Arts and Entertainment

No, I am not extending the Christmas music season with this tune because, contrary to popular belief and usage, it isn't a Christmas song, or wasn't intended as one. Pretenders…

"The Glorious Sound of Christmas," recorded in 1962 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Normandy, remains the best-selling classical holiday album ever -- it sold 1 million copies before Christmas…

Speaking of Jewish songwriters composing so many great Christmas songs, there's one Christmas song that's not only written by a Jew, Robert Smigel, the comic genius behind SNL's "TV Funhouse"…

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…