Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Tuesday Top Ten: Ultimate Holiday Party Playlist

Now that we have fallen face first into December and have only three weekends until Jesus's birthday, the holiday party season is upon us.

In addition to providing you with insight on the beers you should be bringing to, or drinking at, holiday parties, I am happy to present this year's edition of my annual Ultimate Holiday Party Playlist, which will provide the soundtrack for the grooviest of holiday parties.  Yes, the grooviest.

Like I mentioned last year and the year before, the playlist is geared towards adult parties where people will not want to fall asleep (at least not without the help of alcohol), so the list does not contain some slower holiday classics like Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song," Bing Crosby's version of "White Christmas," or any of the many versions of "Baby, It's Cold Outside."  If you want your playlist to conjure in your guests images of people fire-roasting nuts that no one really eats anymore, a man beating his children with a sack of sweet Valencia oranges, or a man slipping a girl a mickey so she won't leave his apartment, then by all means, add those songs to your playlist.

Also, my list does not contain songs geared towards children, like "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" or "Nuttin' For Christmas."  If you are going to have a holiday party with children who are enamored with the thought of an elderly woman being trampled to death by nine 400-pound hooved animals or who hate snitches, then by all means, add those songs to your playlist.

What my list does contain is 44 holiday-themed songs from different genres and time periods that will make your holiday party one to remember.  Or not remember if you make it a "Baby, It's Cold Outside"-themed party.

For your convenience, here is a list of the songs on the embedded widget below, with my honorable mention in alphabetical order and my top ten in awesomeness order.


Honorable mention (in alphabetical order by song title):
"Back Door Santa" by Clarence Carter
"The Bells of St. Mary" by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
"Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley
"The Chipmunk Song (Please Christmas Don't Be Late)" by The Chipmunks
"Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
"Christmas In Hollis" by Run-D.M.C.
"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" by The Darkness
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid
"(Everybody's Waiting For) The Man With the Bag" by Kay Starr
"Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday" by William Bell
"Frosty the Snowman" by The Ronettes
"Here Comes Santa Claus" by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by The Jackson 5
"Jingle Bells" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
"Last Christmas" by Wham!
"Little Saint Nick" by The Beach Boys
"Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby
"Merry Christmas Baby" by Lou Rawls
"Merry Christmas, Baby" by The Beach Boys
"A Party for Santa Claus" by Lord Nelson
"Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" by Bing Crosby and David Bowie
"Please Come Home For Christmas" by Charles Brown
"Rock and Roll Christmas" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers
"Rock-a-Billy Christmas" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by The Crystals
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by The Temptations
"Run Rudolph Run" by Lemmy Kilmister (my daughters' favorite Christmas song, by the way)
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" by The Crystals
"Santa's Beard" by The Beach Boys
"White Christmas" by Darlene Love
"White Christmas" by The Drifters
"White Christmas" by Otis Redding (my favorite version of "White Christmas")
"Winter Wonderland" by Darlene Love
"'Zat You Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong & The Commanders

10. "Jingle Bells" by Wayne Newton
9.  "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms
8. "What Christmas Means to Me" by Stevie Wonder
7. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee
6. "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry
5. "The Chanukah Song" by Adam Sandler
4. "Sleigh Ride" by The Ronette
3. "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey
2. "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" by Bruce Springsteen
1. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love
Ultimate Holiday Playlist by GMYH on Grooveshark

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