The Pen in Hand Guide to Spinning Classic Christmas Vinyl

By Geoff Carter

(Originally posted in December 2019)

While the Couch Potato will always be slavishly devoted to his TV home entertainment center, this week he will be putting down the universal remote in order to turn his focus solely on another entertainment form—music. Part of the reason for this departure from typical spud behavior is the Christmas season. This time of year, music takes on a special religious and cultural connotation, becoming greater than itself. It can be sacred, joyous, melancholy, or just plain goofy (see The Chipmunks), and is tailored to the relevance of each and every culture. Most of our best Christmas memories are tied to music.

And since the Pen in Hand has recently acquired a brand-new turntable, he has been enjoying digging out his collection of vintage vinyl, including classics like The Nat King Cole Christmas Album, The Ventures’ Christmas Album, and the Firestone Presents: Your Favorite Christmas Music, an eight-volume set of classics recorded by such luminaries as Doris Day, Julie Andrews, Jack Jones, and more, a collection available at Firestone tire shops during the nineteen sixties.

This week the Pen in Hand will be undertaking the herculean task of sifting through thousands of recordings in order to determine the all-time Top Ten Christmas albums. It seems as if nearly every recording artist has put out a Christmas album, which speaks to the accessibility—and the necessity—of these tunes. From a spectrum of musical talent ranging from Willie Nelson to Oscar Peterson to Taylor Swift to Stevie Wonder to Frank Sinatra to Jon Batiste, picking only ten is nearly impossible. To do so, the Potato has tried to find a representative cross-section of American culture that is also (necessarily) informed by his own preferences.

So, with no further ado, enjoy the music and have a happy holiday! Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! Happy Kwanzaa!

The Couch Potato’s Top Ten Christmas Albums

A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s jazz soundtrack to the 1964 TV special was at first thought to be too eclectic for the American audience, but the album has since become a perennial holiday favorite. Guaraldi combined cool jazz versions of traditional tracks like “Greensleeves”, “O, Tannenbaum”, and “What Child is This” with his own compositions including “Christmas Time is Here” and “Linus and Lucy.” Not only did the music pair perfectly with the characters from the Charles Schultz comic strip, it introduced a new generation to jazz. Notable for being heard by more people than Miles Davis.

The Ventures’ Christmas Album: Surf-rock sensations The Ventures put out their Christmas album in November of 1965. It contained rocking versions of classics like “Frosty the Snowman”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and “White Christmas”. The tone, the enthusiasm, and the tempo never flags throughout the album. Each song is cleverly anchored by a popular rock sing riff. For example, the opening riff for “Wooly Bully” provides the chassis for the Venture version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. Notable for being entirely instrumental.

Boogie Woogie Christmas by The Brian Setzer Orchestra: Former Stray Cats front man Brian Setzer brings his rockabilly twang into a big band retro swing to a variety of holiday favorites. Setzer manages to smoothly combine the exuberance and raw power of his guitar with the sophistication and precision of a big band format. A ton of fun from start to finish as Brian renders everything from rock classics like “Blue Christmas” and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” to an amazing version of “The Nutcracker Suite”. Notable for the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” duet with Ann-Margret.

We Three Kings by The Roches: During their salad days, Maggie and Terri and Suzzi Roche would stand on New York street corners singing carols during the Yuletide season for tips. On this album their exquisite harmonies are underscored by the sparse instrumentation and soulful interpretations of classics like “Star of Wonder”, “Away in a Manger”, and “Silver Bells”. The over-the-top campiness of “Winter Wonderland” is topped only by the tongue-in-cheek rendition of “Frosty the Snowman”. Notably, and unfortunately, their rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus is not on this disc.

The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole: Nat King Cole’s 1946 recording of Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” became a nearly instant hit on both the pop and R&B charts. This 1963 album features Cole’s big hit as well as other yuletide standards such as “Away in a Manger”, “Oh, Holy Night” and more. His honey-smooth voice is exquisitely showcased by the wonderful arrangements of Ralph Carmichael. This album was the best-selling holiday record of the 1960s.

Pottery Barn Hip Holidays: An outstanding compilation put out by the retail giant that featured a number of eclectic Christmas cuts including Eartha Kitt’s naughty version of “Nothin’ for Christmas”, Al Hirt and Ann Margret steamy rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, Dean Martin doing “The Christmas Blue” and many others. This is a collection for grown-ups. It should be played in a smoky bar on Christmas Eve when the piano player passes out from drinking too many Old-Fashioneds. Notable for Vanessa Rubin’s soulful rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Christmas Songs by Diana Krall: Another original title. Diana Krall splits the songs on this album between her own ensemble and herself singing with the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. She does a marvelous cover of Vince Guaraldi’s hit, “Christmas Time is Here”, with her own group, capturing the melancholy and childlike wonder of the great song. Her version of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” with the jazz orchestra captures the frail hopes of one who expects to be forgotten during the holidays. Notable for the classic “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” from the film White Christmas.

Christmas with Jon Batiste: Late Night with Steven Colbert bandleader and already legendary New Orleans jazz icon, Batiste provides original and stunning twists to old yuletide favorites. His snaky and funky rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is by itself worth the price of the album while the virtuoso solo piano work in “O Tannenbaum” is an emotionally stunning work. Notable for Batiste’s original pieces “Endless Love” and the work of featured musicians Eric Gales and Lee England, Jr.

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra: No collection of Christmas music would be complete without the master vocal stylist Frank Sinatra. Quite simply, no one sings with the clarity and precision that he does. This 1957 rendition, reissued in 1965, captures the singer during his prim, as he was accompanied by The Brewster Singers and Gordon Jenkins’ full orchestra. All selections were arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle. Notable for being Sinatra’s first full-length Christmas album.

A Motown Christmas by Various Artists: A two-record compilation of Christmas hits by some of Motown’s greatest artists including The Jackson Five, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations. Originally issued in 1973, the album has undergone several incarnations and a second album, Vol. 2, was issued in 2001. Notable for great renditions of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by The Jackson Five, “My Favorite Things” by The Supremes, and “Ave Maria” by Little Stevie Wonder.