants, Christmas presents, countrysides covered with snow") and humorous ("Overeating, merry greetings from relatives you don't know"), it's a cool and clever pop song only Ol' Blue Eyes could have recorded.

"Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)" as recorded by Elvis Presley. Elvis was deeply religious, and he loved Christmas, so he was very much in his element with this song, perhaps the only song that combined the secular with the sacred ("Santa Claus knows we're all God's children / That makes everything right").

"Little Saint Nick," the Beach Boys. It took a group obsessed with cars as much as this one to explain Santa's love affair with the nine-reindeer-power sleigh. With descriptions such as "candy apple red" with "a four-stick speed," it makes us more appreciative of what cool runners Santa's got.

"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Combining Lennon's penchant for snappy slogans and verse and Phil Spector's magical production - with a little help from their friends, the Harlem Community Choir - John and Yoko's solemn prayer for peace is so perfect that to cover it would be foolhardy. Someone forgot to mention that to the many people who have attempted to do so.

"It Doesn't Have To Be That Way," Jim Croce. "Blue Christmas" with a hopeful ending. A subtle, finely crafted ballad with honest and detailed descriptions of Christmas celebrations, it reminds us of how Croce's talents were beginning to bloom before his fatal 1973 plane crash.

"Step Into Christmas," Elton John. This is a fun, cheery number in which you can almost see the snow falling, as Elton's lyricist Bernie Taupin once said. Released near the end of 1973, the song thanks Elton's fans for giving him such a wonderful year (a year in which he enjoyed several hit singles and released the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road double album), and the success this record has had keeps returning his gratitude.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Who'd Be a Turkey At Christmas," Elton John. The B-side of "Step Into Christmas, it mixes Monty Python humor with that of the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band as a drunken Elton finds himself in the company of Father Christmas himself. And all he sees is red.

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" as recorded by John Mellencamp. A precious song is turned into something that cooks like turkey and is as tasty as pumpkin pie with this heavy rave-up arrangement. Kenny Aronoff re-asserts his place as the best drummer in Midwestern rock with his muscular backbeat.

I could expand this list to work in anything recorded by Bruce Springsteen and Charles Brown - among others - but I don't want waste anyone's time. :-) I know you have better things to do tonight than read this.

Merry Christmas. I hope you get a chance to hear all of your favorite Christmas songs.