ay morning coming down // (Scott Johnson).

This is my slightly revised version of secular pop songs that take on Christmas in some way or another for artistic purposes. These are the songs in chronological order, with notes to help you place them.

Noel Paul Stookey (Paul, Peter, Paul & Mary), adapted and arranged “A’Soalin” together with Elena Mezzetti, Tracy Batteast, including Christmas references – using “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” as a counter-melody. Notes on the song. This is the 1963 Peter, Paul and Mary album – Moving.

Below is the video of Edgar Winter and Johnny performing the Charles Brown song “Please Come Home for Christmas” (1966). It was originally released as a single b/w “Santa Don’t Pass Me By” by Jimmy Donley under the Meaux Sound Memories record (the Donley recording can also be accessed on YouTube, but please ignore). Johnny’s Livin’ In the Blues compilation includes the Winter brothers’ recording. This compilation must have predated his fame with Columbia’s first work in 1969. The Winters brothers’ rendition of “Please Come Back For Christmas” is a deeply personal celebration of the holiday.

Elvis brought his love for the blues to his performance Charles Brown’s “Merry Christmas Baby”. Brown had written the song in 1947 as a member Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. Elvis’s original version was originally released in 1971 as a holiday single (edited to 3:15) and in its entirety on Elvis sings the Wonderful World of Christmas. It was first heard on the 1983 album Elvis Blue (on vinyl). It’s a somewhat profane Christmas, but it’s a beautiful world. Elvis’s shout-out to James Burton is to guitarist James Burton. David Briggs’s piano playing is also notable. For more information, visit “Merry Christmas Baby on Elvis Today.

Joni Mitchell opens “River”, with “Jingle Bells” in a minor key. The song conveys a feeling that is both depressing and joyful, something many people feel at this time of year. The song contrasts its own sorrow with the seasonal “songs” of joy and peace, which was originally released as track 8 on Joni’s Blue (1971). However, the song has become an unlikely Christmas classic with hundreds.

Leon Russell recorded “Slipping into Christmas” in 1972 as a single b/w “Christmas in Chicago” (1972). It didn’t make it to an album. I don’t know the reason. This is a graber, by my lights.

The Everly Brothers split in July 1973. However, they did not record The Stories That We Could Tell (produced and mixed by Paul Rothchild). It’s full of gems. Don Everly’s “I’m Tired Of Singing My Songs in Las Vegas” is a sign of their separation. Dennis Linde wrote “Christmas Eve Can Kill You”. It was one of many stories they could tell.

Now we know that Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne” (1980) was taken from Fogelberg’s life. Fogelberg’s former girlfriend waited until Fogelberg died to speak publicly about their chance reunion. 1975 was the year. The scene was in a convenience store in Peoria. It was Christmas Eve. The snow was falling. In this 2016 New York Times Magazine column, Sam Anderson sings the song’s praises. Another note is Michael Brecker’s poignant sax solo at end of song.

Home For Christmas was released by John Oates and Daryl Hall in 2006. It’s full od good songs. Hall co-wrote the title track in collaboration with Greg Biek, Tom “T-Bone”, Wolk (Bahamas). (Wolk, who was 58 years old, died in 2010). Below is the live version with guest star Shelby Lynne, who appeared on a 2012 edition Live from Daryl’s House. It fits right in here, I think. Shelby Lynne, the talented sister of Allison Moorer, is also featured. Allison shares their (horrifying!) family story in the 2019 memoir as well as a related compact disk (reviewed here).

Mel Torme and Bob Wells penned “The Christmas Song” on a hot day in Southern California in 1945. Wells had already written the first verse. After Wells allowed Torme to enter Wells’ San Fernando Valley home, Torme discovered the first verse on the piano. Torme asked Wells about the “little poem” when he showed up in tennis shorts, shirt, and still looking hot as Torme recounts. They produced the classic Christmas song 45 minutes later. They immediately offered it to Nat “King”, Cole, and Cole fell in love with the song on his first listen. Cole didn’t record it because of his busy schedule until 1946.

This is the story we all know. This story is told by Torme in his memoir It wasn’t all Velvet. However, Torme adds a humorous footnote. Cole recorded the last line of the song as “To see reindeers actually know how to fly.” “Nat, a true gentleman, stewed over the error and at the conclusion of another recording session with the same-sized orchestra, he rerecorded the song, correctly singing “reindeer” (in the version that we all know).

This is an inspiring story in many ways, but the song has become so ingrained that it’s almost impossible to hear it again with pleasure. With a little help from John Pizzarelli and Paul McCartney, I believe the answer is yes. This recording is a result of the 2012 Holidays Rule collection.

“If We Make it Through December” was originally a single taken from Merle Hagar’s Christmas Present (1973), and then, a few more months later, on Merle’s album of that name. It combines desperation and guarded optimism, much like many Merle songs. Suzy Bogguss also included the song on her album Lucky (2014). This disc is devoted exclusively to Haggard songs. Suzy’s version of the song, as well as the live performance, is my favorite. Just in time to this year’s edition Doug Jeffrey has an excellent review of Marc Eliot’s biography of Haggard in The Claremont Review of Books.

All our readers who are celebrating today, we wish you the best.