The Jackson 5- Jackson 5 Christmas Album, 1970
A treasure trove of glimmering, soulful and fun performances released at the height of the familial group’s popularity, The Jackson 5’s big selling holiday outing is positively dripping in Motown passion and all of the endearing qualities that defined the group’s biggest hits. It opens with a slow-burning sense of sorrow on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, before absolutely bursting wide open with eye-popping energy and panache on instant favorites such as “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. That same exuberance turns “Up on the House Top” into a brassy, tongue-tying anthem and provides perhaps the most earnest rendering of “Frosty the Snowman” in history. The ultimate standout however is arguably the youthful wonder and innocence of Michael Jackson’s delivery of Stevie Wonder’s gem, “Someday at Christmas”. From top to bottom, this album is bopping, slick and utterly entertaining.
John Denver and The Muppets- A Christmas Together, 1979
The musical union of a folk-pop superstar and a troop of puppets still does, and should, sound like a ridiculous brain-child in any other context. But this is John Denver and the frigging Muppets. It worked in the 70s, and more impressively so, it still works timelessly today. This soundtrack to the original special that aired the same year remains an indelible piece of the very fabric of Christmas in America. Denver brings his usual wholesome charm and vocal character to the proceedings as if it were any other performance, and his ability to actually portray palpable chemistry with these fictitious figures shows just how understated his versatility as a performer truly was. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is, perennially, the very best moment. You won’t ever be able to hear the song again without identifying it with this recording. In fact, you’ll be hearing “Five gold riiiiiings” in your head until next Christmas. Meanwhile, the manic cover of The Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick” easily takes the silver standing on the highlight reel. Plain and simple, this is pure, feel-good, family-friendly soul food, and a testament to the entertainment value that made both “acts” so enormously popular in their own varied ways during this era.
Emmylou Harris- Light of the Stable, 1979
Emmylou Harris will forever be an adventurous musical chameleon. Her fabled Christmas record however arrived in the midst of the most traditionally-minded country and bluegrass phase of her first career arc, and those beautifully gritty settings proved to be the perfect landscape for her own brand of Christmas splendor. The set opens with a thrilling excavation of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass gem, “Christmastime’s A Coming”, and immediately sets the tone for the stunning acoustic showcase that is about to unfold. Her breathtakingly hymnal offerings of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Away in a Manger” and “The First Noel” all earn their right to rub elbows with the most definitive versions. Burgeoning singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell offers a first rate original with “Angel Eyes” that is further elevated by the union of Harris’ ethereal vocals with those of Willie Nelson’s. The dizzying harmonic heights of the album reach a fever pitch however on an other-worldly version of “Silent Night”, which boasts an A-list of guest support from the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Neil Young. Light of the Stable will forever reign as a glorious beacon during the Christmas season, and perhaps the greatest holiday album ever produced within the country genre.
Willie Nelson- Pretty Paper, 1979
It’s flat-out bewildering to realize that the same year produced both Emmylou Harris’ and Willie Nelson’ masterful Christmas albums. It’s safe to say that country music won in the art of holiday music making in 1979. Today, Nelson’s Pretty Paper is as synonymous with the season as Nat King Cole, Vince Guaraldi, Phil Spector, et al. The record reunited the Red Headed Stranger with Booker T. Jones in the producer’s chair, and to say that they successfully recreated the special touch of their 1978 masterwork, Stardust is certainly a safe assessment. The seemingly strange combination of Nelson’s quirky and jazz-inflected vocals, his classic gut-string guitar licks, and Jones’ iconic organ riffs equates to pure, unfiltered beauty. The title track was of course a smash for Roy Orbison years before, but it unquestionably receives its gold standard edition here. Additional favorites including “Winter Wonderland”, “White Christmas”, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Here Comes Santa Claus” and more have never sounded so naturally organic and comfy. And seriously, how did the world survive before a Willie Nelson recording of the Elvis classic, “Blue Christmas” was in existence? This entire album is a beautiful and unique jewel of a record.
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton- Once Upon A Christmas, 1984
An irresistible dose of unadulterated campy, country Christmas cheer. Two of the most charismatic superstars and fabled storytellers that the genre ever produced reunite just one year after they scored a cross-over gold rush with “Islands in the Stream”. The pair brings all of the natural chemistry and cheesy 80s bliss that worked so well on that hit to this jubilant collection of both classic and original material. Rogers doesn’t just happen to slightly resemble Santa; his grizzly yet friendly voice is precisely what you’d imagine the man with the bag to sing like, and he soars on a solo take of “Silent Night”. Parton meanwhile balances her usual blend of effervescent charm and melancholy, with the now classic “Hard Candy Christmas” playing like an updated perspective of “Blue Christmas”. It’s of course their full-blown duets that are the ultimate highlights, with the bouncy “A Christmas To Remember” and “I Believe In Santa Claus” forever capable of producing unabashed yuletide ecstasy.
Amy Grant- Home For Christmas, 1992
It was no easy feat for Amy Grant to top her first Christmas LP, 1983’s A Christmas Album, which generated the modern classic, “Tennessee Christmas”. But in 1992, fresh off the heels of her brief but potent pop world domination, she did just that with the release of the heart-warming marvel, Home For Christmas. Surrounded by large-scale, cinematic production perfectly suited for the swelling emotions of the songs she gathers here, Grant is 100% in her wheelhouse. Her sheer joy is bright and palpable on “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” radiates with a slick, updated bluster, and the mostly instrumental “Joy to the World/For Unto Us A Child Is Born” is as stately and spiritual as anything on any other Christmas album I’ve heard. And she’s just getting started there. Her understated reading of “My Grown Up Christmas List” became an instant career moment for the singer, while her cover of Carly Simon’s “The Night Before Christmas” is an imaginative show stealer. The definitive centerpiece of the record however will forever be “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)”, an original from Grant so revelatory yet distinguished that it felt like it had always just been a part of the universe.
Kathy Mattea- Good News, 1993
Kathy Mattea’s gospel-tinged Christmas classic provided some of the most stirring portraits ever recorded of her honeyed voice, as well as one of the freshest track lists to ever be found on a holiday LP. The graceful country songbird foregoes the standard laundry list of expected tunes, and instead offers a rich and diverse batch of mostly new or unknown selections. The haunting trappings of tracks like “Brightest and Best (Star of the East)” and “Somebody Talkin’ About Jesus” will stop you dead in your tracks. Elsewhere, the inspired and sweet “Nothing But A Child” may be the most poignant surprise ever produced by the pen of Steve Earle, while the heavenly harmonies and ghostly delivery of the title track is nothing short of transfixing. The cornerstones of the project ultimately proved to be her sterling reads of both the Keith Whitley co-write, “There’s A New Kid In Town”, and a modern classic in “Mary Did You Know”. The very best versions of both still belong to Mattea, and Good News remains one of the crowning achievements of her impressive catalog.
Mariah Carey, Merry Christmas, 1994
If any contemporary Christmas album has managed to become an inseparable staple with the season on the same scale as those from the classic era, it’s undoubtedly Carey’s holiday pop spectacular. Let’s be clear as well. This is not just an obligatory entry on the list, solely for the endlessly satisfying dynamo that is “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. The entire record is a joyous showcase for the very best elements of Carey’s powerful, if not self-indulgent, vocal gift. Her stunning, spellbinding range is undeniably gripping on the standards included, particularly “Silent Night”, “O Holy Night” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)”. She meanwhile keeps the euphoric fun of “All I Want” roaring strong in spirited, rollicking renditions of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “Joy to the World”. Then there’s her faithful cover of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, which gloriously tips its hat to the original with a fresh 90s coat of Motown sheen. The production choices here, crisply polished in gospel harmonies, R&B style and funky diversions, make the album just as much as Carey’s exuberant vocal turns do. It’s a fun, rousing outing that more than earns its staggering place in Christmas music history.
Trisha Yearwood- The Sweetest Gift, 1994
Like any other Trisha Yearwood release of the era, this sparkling project was played in heavy rotation by my folks. And it remains the first Christmas record I play each year as an adult. There’s simply not another artist of her generation that can match Yearwood’s power, taste, purity and range as a vocalist. The Sweetest Gift is a diverse display of the many wonderful characteristics that define both her talent, as well as the Christmas canon itself. She sensitively brings you to your knees with opening track “Sweet Little Jesus Boy”, before setting your speakers on fire with the sizzling honky tonk boogie of “Reindeer Boogie”, and then flawlessly matches the sheer volcanic intensity of Elvis Presley’s “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” with her exalted twang. But it’s the other-worldly majesty of her stunning voice that sends the experience of this album into the stratosphere. The chilling “Take A Walk Through Bethlehem” remains my inarguable favorite, but she’ll also leave you speechless with her interpretations of Skip Ewing’s modern country classic, “It Wasn’t His Child”, as well as the eternally sweet “There’s a New Kid In Town”. A flawless triumph of a record.
Kacey Musgraves- A Very Kacey Christmas, 2016
The more time that passes, the more difficult it becomes for current artists to set themselves apart when it comes to their own Christmas offerings. This was unsurprisingly no issue for Musgraves, whose 2016 album has already carved out its own place as an instant modern classic. The signature wit, sass and charm that has come to define her secular work is on display in droves, and pairs tremendously with a left-of-center production blend of retro country, Hawaiian and slick pop brushstrokes. She navigates seamlessly between standard fair “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and definitive takes on under-appreciated gems like “Mele Kelikimaka”, “Christmas Don’t Be Late” and “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas”. Meanwhile, the original material features diverse, stand-out duets with Willie Nelson on the silly “A Willie Nice Christmas” and Leon Bridges on the silky smooth “Present Without A Bow”. This one’s so delightful and entertaining that you won’t think twice about playing it any other month of the year as well. Fantastic!
Listen on Apple Music: Twenty Essential Christmas Albums, Part II
Return to Part I here.
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