Many thanks to you readers who got in touch with Christmas-song suggestions.
I received enthusiastic endorsements for “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” (1965) by Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole’s 1946 rendition of “The Christmas Song,” as well as “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser (1949), “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas” (1951) by Meredith Wilson, and “Run, Run Rudolph” by Chuck Berry (1958). Which are all excellent.
Some also suggested: “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (1987) by U2, “2000 Miles” (1984) by the Pretenders, “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses (1981), and “Father Christmas” by the Kinks (1977).
I enjoyed getting acquainted with instrumentals such as Duke Ellington and His Orchestra’s “Nutcracker Suite” (1960), suggested by Jeff from Las Vegas, as well as “Nutcracker Rag” (1995) by The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, brought to my attention by Jim from Hawaii.
I’m aware that my short list was by no means a complete list of pre-2000 classics, but I appreciated your ideas all the same. That said, I found that readers struggled as much as I did to put forward suggestions from this century.
John, you suggested, “Merry Christmas from The Family” (2004) by Robert Earl Keen. No offense, but I found it very dreary.
Alex, as for “Christmas in New York” (2019) by Lea Michele, while I’m disinclined to yuk your yum, especially at Christmas, I must respectfully disagree with you that this is a good song, though the music video perhaps makes an effective Macy’s commercial.
Scot, “New York Is a Christmas Kind of Town” (2005) by Marah is lively and fun but loses marks for its intonation issues. “Underneath the Tree” (2013) by Kelly Clarkson is okay, though banal.
Kenneth, “Better Days” by the Goo Goo Dolls (2006), “Cherry, Cherry Christmas” by Neil Diamond (2009), and “Christmas Calling” (2021) by Norah Jones are all fine on a Christmas playlist, but I’m not sure any rise to the level of classics.
Jorge, it’s very sweet of you to suggest “Christmas in George Square” (2020) by Lily and Maddy Kearns, but, alas, it has yet to break into the mainstream!
I suppose one of Dolly Parton’s more recent Christmas songs might be a contender. For instance, I enjoy her fun and flirty duet with Michael Bublé, “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” (2020) from her A Holly Dolly Christmas album. But then, it’s very similar to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” which is a far superior song.