My 25 Most-Played Christmas Songs, 2021 edition

What, you thought that just because Christmas is over, I’d stop writing Christmas blogs? I WILL NEVER STOP WRITING CHRISTMAS BLOGS. Heck, if we stick to certain church traditions, Christmas won’t even be over until January 5th! I’ve still got nearly two weeks! No, but seriously, this is the last one. I’ll still take any opportunity to rant about music, though.

Last year, when I was shifting computers and my iTunes stats got reset, I had a rare opportunity to keep track of my own listening habits and see how things shifted around between the previous listen count that had built up over the years and the new one that started from scratch in December 2020. I’m absolutely sure nobody ELSE cares about this kind of thing, but it’s fun for me, and it’s my Patreon page, so NYAH NYAH! Once again, I’m gonna look through my iTunes stats and see what the

Top songs are, this time with the list expanded from 20 to 25 because… I like that number better. If you really want context, the previous lists are here and here, now let’s see how my holiday listening habits have changed over the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty one.

I’ll tell you ahead of time, though, that the list didn’t chance anywhere near as much as I’d expected. My library of Christmas tunes expended quite a bit over the past year, despite already being bigger than any one person ought to be able to manage… and that’s probably the issue. I’ve got so MANY new songs on offer that I only managed to listen to any one of them a couple times at most. They all eat into each other’s potential playtime, while the most well-established songs stay near the top thanks to the built up plays from last year. Plus, I’m still not really GOING all that many places right now, so I didn’t have as much music playing in the background as usual. More often than not this year, while I was on the computer working on stuff, I’d have Christmas specials playing as background instead of music. Heck, I’ve got The Snowman playing right now as I write this. All that to say, I’d probably have to do a top 50 or 100 for there to be any truly noticeable changes… or just have another computer issue reset all the song stats again, and I’d really rather not deal with either. I dunno, maybe next year I’ll do 50-26 as a full list and just leave the top 25 as bullet points, assuming nothing much changes for another year. You never know, I could suddenly develop a massive obsession with Polka or Country and have completely different listening habits next year. It’s not TOTALLY impossible! But in the meantime, here’s what I’ve been listening to THIS Christmas:

25. “Coventry Carol” – John Darnall

Well, this is a bit of a morbid note to start with. Still, for an old traditional song about Herod ordering the deaths of newborns, the melody is as beautiful as it is haunting. I’ve got a whole lot of renditions of this song on file, but the only one to make it into the top is by vaguely defined “World Music” guitarist John Darnall, who provides an acoustic instrumental version with clarinet handling the melody. In fact, most “Coventry Carol” versions I like are instrumental. You’d almost think the lyrics are a bit too sad or something.

24. “Away In A Manger” – Fourplay

Fourplay are a Smooth Jazz band I discovered though some Vaporwave sample or another, and most of their 1999 Christmas album “Snowbound” sounds exactly like what you’d think a Christmas album by a band discovered under those circumstances would sound like. Picture a PREVUE Guide Christmas circa 1989 and you’re pretty much there. And yet, the song that made it the highest on my list is the one they play the most straight. “Away In A Manger” is mostly gentle piano noodling with very soft, gentle guitar for the melody. Well fitting for a lullaby.

23. “Merry Christmas Darling” – Carpenters

This one was actually on the first list but fell off of the second, so seeing it work its was back up is nice. To repeat myself from previous blogs, I normally penalize Christmas songs that are mostly just love songs with some seasonal trappings, but the good ones are just too good to ignore, and “Merry Christmas Darling” is a REALLY good song. There’s plenty of reasons why Karen Carpenter’s early death was a tragedy, but one of the lesser ones is that it meant we never got more Carpenters Christmas albums. Their lush, polished, finely-tuned Pop is perfect for the stereotypical Holiday warm fuzzies.

22. “Christmastime Is Here (instrumental version)” – The Vince Guaraldi Trio

On the other hand, I can totally respect sparse simplicity as well. Compared to a lot of the stuff on my lists, the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack is downright minimalist. It’s bittersweet, but still lovely, and a great soundtrack to a still, quiet night. I’d say more, but we’re going to be hearing more from Mr. Guaraldi later on, so I’ll keep the rest in reserve.

21. “Joy To The World” – Mannheim Steamroller

Okay, here we go. If it’s me doing a Christmas song list, the presence of Mannheim Steamroller isn’t just likely, it’s a scientific fact. And surprisingly, “Joy To The World” wasn't on EITHER of the previous lists, despite being a really solid tune. Granted, it’s also an incredibly blatant attempt to re-capture what worked on a certain OTHER song we’ll be seeing later on, but I don’t necessarily hold being a rehash against a song, so long as it’s a GOOD rehash. And “Joy To The World” is very good at reproducing that “Christmas in Flash Gordon” spirit, so rehash all you want.

20. “Christmas Waltz” – Carpenters

More Carpenters, and another song that was on the first list but fell off the second. Looks like the Carpenters are the comeback kids this year! Admittedly, only this particular VERSION of the song fell off last year’s list, “Christmas Waltz” will turn up again later. It’s pretty weird when I have to talk about the same song twice, especially given how MANY songs I’ve got kicking around in my playlists. How does the same song end up on this list so many times? I collect so many Christmas songs to AVOID this kind of thing!

19. “Wonderful Christmastime” – Paul McCartney

Yeah, I know. Everybody’s said their piece on this song by now, myself included. A lot of people hate it, I don’t, but my Beatles nostalgia ensures I couldn’t be objective even if I felt like it. Well, okay, I do maintain that “Wonderful Christmastime” sounds like the demo for a relatively better song. Some more fleshed out lyrics, tightened up arrangement, and fix the timing on those keyboard echoes, and the good parts of this song would be a lot easier to appreciate. At least, for people who DO have trouble appreciating it, of whom I will never be on.

18. “Walking In The Air” – Howard Blake & Peter Autry

Hey, look! The Snowman, here to make us all sad! Actually, this song dropped down the list quite a bit this year, though seeing as how it wasn’t in the top twenty at all for the first list, being on here at all again is a bit of a victory I guess. That’s the biggest takeaway on a lot of these entries, just seeing if they rose or fell from where they were this time last year. Speaking of which…

17. ”March Of The Toy Soldiers” – The Boston Pops

Amazingly, this one is at the EXACT SAME SPOT ON THE LIST as last year! The orchestral side of Christmas music is a bit less dominant this year, but a lot of the main artists are still around. They don't normally defy all laws of sequential occurrence like this one, but I guess it’s only to be expected that a bunch of soldiers would know how to hold formation.

16. “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” – The Boston Pops

…and apparently they also form ranks with other songs, too. A really weird thing about the song stats this year is that there’s SEVERAL instances of artists getting multiple tracks bunched up next to each other. Again, with so many songs in my library, it SEEMS really unusual for this to happen, but I also get that this is exactly WHY so many of the other songs eat into each other’s rankings. And hey, I’m not gonna complain about hearing two Boston Pops songs in a row.

15. “Stille Nacht” – Mannheim Steamroller

I’m not gonna complain about two Mannheim Steamroller songs in a row either, because it happened again here. “Stille Nacht” is kind of a basic Steamroller pick, but that doesn’t stop it from being a good one. It did drop a few spots from last year, though. I guess I was just in more of a mood for livelier Christmas tunes than slower, ethereal ones this year…

14. “Deck The Halls” – Mannheim Steamroller

…but then how did “Deck The Halls” manage to fall even further? Back on the first list, this was all the way up at number one! Maybe “Joy To The World” leeched some listens off of this one, since this is so obviously the song THAT song is based on? I dunno, I usually leave the song selection up to Shuffle, so it wasn’t anything conscious on my part. It’s the most well known Steamroller song on the list, but not their top-ranked entry here. If you actually remember last year’s list, you probably already know what THAT will be.

13. “I Saw Three Ships” – David Arkenstone

Another song that fell several spots from last year, though I do kind of like seeing this one placed right next to several Steamroller tracks, since for most of my childhood I thought this WAS one. In fact, looking back, “Deck The Halls” and “I Saw Three Ships” were right next to each other last year too, if not so far down. Some things are just meant to be together, I suppose.

12. “Christmastime Is Here (vocal version)” – The Vince Guaraldi Trio

Okay, now we’ve got a track actually CLIMBING the list, and bringing its mute brother along with it! See, this is why I had to be careful about saying too much about the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack earlier, because I knew I had this to deal with. As weird as it is to work around multiple versions of the same song, multiple arrangements by THE SAME ARTIST is a next level challenge. And that’s not even all…

11. “Linus and Lucy” – The Vince Guaraldi Trio

THAT’S RIGHT, ANOTHER DOUBLE ENTRY! And what’s more, this song wasn’t on EITHER previous lists, making its sudden appearance right below the Top Ten all the more meteoric. I’ve been trying to get more into Jazz over the past few years, and by that I mean ACTUAL Jazz, not the Weather Channel stuff I normally listen to. The more I explore, the more I realize just how much Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts soundtracks shaped my impressions of what Jazz I actually like. Schroeder would be proud.

10. “We Need A Little Christmas” – Johnny Mathis

Okay, back to repeat offenders, though this is another one that’s dropped a few spots since last year. A bit surprising, since I’m sure plenty of people think I make this both my personal theme song and life philosophy. But hey, it’s still just barely in the Top Ten, so that’s still pretty darn good. My senseless holiday aggression remains intact.

9. “Christmas Waltz” – Hagood Hardy

Oh, now THIS one really jumped ahead of the pack, up from 18 last year. Yes, this is another repeat song, but the vibraphone-driven instrumental version here has a wildly different feel than the vocal Carpenters version. This is straight up Muzak, and I don’t mean that as an insult. If anything, THAT’S probably where my listening tastes have drifted the farthest this year, pushing the Elevator Music angle pretty darn hard. And speaking of Easy Listening…

8. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – The Williams Brothers

Another significant move up the list from last year (where it ranked a mere 16), it still amuses me that Mr. Christmas himself Andy Williams has never made it onto any of these lists, but the oddball reunion album he recorded with his brothers just ranks higher and higher. Obviously, the biggest thing The Williams Brothers have over just the Williams brother is harmonies, as I remain as much a total sucker for a good vocal as ever. What’s more, though, this song has a much more mellow, laid back vibe than any of the big showtune numbers that dominate Andy’s solo repertoire.

7. “Silent Night” – Percy Faith

Well, I mentioned Easy Listening earlier, so it’s inevitable that Percy Faith would show up soon. Another song that’s risen up the ranks a few spots, this version of “Silet Night” probably isn’t as good as the Mannheim Steamroller one from an objectively creative standpoint, but it definitely makes for better relaxing background noise. This is probably the perfect encapsulation of what the words “Christmas Elevator Music” sound like, which makes it a bit odd that it’s not the top Percy Faith track here. But we’ll get to that later, first…

6. “The 12 Days Of Christmas” – Mantovani

Oh, now HERE’S an upset. This one was last year’s number one, and not without good reason. It remains one of the only versions of “The 12 Days Of Christmas” I can defend as being worth listening to just as a piece of music, not as a party game you’re inexplicably listening to somebody else play. It is really long, though, which may be why I wound up skipping it more than usual this year.

5. “Winter Wonderland” – Chet Atkins

WHOA! Another comeback! This one made 13 on the first list, but dropped off the second one entirely, only to come ROARING BACK to the Top Five this year! Well, as much as this laid back lonesome cowboy guitar workout can be said to “roar.” More like lazily nod, but if the previous few entries have taught us anything, it’s that being lazy and mellow seems to have been one of my main goals for this year. Speaking of which…

4. “Christmas Is…” – Jack Jones

My one man quest to make this song a thing again continues! Admittedly, it has slipped a couple spots from last year’s no. 2, but it’s still my single most listened too vocal Christmas song. Not bad for Percy Faith’s blatant attempt to rewrite “The Christmas Song” …which amazingly is not on ANY of these lists so far. Heck, scrolling down the song stats further, my most played version of “The Christmas Song” isn’t even Nat King Cole’s, it’s Vince Guaraldi’s cover! How weird! And regarding weird…

3. “Wassail, Wassail” – Mannheim Steamroller

For the second year in a row, this obscurity is my top Mannheim Steamroller song. Not “Deck The Halls,” not “Stille Nacht,” NONE of the really recognizable songs. Nope, I keep coming back to this strange medieval folk tune without a single synthesizer ANYWHERE. But then, this was also the very first Mannheim Steamroller song I ever hear, and what is the Christmas season if not a triumph of nostalgia?

2. “Deck The Halls” – Percy Faith

Another song creeping its way further up, inching from 3 to 2, and in the process sparing Percy Faith the indignity of having his top ranked song be beaten out by a COVER of one of his songs (“Christmas Is” ranked higher last year, if that sentence was too confusion for you). Interestingly, this one actually a lot LESS like a Percy Faith production than “Silent Night” did earlier, throwing my conclusions about me being in more of an Elevator Music mood into question. If anything, this arrangement of “Deck The Halls” sounds more like a Boston Pops song, and speaking of whom…

1. “Sleigh Ride” – The Boston Pops

Yup, here’s my number one most listened to Christmas song of 2021: a song that never once mentions Christmas! And that’s all about riding around in the snow, when I live in The South! Eeh, whatever. This is another one of those recordings I’ve loved since I was a kid, and while I’m a bit surprised it managed to take the absolute top spot (by just a single play, I might add) it’s not surprising at all that it was at least in contention. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying it, my entire foundation for Christmas music is Mannheim Steamroller and The Boston Pops, so it’s only right that one of the two should manage to snag the top spot this year.

Well, there you have it! Again, the top of the list repeated itself a lot more than I expected, so this might be the last one of these I do for a while, until the stats get more shaken up. But you never know, if I end up having a regular commute again next year, we might end up with enough extra playtime to make things interesting again right away.

Oh, and just for the record, I am pleased to report that, once again, I made it through the entire Christmas season without listening to “Do They Know It’s Christmas” ONCE… all the way through. I did hear it starting up in a store once, but was quick to drown it out with my own music. See, THIS is why I never leave the house without my playlists!