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.
A Partridge Family Christmas Card is a Christmas album by the Partridge Family, released in November 1971. The album's case contains a reproduction of a Christmas card signed by the whole Partridge Family, the stars of a 1970s sitcom. The song "My Christmas Card to You" was original, but the remainder of the tracks were standards. Like most of the Partridge Family songs, the lead vocals are sung by David Cassidy, who played Keith Partridge in the show. The album also features one of the few Partridge Family recordings featuring Shirley Jones as the lead singer.
"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.
"The Wife of Usher's Well" is a traditional ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 79 and number 196 in the Roud Folk Song Index. An incomplete version appeared in Sir Walter Scott's "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" (1802). It is composed of three fragments. They were notated from an old woman in West Lothian. The Scottish tune is quite different from the English tune, and America produced yet another tune. William Motherwell also printed a version in "Minstrelsy Ancient and Modern" (1827). Cecil Sharp collected songs from Britain but had to go the Appalachian Mountains to locate this ballad. He found 8 versions and 9 fragments. In the first half of the twentieth century many more versions were collected in America.
"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
"Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It is the fourth track on side two of their 1977 album Exodus and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. It is one of Marley's most popular songs and has been covered by numerous other artists. The song is often thought to be named "Don't Worry About a Thing" or "Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright", because of the prominent and repeated use of these phrases in the chorus.
Here We Come A-wassailing, also known as Here We Come A-Christmasing,Wassail Song and by many other names, is a traditional English Christmas carol and New Year song, typically sung whilst wassailing, or singing carols, wishing good health and exchanging gifts door to door. It is listed as number 209 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Gower Wassail and Gloucestershire Wassail are similar wassailing songs.
The Jonas Brothers are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote their first record that made its Hollywood Records release. They starred in the 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock and its 2010 sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. They also starred in their own Disney Channel series Jonas, which was rebranded as Jonas L.A. for its second season. The band has released six albums: It's About Time (2006), Jonas Brothers (2007), A Little Bit Longer (2008), Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009), Happiness Begins (2019), and The Album (2023).
This Is Christmas is a Christmas album by American singer Luther Vandross. It was released on October 18, 1995, by Epic Records. Produced by Vandross along with Nat Adderley Jr. and Marcus Miller, the album received mixed to negative reviews from music critics and peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 and number 4 on both Billboard's Top Holiday Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Being a steady seller throughout the Christmas season, it was eventually certified platinum in 2002 by the RIAA.
"Children, Go Where I Send Thee" is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many different versions of the song, a defining feature is the cumulative structure, with each number accompanied by a biblical reference. Today, many Americans know it as a Christmas carol.
Kristy Starling is a contemporary Christian music singer, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After marrying husband Adam Starling in the late 2002, she came second in a national singing competition, Today's Superstar, NBC News' morning show. She signed to Warner Bros. Records, working with successful producer David Foster, and released her eponymous debut album on 22 April 2003, the album features a cover of LeAnn Rimes' "I Need You". This album peaked at No. 19 on Billboard's Heatseekers charts and No. 24 on its Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart. In 2005, her single "Coming Home for Christmas" peaked at No. 32 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
It's Christmas is the Christmas album of singer, Ledisi. The album peaked #28 on the Top R&B charts. This is Ledisi's second release on Verve Forecast. This Christmas was released as the lead single and Children Go Where I Send Thee was released as the second single of the album.
Kristopher Neil Allen is an American singer, songwriter, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol.
Christmas in the Heart is the thirty-fourth studio album and first Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 13, 2009, by Columbia Records. The album comprises a collection of hymns, carols, and popular Christmas songs. All Dylan's royalties from the sale of this album benefit the charities Feeding America in the USA, Crisis in the UK, and the World Food Programme in perpetuity.
Pentatonix are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements with vocal harmonies, basslines, riffing, percussion, and beatboxing, they produce cover versions of modern pop works or Christmas songs, sometimes in the form of medleys, along with original material. Pentatonix was formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC's The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. When Sony's Epic Records dropped the group after The Sing-Off, the group formed its YouTube channel, distributing its music through Madison Gate Records, a label owned by Sony Pictures.
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition as a Disney Channel personality, playing lead roles in the comedy series Girl Meets World (2014–2017) and the adventure comedy film Adventures in Babysitting (2016).
Sending You a Little Christmas is the sixth Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on October 29, 2013, by Columbia Records. In addition to piano accompaniment on the title track by its composer Jim Brickman, this particular holiday release of original recordings is distinguished by duets with guest vocalists Susan Boyle, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Billy Joel, and The Jordanaires.
Morningtown Ride to Christmas is the twelfth studio and first Christmas album by Australian band, The Seekers. The album was recorded in Melbourne and released in November 2001 and was certified platinum in Australia.
Billboard magazine only charted Christmas singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday records until the 1958 holiday season when they published their first section that surveys only Christmas music.
