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, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Jesus Christ, traditions such as gift-giving and merrymaking, cultural figures such as Santa Claus, or other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons.
"The Little Drummer Boy" is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Austrian Trapp Family, 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. In the lyrics, the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the Nativity of Jesus. Without a gift for the Infant, the little drummer boy played his drum with approval from Jesus's mother, Mary, recalling, "I played my best for him" and "He smiled at me". Despite the song's popularity, the story of the drummer boy is not biblically accurate.
Season's Greetings from Moe is a Christmas-themed album by the American jam band Moe.
"Mary's Boy Child", also known as "Mary's Little Boy Child", is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It is widely performed as a Christmas carol.
Noël is the sixth studio and first Christmas album by Joan Baez, released in November 1966.
Dream a Dream is the third album by Welsh soprano Charlotte Church, released in 2000. The album is principally a collection of Christmas carols but also includes the non-Christmas title track "Dream a Dream", Church's first foray into a more pop-influenced genre, composed by James Shearman and Simon Greenaway based on the melody from Fauré's "Pavane" with lyrics by Sam Babenia.
8 Days of Christmas is the fourth studio album and only Christmas album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, released on October 30, 2001 by Columbia Records.
Feliz Navidad is a Christmas album by singer/songwriter José Feliciano. Originally titled José Feliciano and released in 1970 on vinyl record, 8-track tape & cassette tape by RCA Victor, it was reissued on CD in 1989 by BMG Heritage with all the songs of the original album plus three original songs added and recorded by Feliciano but never released on the original vinyl album.
The Perry Como Christmas Album is Perry Como's 15th RCA Victor 12" long-play album.
Christmas Songs is the eighth full-length studio album and first Christmas album from Jars of Clay, that was released on October 16, 2007, through Gray Matters/Nettwerk. This is the first ever release from the band through their newly created Gray Matters imprint via Nettwerk Music Group.
Christmas, Like a Lullaby is the 24th studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver released in December 1990.
Sounds of Christmas is the second holiday-themed album by vocalist Johnny Mathis and the first of his 11 studio projects for Mercury Records. His first yuletide effort, 1958's Merry Christmas, relied heavily on popular holiday carols and standards, but this 1963 release also included two new songs as well as covers of some lesser-known recordings by Andy Williams and Bing Crosby.
"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" is a Christmas song that originated with a poem by Emily Huntington Miller (1833–1913), published as "Lilly's Secret" in The Little Corporal Magazine in December 1865. The song's lyrics have also been attributed to Benjamin Hanby, who wrote a similar song in the 1860s, Up on the Housetop. However, the lyrics now in common use closely resemble Miller's 1865 poem. Some people have also attributed the lyrics to John Piersol McCaskey—a song editor and publisher, among other things, at the time. His great-great grandson said McCaskey wrote the song in 1867, and that the "Johnny" mentioned in the song who wants a pair of skates was McCaskey's late son, John, who died as a child. However, there is no known evidence for this. McCaskey's own published 1881 book, Franklin Square Song Collection No. 1, a book in which proper attribution is given to songs' lyricists and composers, does not list himself as having had anything to do with the song.
WOW Gospel Christmas includes thirty songs on a double CD album. In 2007 it reached #78 on the Billboard 200 chart, took first place on the Top Gospel Albums chart, and 20th spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2008 it reached 24th spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Winter Songs is the sixth studio album released by Irish singer/songwriter and Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating. It was released by Polydor Records on 16 November 2009 in the UK and Ireland, debuting at number 16 and 12 in each respective album chart. The first single, a cover of Grammy Award-winning American country music duo Sugarland's hit "Stay", was released digitally on the same day.
Live at Gray Matters is a series of digital-only EP releases by Christian rock act Jars of Clay. The premise of the series is for each release to have a theme and each contain around 4–5 tracks. The songs featured on the EPs were recorded in an informal setting at the band's own record label, Gray Matters, and contains little to no editing of the tracks. A video accompanies each EP that shows the band performing the tracks. The cover of each recording features an identical photograph, varying only in background color.
We Need a Little Christmas is the fifth Christmas album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released by Unison Music in 1995. It gives an adult contemporary treatment to songs that Williams had previously recorded for 1963's The Andy Williams Christmas Album, 1965's Merry Christmas, 1974's Christmas Present, and 1990's I Still Believe in Santa Claus and includes three songs that Williams had not recorded before. In a brief note on the back of the jewel case Williams writes, "These all-new recordings feature fresh, innovative arrangements of some of my favorite carols. I felt like I was singing them for the very first time."
Candlelight Christmas is the sixth studio album and first Christmas album by Australian singer Marina Prior. The album was released through on 8 November 2013 and peaked at number 46 on the ARIA Albums Chart three weeks later.
Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas is a 1977 Christmas television special starring Bing Crosby and his family with special guests Twiggy, David Bowie, Ron Moody, Stanley Baxter and Trinity Boys Choir. It includes a duet by the unusual pairing of Crosby and Bowie on "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy".
40 Christmas Classics is a digital compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released on October 31, 2014, and includes all of the songs from his first three solo holiday LPs, The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Merry Christmas, and Christmas Present. Three tracks not originally appearing on holiday albums by Williams are also included: "My Sweet Lord" from his 1971 album Love Story, "Amazing Grace" from his 1972 album Alone Again (Naturally), and the Latin Catholic Prayer version of Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria", which Williams recorded in honor of Senator Robert F. Kennedy just days after his funeral in 1968.
