Monday has arrived! Can you believe that Christmas Eve is on Saturday?! Who’s all ready? Not me! I’ve got a lot of work to accomplish this week – you know, like finding all the gifts I’ve purchased over the last 6 months and wrapping like a maniac. Wish me luck!
Since it is Monday, you know that Monday means music! For the month of December, our Spotlight Dancer is of course Santa, from the North Pole! This entire month we’ll be dancing around the Christmas tree to whatever holiday music moves you. Have a holly jolly Christmas season! Let’s get this festive Christmas season underway, shall we?
Since yesterday (today if you’re reading this on Sunday night) was the beginning of the 8 nights of Chanukah, a few years ago I found this awesome a cappella song. This group is anchored by a strong Jewish identity and driven by a mission to connect Jews around the globe with their heritage through music, they are the originators of today’s Jewish a cappella sound.
They’ve performed to rave reviews for millions of people — at synagogues, religious schools, major sports events, JCCs, fundraising events, B’nai Mitzvah and private affairs alike, received numerous awards for their five best-selling CDs, and were selected as finalists for casting in NBC’s “The Sing-Off”.
Get ready to be impressed by Six13 with “Bohemian Chanukah (a Queen adaptation)”:
Next up, this favorite artist recently released a reissue of her previous Christmas album on its 5th anniversary, which included three brand new Christmas tunes – this is one of them – it’s going to be your Christmas earworm. 😉
Get ready to dance, here’s the amazing Sia with “12 Nights”:
Next up, holiday music is a funny thing. On the one hand, there are the old classics that we replay year after year — Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” Burl Ives’ “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” and so on. On the other hand, we have the ever-increasing repertoire of modern Christmas music, since every artist seems to feel the need to release a holiday album.
If it weren’t for modern Christmas music, we would never have been blessed/cursed with “Last Christmas” or “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and there’s no question that such songs can be a mixed bag. But this year’s surprise breakout holiday hit comes from a rather unexpected source — an A-list star —and it’s simply delightful.
This particular song was released by a group (who sings along with this artist in this version) 8 years ago, and it’s a sweet song – but this version? Even better. This particular version was compliments of Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – I know, you probably didn’t know there was one, I sure didn’t until I stumbled across this song.
The artist admires the writer-director of the franchise, whose project perfectly fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. The film has Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord in need of some yuletide cheer, so his Guardians pals cook up a plan to surprise the Footloose fan with the ultimate Christmas present: Kevin Bacon. He was quoted as saying:
“When he finally … sent the script, he said, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to sing in it.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, man, that’s amazing.’ That hadn’t even, like, occurred to me.”
“He does have a great sense of music. I love that Old 97’s song, you know. What a challenge to write a new Christmas song … It’s cool. It really is.”
Get ready for some fun, here’s Kevin Bacon and Old 97s with “Here It Is Christmastime”:
Last, but certainly not least, this song finds this duo coming together to spread some festive cheer. The pair celebrate spending the holiday season with their loved ones after a tough year. The two do throw in a Santa sackful of Christmas clichés, including December snow, kissing under the mistletoe, and Christmas trees.
When the British singer/songwriter reached out to the English singer/songwriter in late 2020, initially the English star was cool, but he eventually gave in. He said:
“I said to Elton, I was like, ‘I don’t really want to do a Christmas song unless we’re going in. Unless it’s like sleigh bells, ding-dong – yeah, it needs to be a proper Christmas song.'”
He wrote a chorus that same day. Later, he went to stay with Elton, and they cranked out three festive songs, one of which was this song.
The video pays homage to scenes from classic Christmas music videos, including Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” the Snowman’s “Walking In The Air,” Shakin’ Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone,” and East 17’s “Stay Another Day.” Mr. Blobby, Jonathan Ross, Big Narstie, Michael McIntyre and the Darkness all makes cameo appearances.
Without further ado, here’s Ed Sheeran and Elton John with “Merry Christmas”:
That’s a wrap for this week – see you on the dance floor!
Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:
I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!
Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!
I did get a kick out of the Guardians Christmas and the first song was funny. I’m not one for the 2nd song…I dodon’like that singing for Christmas…I’m an ole Fuddy dud I guess.
What wonderful videos. You made me smile.
Thank you for co-hosting the fun.
Have a fabulous day and week and have a very Merry Christmas. ♥
I like these! Didn’t know Kevin Bacon could sing…
Merry Christmas, Stacy!
Amazing discovery with Kevin Bacon! I had no clue he could sing. He’s a multi-talented fella. Thanks for sharing your song picks this week. We’re only days away from the big day. I can’t believe how fast the month breezed by me. Have a great time with the family, my dear!
Classic playlist here. Very nice. Thanks for sharing them. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I really enjoyed this playlist – first, Bohemian Hanukkah, which has been a favorite of mine since it came out several years ago. I have trouble convincing my husband that there are no musical instruments (apart from parts of the singers’ bodies) and fitting the words to the original lyrics was shear genius. Elton John and Ed Sheeran have a classic here and I really enjoyed Kevin Bacon and Olds 97’s contribution. Happy Holidays to you!