The Golden Age of the Christmas Single
But in recent years, certainly since the millennium, the
quality, if not the quantity, has definitely fallen off. The hi-jacking of the
Christmas number one slot by the X-Factor winners contributed to this. Why even
attempt to compete with that juggernaut? But possibly today’s artists are
finding that coming up with a Christmas hit is harder than it looks. In 2017
Sia only managed to reach no 39 on the chart with Santa is coming for us, whilst Arianna Grande only reached 29 with Santa tell me in 2014.
What makes a great Christmas song? The status of the artist
is no guarantee; Its Christmas (baby
please come home) is on very few Youtube playlists. Do you even recall that
the artists are U2? Similarly Santa
Claus Is Coming To Town is on few people’s lists of favourite Bruce
Springsteen songs. You can identify some musical commonplaces; sleigh bells, an
uptempo beat, a catchy chorus. Lyrically, songs that evoke the atmosphere and
anticipation of Christmas have a lasting appeal, but there is a strong
sub-genre of sad Christmas songs that bemoan the absence of a lost love. Blue Christmas, Last Christmas, Lonely this
Christmas all represent this group.
So rather than waste time trying to define the undefinable
(no sure-fire song-writing formula would ever come up with a song that starts: “it
was Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank) I want to celebrate the classics
that burst forth, like Athena from the head of Zeus, in the period 1972 to
1976. Why these years? Well, I was eleven in ’72 and fifteen in ’76, so you can
argue those are the years of peak susceptibility to these songs. But they are
also the years that brought some of the most enduring perennials that still,
nigh on fifty years on, are still played, sung and drunkenly danced to. So here
goes.
We start with the first Christmas song I ever bought; Happy Christmas (war is over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Reaching number 4 in December ’72, this song complements Imagine as an exemplar of John and Yoko’s world view. Superficially listened to it can seem rather trite, Merry, Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year/Let’s hope it’s a good one, without any fear. Simply platitudes, sneered some. But even at the age of eleven, I heard it differently. To me, Lennon was saying look, war won’t be over, but we need to live in hope, because without hope we are lost. Of course, he wrapped this message up with Christmas Bells and a children’s choir to sing the catchy chorus. But is must have something, because today’s teenagers can sing along to this song.
1972 also gave us Gaudete
by Steeleye Span. Sung in Latin by a folk group, it may seem an unlikely
Christmas hit, but it is typical of the eclectic nature of the charts in the
1970’s that there was a place for it. The olde English male folk harmonies married
perfectly with the ethereal purity of lead singer Maddy Prior’s voice to make a
wonderful sound that referenced the message of Christmas: Christus es natus, ex maria virginae Gaudete (Christ is born of
Mary the virgin, worship him).
1973
Next is Slade; Merry
Xmas Everybody (a.k.a Noddy Holder’s pension plan) which dominated the
chart of 1973. This is the quintesssential rowdy sing-along which, more than
any other, encapsulates our experience of the British family Christmas: Does your granny always tell you that the
old songs are the best, then she’s up and rock and rolling with the rest?
There’s no mystery to this song, it is quite simply joyous,
from the first line; Are you hanging up
your stockings on the wall? The clever hint of naughtiness; what will your daddy do when he sees your
mummy kissing santa? to that genius band reference; do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made/when you land
upon your head then you’ve been Slade.
And best of all, even those of us, like me, who can’t sing a
note, can shout along to this. On this song, the band are in your living room,
having Christmas alongside you. It’s quite simply irresistible!
From the same year comes Wizzard’s contribution. Like ELO’s
Jeff Lynn, Roy Wood came out of the Move, and always wanted to be a chart act. They
had other hits (Ball Park Incident is fabulous) but I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day is the song they are
remembered for. Like Lennon, it employs bells and a kids choir, all rolled up
with the bands signature saxophone breaks. When
the Snowman brings the snow- bang, you’re there; winter, Christmas,
fantasy. The chorus is slightly more musical than Slade’s and when the kids
come in with it at the end it just finishes you off. A classic indeed.
Also released for the first time in this year was Step into Christmas, by Elton John. It
did better chart wise in subsequent years; but is a golden era example of an A
list artist getting it right by putting just as much effort into it as any
other song. We can watch the snow fall,
for ever and ever…. What’s not to love?
1974
Moving on a year we have Mud, with Lonely This Christmas, their homage to Elvis. As already discussed,
there is a place for the sad song at Christmas; It’ll be lonely this Christmas, without you to hold, and Les Gray
milks it for all it’s worth, even down to the Elvis style spoken words; Merry Christmas darling, wherever you are.
Number one for four weeks, it shares with Slade and Wizzard Top of the Pops
appearances looking ridiculous, in Mud’s case wearing Christmas tree baubles as
earrings. One to fall back on when your love life’s gone south, it remains a
favourite. Speaking of 1974, an honourable mention here for Showaddywaddy’s Mr
Christmas by the way.
1975
By 1975 we’d moved on from Glam Rock but the Christmas songs
just kept on coming. Chris De Burgh, known for off the wall songs like Spanish
Train, whose protagonist plays cards with the devil, released A Spaceman came Travelling, which
riffed on the was God an alien idea popularised at that time by Erik Von
Daniken. A gentle, reflective song, it represents it’s year very well. With a
nah, nah, nah, nah chorus, it retained some singability too. The same year also
gave us Mike Oldfield’s In Dulce Jubilo,
an instrumental that throws the sink at us bells wise and is instantly
hummable. It simply yells Christmas and has a jaunty tune that makes you feel
good.
1976
And so to 1976. At the end of our period we have Johnny Mathis,
the heir to the likes of Bing Crosby and Perry Como, with When a Child is Born, reminding us that Christmas is at heart a religious
festival. Mathis pulls off the spoken section at least as well as Les Gray and
you’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel a warm glow after listening to
him deliver this.
So for me, these years are the golden age of Christmas songs,
when you could be sure each Christmas would throw up a new classic. These songs
have stood the test of time because we entwine with the memories of Christmas
past, but also because, for whatever reason, the muse of Christmas music was
hanging around street corners, in the Black Country and other places, just waiting
to inspire any artist she could.
There have been great ones since; Wham, Mariah Carey, the
Pogues. But somehow, if you asked people to name a top ten, Slade Wizzard and
John Lennon, it’s a fairly safe bet, would be in there.
Links:
(You don't need a link to Slade and Wizzard!)
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