Eight Essential Oldies Artists That Are Guaranteed To Make It Feel Like Christmas
Samantha Colleran, December 2020
Happy Christmas Eve Eve, as the beloved Friends character Phoebe once said! This is my final post before Christmas, and I’m so proud of everyone for sticking out these past few months and making it to the most wonderful time of the year! Over the past couple of weeks, I covered pop Christmas essentials and rock Christmas essentials, but nothing fills me with that ultimate Christmas feeling like the oldies Christmas tunes! So today, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite oldies artists that should be featured on your Christmas playlists!
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra has made the top of my list because his rendition of “Jingle Bells” is my favorite version of it ever. There’s something about the “I love those j-i-n-g-l-e bells” line that makes me so happy, I can’t explain it. Frank has such a smooth voice that fits the Christmas mood perfectly. He covers a lot of slow songs, and it strikes the perfect emotional chord for the holidays. Frank has so much Christmas music and so many holiday albums, it’s almost overwhelming! Some of them feature his family, which is really cute and drives home the loving feeling of the holidays.
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby definitely has one of the highest song counts on my Christmas playlist. His version of “White Christmas” is my favorite. My family has this snowglobe I got from my Nan a very long time ago that my parents have been letting me keep in my room for the past couple of years. When you press the button on the bottom it sings “White Christmas” (which I also watched for the first time last year thanks to my lovely roommate Gracie), and it’s probably my favorite Christmas decoration that my family owns. Crosby also signs “Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)” which is featured in one of my favorite Christmas movies, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I was also recently given a cassette of Bing Crosby Christmas songs, which I’ve loved listening to this month!
Nat King Cole
One of the first older Christmas songs I thought of for this post was “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)”. It’s one of the first oldies songs I can ever remember hearing, and it always makes me feel a sense of nostalgia when I listen to it. It’s such a gorgeous song and Nat King Cole’s voice is so underrated. He has a number of other songs that made my playlist, including his version of “Deck The Hall”, his original tune called “Caroling, Caroling” that’s so underappreciated, as well as his cover of German “O Tannenbaum” that is just spectacular.
Judy Garland
It may be a bit of a surprise to some of you that Judy’s on this list, but she does have a couple of lovely Christmas tunes that’ll make you feel all types of nostalgia. Most notably, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, which was featured in the movie Meet Me In St. Louis. Something about the lyrics just strikes a chord, especially after this year. “Next year all our troubles/ Will be out of sight”, “Someday soon we will all be together/ If the fates allow/ Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow”, it’s so moving, and with Judy singing you’re sure to feel the emotion in her voice.
Dean Martin
Dean Martin, similar to Frank Sinatra, is so smooth in his vocal delivery that it’s impossible to not fall in love with his holiday music. My personal favorite track of his is his rendition of “A Marshmallow World”, it’s a little echoey and the backing vocals are absolutely perfect. Another very important reason I added Dean to my playlist is for my Granny, who loves the whole rat pack but always lists Dean first when talking about them! His voice appeals to all age ranges, which is perfect for the holidays.
Perry Como
There’s no place like home for the holidays, and Perry Como will be the first to tell you that! His rendition of “(There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays” is one of my favorite holiday songs. There’s something so uplifting and cheery about that song, it always reminds me of Christmas day; being home all day and spending the whole day with my family after opening presents at the crack of dawn. It reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas, being with the people you love the most. To me, it’s an underappreciated holiday song and deserves some more love.
Ella Fitzgerald
This list would not be complete at all without the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. Her Christmas covers feel like coming home after a long day, her voice completely wraps you up and fills your whole heart with love and the true Christmas feeling. An underrated powerhouse, Ella has a number of Christmas albums, including her swing Christmas album, and her Christmas album with Louis Armstrong. She covers all Christmas ground, and her songs make up a good portion of my full playlist. Ella also sings one of my favorite versions of “Sleigh Ride” featured in Elf!
Burl Ives
The man behind a number of Christmas special soundtracks including Rudolph, Burl Ives can always add a little extra cheer to the holidays. Voicing Sam the Snowman in Rudolph, Burl Ives is the unofficial voice of Christmas! His voice is so easily recognizable and sounds incredibly jolly, it’s hard to not sing along when you listen to Burl Ives’ holiday tunes. HIs songs make me feel like a kid again whenever I listen to them, and the feeling is completely irreplaceable.
There’s obviously so many more artists I could include, but we’d be here forever! I hope everyone who celebrates has a very safe, healthy, and very Merry Christmas! You can find my entire Christmas playlist linked below (or here if that link doesn’t work!), where you can listen to over seven hours worth of Christmas music. Happy holidays everyone!