As the end of December draws near, as the festive season reappears, as the Christmas preparations and celebrations come to cheers, up until the Eve, the Day and of the Happy New Year.
Christmas may come at once a year and at the coldest of times of the year, but what makes it so important is the warmth is puts into everyone's hearts and minds. The joy of giving gifts, the brightest holiday spirits, colored lights of decorations, and just bringing everyone together is the real essence of the Christmas period.
Christmas music of course is also an essential part of the Winter period and while many songs are about the theme of giving, some are about the very warmth that are the essence of the holiday.
Lets hope these Xmas song that are underrated, essential and of the early classics will relax your mind and warm your festive after the stress of the preparations of decorating, shopping and organising come into place during Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and including Boxing Day, maybe even up until the New Year.
Underrated:
This song will help you relive the sweet memories of the holiday through beautifully somber tones and make your Christmas after the festive day.
The song is brought in by a sweet piano intro, accompanied by Chris Martin's somber vocals soon afterwards. This song is centered around a breakup, as the first verse quietly recalls in the lyrics: "Christmas night, another fight / Tears we cried a flood / Got all kinds of poison in my blood... Just walk away / Those windows say / But I can't believe she's gone." The song starts of sadly, but it eventually wallows in the joy of the festive holiday and how the sadness is masked by the cheer following into the song.
Christmas Lights is a great way to relive your sweetest memories in Christmas in warm way. Coldplay always had a way of doing that by making an adventure and story out of anything into song writing. Their holiday song is more than just that, it's a reminder that even in the saddest moments you can find happiness and it's important not to forget that.
Ally Brooke - Baby I'm Coming Home
Ally Brooke is a huge prolific artist in pop music, dropping club bangers and slinky bops on a near-weekly basis though she is still an underrated artist in the music industry.
After releasing an original Christmas song over a year ago, she now rolls out a feel-good festive anthem of “Baby, I’m Coming Home, For Christmas” which is sure to be on high-repeat come Christmas. “Snow falling down from the sky, I’m running all the red lights” as she coos in the first verse of the lyrics. “Last minute catching a flight, ain’t gonna miss you tonight.” That takes us to the sing-along, doo wop-inspired chorus as with other holiday spirit lyrics on a cute Christmas single.
This song isn't heard much across many certain parts across the globe but it places a unique spin on her effortlessly rich pop vocals in preparation for the festive holidays. Ally Brooke also is following in the footsteps of other pop superstars who put their own iconic imprimatur on Christmas.
Kelly Clarkson - Underneath The Tree
This song may or may not be underrated but here is a good example of why it is in fact underrated.
In the pantheon of modern Christmas songs, this is a feel-good, cute rather energetic, festive and fun-loving track, that it was also compared to Mariah Carey's modern Christmas classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Yet is was only temporary in the charts of its release though memorable during the time of a festive wintery period in December.
It was difficult for seasonal fare to chart in the post-physical sales/pre-streaming era when radio reigned supreme. But Kelly’s Christmas anthem is so catchy that it transcends the holiday genre in the same way that Mariah Carey's classic did in the 1990s.
There is a happy ending to this story, as “Underneath The Tree” has become one of those pesky Christmas songs that re-emerges every December. This is one of those classic tunes that has an indefinite shelf-life.
Michael Bublé- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The origin of this song dates back in 1934 written by lyricists John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. This was the same period that the world was suffering from The Great Depression. The song supposedly had additional verses aimed at easing the minds of people during this time. Now that we all live in a different world it is still somewhat a comforting blessing to listen to every December.
Due to the songs popularity, which resonates to date, many other music artists have covered this song throughout history. Most notable cover versions of Frank Sinatra, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Neil Diamond, The Jackson 5, and of course Michael Bublé.
In these lyrics, the singer sings about how Santa Claus keeps a close watch on all the kids around the world, throughout the year. So whenever a kid does something bad, it gets picked on Santa’s radar of the kid’s Christmas present diminishes. So the singer asks the kids to be good and do good all the time to receive their gifts. We love the jazzy horns in this version, not to mention his ad-libbed lyric at the end: “I mean the big fat man with the long white beard”. No matter which version is best or which artist sang it better, this is an all time vital listen and sing-along to during Christmas.
Faith Hill - Where Are You Christmas
From the original motion picture soundtrack of the film The Grinch, which it was also co-written by Mariah Carey, this wonderful track delivers a power ballad delivering a powerful message of what Christmas means to us to stay positive and warms our hearts when our families are around us.
This song in which is about the search for the magic of Christmas beyond childhood and in good times (also the bad), is a welcome reminder during the winter period into thinking of how we need our families and loved ones during Christmas more than ever and how much they mean to us as not many across the globe get to do that.
The artist may be irrelevant as we all know about him but let's get to the track, this song brings a rather catchy vibe with a rhythmic flow and contains some chords to make us move our bodies round to during Christmas, even if we are organising, tidying up or Xmas wrapping. This song still brings some festive spirit round the atmosphere with some carol vocals in the background.
This song is also rather devalued and released sometime during the 2000's though it reminds us of how many other songs of Xmas that many other underrated tracks just need a little TLC during Christmas.
From the original motion picture soundtrack of the film The Polar Express and shared on the album Noël. This admirable, heavenly soothing track sung by Josh Groban, The song means that even if we stop believing in the things that make Christmas special like Santa Clause, it is still magical to remember and embrace.
It is also a message of all our childhoods during Christmas of how we all need to grow up and continue celebrating Christmas even if we don't or stop believing in such things of Christmas fantasies of the North Pole and Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer, but we never forget how we celebrated Christmas when we were all children and remind that part of their lives for our children's children through generations of the Christmas period of all our families.
*NSYNC - You Don't Have To Be Alone
As this was also featured on the soundtrack of the film The Grinch, this softening allaying song is not only about and regarding Christmas, but the lyrics also tell about love and over a break up into how someone can recover from that during Christmas reminding them that they are not and don't have to be alone. After all, no one should ever have to feel lonely on Christmas and to be thankful for who we have around us that really matters most, not just for Christmas but for life.
This song shares similar context towards NSYNC's other track God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You, but the harmonies and the context of the song delivers a comfort and consoling to listen to, especially around a fireplace at a freezing night with a blanket sat right next to your loved one or a certain family member.
Queen - Thank God It's Christmas
This Christmas song by Queen has rather simpler lyrics and meaning of the spirit of winter and joy. This was originally released as a non-album single back in 1984 upon it's release on Queen's last album that featured the late great Freddie Mercury, until an animated Christmas music video was released in 2019 to make it much more memorable.
With so many emotions and joyful memories of the past and future Christmases, this song is far from the likes of Queen’s much more complex works of the band's classic songs along with Freddie's powerful vocals that are simply wonderful on this track. The harmonies up holding throughout the entire track make it almost anthem like and solacing for the mind to feel and embrace the Xmas period so positively.
Luther Vandross - Please Come Home For Christmas
From his very own Xmas album This Is Christmas, another late great of Luther Vandross takes us into his very own Winter Wonderland of a lustful sensation of beautiful harmonies and festive happiness leading up to the 25th.
This song may be his shortest of the album, and it feels like we just hear this same saccharin plea two songs ago. Though it's gives us a loving little holiday invitation for a love reunion continuing an Xmas theme of the album. He knows his lovelorn wheelhouse and sticks to it, it's ironic then as it is now that the songs branching away from the formula are the best ones on such a belittle yet revivifying classic Xmas album.
To be honest and clear, these songs (including certain artists) don't get much of the praise and recognition they deserve most during the Xmas period, but even heard or displayed as much on radio airings or of compilations of Christmas. But all they need is a little TLC and love during the most specialist time of the year.
From the legendary Bing Crosby and written by Irving Berlin, this song is a memorable classic that resembles old fashioned Xmas settings compared to the modern day of the festive season. The song was also featured in the 1942 film of Holiday Inn featuring where Crosby sings it alongside actress and singer Marjorie Reynolds from the perspective of a New Yorker stranded in sunny California during Christmas.
Though in the film and originally written down at the first verse by Berlin as the song begins with this verse:
The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There's never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, LA
But it's December the 24th
And I'm longing to be up north.
Bing re-recorded the song again in 1947 with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra because the original masters had been worn out from all the pressings, though this version that is most often heard and reminded of today.
The song has also been covered by various music artists across the globe and along with other different versions of the track with cheery, convivial compelling direction flows with the lyrics to honour and idolise the memory of Crosby and the song itself.
This song shares similar contests of the song War Is Over by another late great John Lennon, of an anti-war song. Though this song with it's catchy brass band play delivers an understanding message it brings out in the lyrics to compare to what it was like for the soldiers of the war, especially during Xmas.
The songs music video is set in the trenches of the First World War, as every soldier (including Lewie) that wishes they could all be home for Christmas rather than fighting in battle and only feeling touched by their loved ones through letters from home.
The lyrics of the song mention cavalry of war and of Winston Churchill (who served as the First Lord of the Admiralty in the first year of the war, prior to serving in the trenches himself), but it breaks with a World War One theme with references to nuclear fallout and the line "I have had to fight, almost every night, down throughout these centuries", as John Lewie described the song's soldier as being "a bit like the eternal soldier at the Arc de Triomphe".
Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
This "Most Wonderful" song that was written specifically for origins of The Andy Williams Christmas Album and the crooner performed it on his popular variety show, The Andy Williams Show. As he went on to record seven more Christmas albums, and this song quite frankly appeared on every one of them. The song's popularity, paired with the singer's penchant for gaudy sweaters, dazzling displays and holiday T.V. specials, earned him the nickname "Mr. Christmas."
Over the years, this song has become an enduring, excitement feeling holiday standard with many covers by several music artists for their own Christmas albums, in the likes of Johnny Mathis, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks and many others.
Truthfully this song is of pure joyous innocence of the wintery wonderful season. The lyrics are nothing but listing all the fun and festive activities we associate with during Christmas time like partying, singing Xmas carols, spending time with loved ones, and even references the Victorian-era like tradition of telling ghost stories during Christmas.
The song from the glam rock band Mud though it was performed in the style of Elvis Presley's slower songs from his later career, as this song is also often erroneously attributed to Elvis.
This classical is about of the lead singer spending Christmas without the girl he truly loves. He misses all the good times that they used to have last Xmas so dearly that he wishes he could hold warm with comfort during the freezing winter.
This song will makes swing our heads side to side whilst sitting back and relaxing on the sofa on Christmas Day, with no worries and stress free just after the present unravelling and the dinner stuffing to fill our bloated bellies in the evening.
Dean Martin - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Although this song is associated with Xmas and the spirit of it, there is no mention of the holiday in the lyrics as it's mainly about making the most of a snowy day by spending it with your loved ones by the fire. Dean Martin, whose singing imitated the smooth baritone vocals and phrasing of Bing Crosby, had the perfect voice for festive songs such as this one.
His version of the song that was originally written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and the Broadway songwriter Jule Styne back in 1945, has been the best and most popular adaptation of a song to date since and has become an absolute Christmas classic to remember.
Jackson 5 - Someday At Christmas
Originally written and performed by Stevie Wonder in his own version, The Jackson 5's version is somewhat different with little sweet and glittering chords to enjoy to around Xmas from the album Jackson 5 Christmas Album.
This is one of the first Christmas songs with social and political messages and released during the Vietnam War as it takes a stand for peace and for equality and compassion.
Bing Crosby - It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
This memorable classic written in by Meredith Willson, was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas" and recorded by many other notable music artists, makes us feel like getting into the Christmas period much earlier rather like so in late November rather than early December. We would get a sense of snow falling, Xmas decs set up to display, street lights dressed in dashing colours and the hectic chaotic Xmas shopping setting of.
Bing Crosby's version yet again brings us peace and serenity in this song when all the stress and worries for the upcoming preparations of Xmas matter the least when and a wonderful vibe of soothing reassurance on the Eve and Day of Noël.
Dean Martin - Winter Wonderland
Again from Dean Martin featured in his own version and in his work of A Winter Romance and The Dean Martin The Christmas Album, Winter Wonderland is memorable classic featured traditionally and regarded as a Xmas song of the Northern Hemisphere.
The song's lyrics originally about a couple's romance during the winter season, until in a later version of the song (which was written by Felix Bernard in 1934) included the subject of a new children's lyric that transformed it from a romantic winter interlude to a seasonal song about playing in the snow joyously.
In a response to a request from David Essex, the song was written by other lyricists in 1982 and later released as a single that following year in December, until the song was added to one of his albums The Whisper a year later.
The lyrics from the track relates to winter and snow more than Xmas though it brings a glittering special ambience to make it feel like the Xmas spirit even if it's in January to remember winter one last time.
Probably one of the smoothest and most comfiest out of so many Xmas classics to endure and embrace by the warm winter fire. This song is also performed to our hearts by many singers and artists to prevail the Christmas spirit to the audience across the globe as though there is always heavenly hope during the Noël.
For many of us, Christmas music feels like it’s always been around. From our first memories of every Christmas, we are so constantly exposed to the many classic songs that are played non-stop every December to mark the festive holidays.
Essentials:
It certainly wouldn't feel like Christmas time at all without this memorable, undisputed classical track to be played and listened to so vitally and practically being almost everybody's favourite Xmas song, as many others described it as the second greatest Xmas song of all time due to many other Xmas songs success.
In truth, the song actually has very little to do with Christmas as the main focus behind the lyrics is about a failed relationship, and coming face to face with them a year later like it's shown in the music video now available in 4K. Only the phase and lyric of "Last Christmas" the relationship comes to a head that is actually referring to the festive season.
Although this song never actually became an Xmas No.1, many Wham! fans even tried to get this at that level in 2016 when the late George Michael passed, though honoured and idolised still. Especially in this monumental song.
This song being so mesmerising and angelic, tells the story of the birth of baby Jesus in the Nativity tale from the lyrics. This also brings a resemblance of black empowerment to Xmas songs, not because it is sang by Boney M but it was popularised by a Julliard-trained songwriter named Jester Hairston (who originally wrote the song) in the spiritual "Amen" during the civil rights movement in the United States.
Two different music videos were also produced to promote the single in an aim to get it to Xmas No. 1 in the late 1970's. One featured the band in a wide white room wearing bright white furry coats. The second that was made to promote the 1988 remix version featured the band once again dressed in the same but similar coats with a Nativity scene along with children in the play.
Stevie Wonder - What Christmas Means To Me
The songs title is of many other different Xmas tracks with different lyric chords, but Stevie Wonders version stands out as the most flamboyant of all.
The moment this track is played, it already gets us all in the mood to feel so excited and quite prepared for the Christmas season either on the days leading up to the 25th of December or on the day itself.
The track gives us funky vibes of dance along with trumpet chords and jingle bells playing in the background, with the lyrics being so priceless to bring out a special time in the wintery season (it is also a personal favourite of mine).
Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmas
An Xmas song like this with it being such an idealistic festive song of genius from the legend himself, Paul McCartney not only performs this song, but he played the guitar, bass, keyboards and including the jingle bells, it was basically all his work in the beginning since it was wrote by him.
The music video is a spectacular wonder to party and celebrate Christmas where it was filmed at a pub called The Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex. It also includes footage filmed at the Hippodrome Theatre in Eastbourne to include more to the festive party of the video. Although the music video features the rest of his own band of Wings, they don’t feature at all on the recording, though still featured respectfully.
This "Wonderful" track also belongs in the pantheon of truly great Christmas pop songs, to pass down in many generations to idolise one of the members of The Beatles in his own works as it continues to in the airplay in the happy holiday season.
Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
A jingly wrinkle of a song like this, never fails to impress to start partying around in the living room during Xmas and fills the joys to our minds.
Originally this track was supposed to be released for Christmas back in 1984, but when Stevens heard about Band Aid's and Wham!'s big Christmas hits dominating the charts, he decided to wait a year to release it.
The mucic video filmed in Lapland, Sweden, The video shows a young girl named traveling by plane to a place called "Santaworld" where she meets up with the singer who met her on a bus going to the place. Stevens is then seen riding with a woman dressed as an elf in a sleigh pulled by a horse and is taken to meet Santa Claus before going to a replica of Santa's workshop where children are seen playing with toys before going out with Santa on the sleigh and joins in a snowball fight with some other children and ends up hitting a snowman who starts to chase him. The music video certainly brings a festive and joyful picture of us wishing to have a White Christmas to build snowmen and play around in snowball fights.
Cliff Richard - Mistletoe And Wine
This loving Xmas track was written by Jeremy Paul along with two other lyricists in 1976. Until Cliff Richard received the song write request as he loved it, but he wanted to put in a few lyrical alterations to give the song a more religious message to tie in with its Christmas release.
The most interesting aspect of the track and its subsequent fame is that in the original context, it is meant to be a kind of pastiche carol with all the Christmas clichés, which is sung by well-to-do carol singers who are in fact indifferent to the fate of the starving little matchgirl, despite the words they sing.
Probably one of the most sweetest and harmonious Christmas songs ever, it brings us a festive treat for generations come and gone and so on. Mistletoe and Wine is suffused with the spirit of Christmas in all its mediocre glory, the lyrical and melodic blandness of the song is also its greatest strength.
Bing Crosby Feat. David Bowie - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
An essential and classical and memorable favourite of many. This festive spiritual song featuring two late greats of Bowie and Crosby, the song really speaks for itself with a crossover between The Little Boy Drummer and Peace On Earth from both artists with a wonderful theme and vibe of thinking of how we love Xmas so much in our own ways.
The music video see's David Bowie and Bing Crosby take part in an acting scenario in a television special of Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, when they both meet each other and decide to take part in singing the fabulous song written on paper. Since then the music video was featured relentlessly on Xmas playlists ever since.
The Pogues Feat. Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York
Probably one of thee... greatest Christmas songs of all time. Like all great songs, Fairytale Of New York is instantly recognisable by that marvelous opening seven seconds, which has the incredibly powerful ability to make people recall some of their favourite Christmas memories in an instant.
At first, this song had lyrics about a sailor and a distant ocean, but was suggested to be changed about a couple at Christmas who are hard on their luck.
This song is about Irish people who immigrated to America in the 19th century to escape the potato famine and in hope of making it as entertainers in New York. Many didn't, however, and ended up homeless. It is also said to come from a desire to move away from tacky Christmas songs and to highlight the fact that a lot of people have a terrible time at Christmas.
These lyrics which perfectly capture the song's spirit, is intrinsically linked to Christmas and of an Irish element with the story of the lyrics being part of it.
In your minds eye, those opening few notes somehow manage to recall decades of happy memories and thoughts from the festive season, an incredibly rare gift in any piece of music.
Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?
With this track being so a memorable and iconic, it is such a jubilant heartwarming ambience as the bells and beats in the background make it twice as merry to remember.
This song was inspired to represent the Famine in Ethiopia all across Africa and for those to spread the message across the globe for them to receive the aid and prayers they need and to not lose hope during Christmas time so that they know it.
The very first time this song was released and sang by multiple artists and has done song in the 20th and 30th anniversaries, continues to shine and display in the extravagant festive period.
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
This is a very unusual Christmas song despite it being so memorable and great. Instead of evoking sleigh bells and mistletoe, it asks us to think about those who live in fear, poverty and collectively bring about the end of war.
From one of the greatest songwriters of all time, John Lennon wrote a song not only of Xmas, but containing a political message that is still resonated to this day. The song came about after more than two years of peace activism by him and his wife Yoko Ono in 1969
The song was part of an international multimedia campaign launched by the couple in December at the height of the counterculture movement and protests against America's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Lennon came up with the song as a way of continuing the themes of social unity and peaceful change via personal accountability, that was previously the basis of the earlier billboard campaign, while attempting to convey optimism and avoiding the sentimentality he felt often characterised Christmas music.
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) has endured and continues to get airplay in the holiday season, with its powerful message and delivering sensational harmonies that could even make us sing to it like a choir holding hands and swinging our heads side to side. It brings us inspiration to those who love Xmas the most to make it so admirable, especially to make us happy all around.
Some of these festive tunes both great and essential have been ingrained in our bloods reaching to out hearts that still resonates us all every December, no matter how many times we hear them or ever get fed up of listening to them, they will always stick around to warm the festive season.
By the way, I hope these songs will always lighten up your cheery joyful winter leading up to the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all, enjoy the very best.
About the Creator
PC Melpez
I'm simply someone who loves to write stories and poetries
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