Posts by Alby

Everyone knows why there have never been any good Hanukkah songs -- the Jewish songwriters were too busy writing Christmas music. From Mendelssohn to Johnny Marks, Jewish composers and lyricists…

The words to this old English carol date to at least the early 19th century, possibly the early 18th, and the concept it's based on, using holly as a symbol…

The first rock and roll Christmas song was not classified as a rock and roll song when it was released. Bobby Helms was a country singer who had a pair…

New Age guitarist David Qualey recorded a few LPs for Windham Hill, and his arrangement of this famous Bach piece was one of the label's standout tracks. It featured not…

Every year musical artists record new Christmas songs to release into the world, hoping they've found the next chestnut that will make them as famous as Mariah Carey. It almost…

Originally titled "Carol of the Drum," this Christmas standard was written in 1941 by an American composer, Katherine Kennicott Davis, who mostly wrote music for the choir at Wellesley College,…

I'm not sure when Keb' Mo' wrote or recorded this tune. It shows up on compilation albums as far back as 1999, and he released it himself on a 2011…

The music makes it sound more like a Halloween song than a Christmas tune, but it's a valid question -- who's that at the door so late? It's a reminder…

Yesterday I said "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was the saddest Christmas song, and Nathan Arizona nominated this one as a challenger. He's almost right -- almost. This is…

Jason said a few days ago that he's not ready for a "little" Christmas, so to help him out I'm starting this year's 12 Days of Christmas Music with the…

Hall of Fame country singer Charley Pride died of Covid-19 yesterday at age 86. He didn't break the color barrier in country music, but he was the genre's first black…

It was 20 years ago that the film "Wonder Boys," based on Michael Chabon's novel, was released, with this then-new song anchoring the soundtrack, and things remain crazy and times…

Kenny Jeremiah, the lead singer of the Soul Survivors, succumbed to COVID-19 a week ago. While he might not be the best-known musician to die this year, his group's big…