Related Research Articles
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, Chad Butler, Jerome Fontamillas, and Drew Shirley. After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream recognition with the inclusion of four of their songs in the 2002 movie A Walk to Remember. This recognition led to their major label debut, The Beautiful Letdown, which was released in 2003 and featured the hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move". The album sold over 2.6 million copies. They have since been noted for their energetic live shows, and their seventh studio album Hello Hurricane received a Grammy award in 2011 for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album.
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols or songs may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons.
"Last Christmas" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records, and internationally on MCA Records in December 1984, on a double A-side with "Everything She Wants". It was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release.
"The Little Drummer Boy" is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers, the song was further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale; the Simeone version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since.
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by poet Placide Cappeau (1808–1877). The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity's redemption.
"Happy Xmas " is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has periodically reemerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's death in December 1980, when it peaked at number two. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted tenth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, singer and songwriter known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released eight full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that peaked in the top twenty on the Billboard 200. Outside of his work with Relient K, Thiessen leads a side project called Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes, which released its debut album Wind Up Bird on August 31, 2018. In 2009, he co-produced and collaborated on Owl City's album Ocean Eyes.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a Christmas song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. She co-wrote and co-produced it with Walter Afanasieff for her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Columbia Records released it as the lead single from the album on October 28, 1994. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals and synthesizers.
Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album, and the fourth studio album, by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas tunes and original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling holiday ringtone in the United States.
Nothing Is Sound is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 13, 2005, and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The first single from this album was "Stars," which was the number one most-added song on Modern Rock Radio, and received much airplay on alternative rock stations upon release. A second single "We Are One Tonight" was released in early 2006, but without much success on the Billboard charts.
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the musical film Holiday Inn, released in 1942. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards.
"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song's publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany's.
Oh! Gravity. is the sixth album by the San Diego based alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on December 26, 2006. It was Switchfoot's last album released through Columbia Records and Sony BMG.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 25 million copies with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single.
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of ELO. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.
The discography of American alternative rock band Switchfoot consists of eleven studio albums, four live albums, three compilation albums, five video albums, ten extended plays, forty-three singles, nine promotional singles and thirty-nine music videos. The band, originally called Chin Up, consists of singer/guitarist and primary songwriter Jon Foreman, bassist Tim Foreman, drummer Chad Butler, lead guitarist Drew Shirley and synthesizer/keyboardist/guitarist Jerome Fontamillas.
"This is Home" is a song written and recorded by the alternative rock band Switchfoot, and is featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The song was featured during the end credits of the film. It was the 17th most-played song on U.S. Contemporary Christian music radio stations for 2008 according to R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart.
Straight No Chaser (SNC) is a professional American a cappella group that originated in 1996 at Indiana University. In 2007, a 1998 video of "The 12 Days of Christmas", went viral with over 8 million views and subsequently led to a five-album record deal with Atlantic Records in 2008. The YouTube video has been viewed over 24 million times.
Eastern Hymns for Western Shores is an EP of previously unreleased Switchfoot songs. It was first available for purchase on the band's annual Holiday Package for 2010. The EP was released for individual purchase from Switchfoot.com on December 31, 2010.
References
- ↑ Switchfoot to release "Another Christmas (Old Borego)" Single? - Published December 12, 2008 (Retrieved December 13, 2008)