Let's celebrate the holiday with one of the best versions of a Christmas standard that you'll ever hear. It's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by my old neighbor Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street Band from the famous 1978 concert at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ. This version really smokes!
Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks so much for reading!
Get This Free Cheat Sheet Guaranteed To Help Your Next Mix
Showing posts with label Christmas songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas songs. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2015
Thursday, December 24, 2015
The 40s Christmas Song That Has Outsold Everything Since
What's the best selling record of all time? No, it's not Thriller by Michael Jackson (reported numbers are said to be inflated so it's difficult to even tell how many copies it's sold).It's actually "White Christmas," recorded by Bing Crosby and written by songwriting legend Irving Berlin. The single is said to have sold over 50 million copies alone, with sales of the album putting the total over 100 million.
Recorded in 1942 just after the World War II started for the US and debuted in the movie "Holiday Inn" with Crosby and Fred Astaire, it's widely held that the war actually had a lot to do with the song gaining popularity. Since millions of troops were overseas and longing for family, the song brought a little bit of comfort and the feel of home. From that point onward, it's become ingrained in our consciousness as a standard that's played constantly throughout the holiday season.
There's a lot that's interesting about songwriter Irving Berlin, as well. He was self-taught and could only play using the black keys of F#. Probably because he was self-taught, he also frequently wrote with unusual cadences, and many times never bothered to write a bridge, which was contrary to the songwriting technique of the time.
Still, the song has outlived hundreds of competitors over time with more introduced every year. Despite all the famous songs that Berlin wrote that everyone somehow knows, ("Alexander's Ragtime Band,""Easter Parade," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "God Bless America."), "White Christmas" will be the one he's best remembered for.
So if you really want to make your mark as a songwriter, write a holiday song.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
The Top 30 Christmas Songs Are All Old
This is the last day for Christmas songs until next year, but here's something worthing thinking about.
With all the great songwriters that are currently in the business, it's a wonder that there hasn't been any new Christmas songs of note in decades. This Washington Post chart shows that the majority of our most popular Christmas songs were penned in the 1940s and 50s, with the most recent Christmas staple coming in the 90s.
The thought is that new Xmas songs haven't been adopted because the songs that are still popular are the ones that baby boomers became familiar with in their youth, but if we keep playing the same songs over and over each year, that becomes a perpetual motion machine with each generation growing up to the same songs.
That said, enjoy the songs for one more day, have a very merry Christmas, and thank you for your continued support of this blog!
With all the great songwriters that are currently in the business, it's a wonder that there hasn't been any new Christmas songs of note in decades. This Washington Post chart shows that the majority of our most popular Christmas songs were penned in the 1940s and 50s, with the most recent Christmas staple coming in the 90s.
The thought is that new Xmas songs haven't been adopted because the songs that are still popular are the ones that baby boomers became familiar with in their youth, but if we keep playing the same songs over and over each year, that becomes a perpetual motion machine with each generation growing up to the same songs.
That said, enjoy the songs for one more day, have a very merry Christmas, and thank you for your continued support of this blog!
Monday, December 24, 2012
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" - Bruce Springsteen
Let's celebrate the holiday with one of the best versions of a Christmas standard that you'll ever hear. It's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street Band from the famous 1978 concert at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ. This version really smokes!
Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks so much for reading.
Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks so much for reading.
----------------------------------
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Which Holiday Songs Are Public Domain?
CD Baby's DIY Musician blog has a great post today about the songs that are in and out of the public domain. They also have a PDF guide to holiday music that you can download for free. Here's the list:
In The Public Domain
“Angels We Have Heard On High”
“Away In A Manger”
“Deck The Halls”
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
“Good King Wenceslas”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
“It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”
“Jingle Bells”
“Joy To The World”
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
“O Come O Come Emmanuel”
“O Holy Night”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
“Silent Night”
“The First Noel”
“The Twelve Days of Christmas”
“We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
“What Child Is This”
Not In The Public Domain (including the songwriters - Johnny Marks gets extra props for having 3 songs on the list)
“All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” (Donald Yetter Gardner)
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” (Noel Regney, Gloria Shayne Baker)
“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” (Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)
“A Holly Jolly Christmas” (Johnny Marks)
“Carol Of The Bells” (Peter J. Wilhousky, Mykola Leontovich)
“Feliz Navidad” (Jose Feliciano)
“Frosty The Snowman” (Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins)
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin)
“Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)” (Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman)
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram)
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” (Edward Pola, George Wyle)
“Jingle Bell Rock” (Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe)
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
“Little Drummer Boy” (Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone)
“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (Johnny Marks)
“Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (Johnny Marks)
“Silver Bells” (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
“Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish)
“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells)
“White Christmas” (Irving Berlin)
“Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith)
As you can see, there's a good mix of both, although the newer hipper songs must be cleared before using. If you want to cover a copyrighted song, check out Limelight, a service that specializes in clearing copywritten songs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
