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This index lists the essential songs (not all the songs) contained on the albums reviewed in Hip Christmas, plus singles, album tracks, or one-hit wonders not otherwise included on those albums. Whenever
possible, the artist's name is linked to my review of the best Christmas album (not necessarily
the only or original album) on which to find the song.
Barring that, the names will be linked to a place where you may buy the song
(usually Amazon).
If there's no link, it means that, to my knowledge, the song is not available
on CD or MP3. Of course, the list will expand as I write more reviews. And, nothing's
perfect - especially me and my crazy list. Please send additions, corrections,
criticisms, and suggestions via email
.
- Jesus Christ
- Jing-A-Ling Jing-A-Ling
- Jingle Bell Hop (Jackson Trio, 1955)
- Jingle Bell Imitations (Chubby
Checker & Bobby Rydell, 1961) [close]
Chubby
Checker - the "Twist" man - was the most valuable player of the Philadelphia-based
Cameo-Parkway label group. The Cameo stable also housed Bobby Rydell, one of
the more talented teen idols (c.f. Fabian) and a prolific hitmaker in his own
right ("Wild One," "Volare"). In 1961, the label mates recorded
an eponymous LP featuring several holiday tracks including a good-natured cover of Bobby Helms' greatest hit, "Jingle
Bell Rock." While the single reached #21 on the charts, what I treasure
most is its weird little b-side, "Jingle Bell Imitations."
Unlikely as it seems, both Checker and Rydell were gifted impressionists, and
thanks to the duo's capacity
for mimicry, we witness a host of stars - Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, the Chipmunks,
and Crazy Guggenheim (actor Frank Fontaine) - rendering "Jingle Bells" in
a manner similar to Checker's first charted hit, "The Class." Unfortunately,
Cameo-Parkway was notoriously strict with their master tapes, so neither
the LP nor the single saw the light of day for many years. Thankfully, "Jingle Bell
Rock" was
finally reissued on CD as part of the peachy-keen boxed set, Cameo
Parkway 1957-1967 (2005), but its wacky b-side has only ever been reissued on the 2010 edition of the MP3 album, Cameo
Parkway Holiday Hits.
For collectors, the third-and-final holiday track from the LP, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" has never been reissued in any digital format. In 1962, however, it was issued in America as a one-sided promotional single and in England as the b-side of "Jingle Bell Rock" (which struggled to #40 on the UK charts).
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Chet Atkins (1961 and 1983)
- Teresa Brewer (1958)
- Chubby
Checker & Bobby Rydell (1961)
- Dion (1993)
- Mickey Gilley (1981)
- Daryl Hall & John
Oates (1983)
- Bobby Helms
(1957)
 Top 100 Song [close]
Though he remained active through the 1980's,
Bobby Helms never had a lot to show for his career
besides "Jingle Bell Rock," his rockabilly-flavored smash from 1957. A few months earlier he had launched his career,
promisingly enough, with "Fraulein"
and "My Special Angel," both of which made the Top
10. Then, "Jingle Bell Rock" zoomed
to #6 and charted again four of the next five years. Oddly,
Helms never graced the pop charts again, though he remained
a fixture on the country circuit. "Jingle Bell
Rock," however, became a musical archetype, one which
shows up frequently on Christmas albums (such as Rockin'
Little Christmas), either with Helms' snappy Decca original, his remakes for Kapp (1965) or Little Darlin' (1967),
or in one of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of cover versions. (The original
Decca 45-rpm record, by the way, featured Helm's wonderfully goofy "Captain Santa
Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol" on the flipside.
Both songs are included on Bear Family's Fraulein: The Classic Years 2-CD set.)
- Platters (1963)
- Ventures (1965)
- Mary Wells
(1982)
- Jingle Bell Rock (BoDeans, 1989)
- Jingle Bell Slide (Jack Scott, 1963)
- Jingle Bells
- Jingle Bells Cha-Cha-Cha (Pearl
Bailey, 1959)
- Jingle Bells Jam (Romeos, 1980)
- Jingle Bells Jingle (Platters, 1963)
- Jingle Jangle (Penguins, 1955)
- Jingle Jangle Jump (Dexter Gordon,
1952)
- Jingle My Bells (Strip Mind, 1993)
- Jingle-O The Brownie (Tennessee Ernie
Ford, 1960)
- Johnny's Gone Sledding With Queen (Super Deluxe, 1995)
- Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
- Joseph, Better You Than Me (Killers with Elton John and Neil Tennant, 2008)
- Joseph, Who Understood (New Pornographers, 2007) [close]
This shifting cast of Canadian alt-poppers released a three track "digital EP" on iTunes in late 2007. Called The Spirit Of Giving, it features an unexceptional title track pulled from the group's recent album, Challengers. No matter, because "The Spirit Of Giving" could only be called a Christmas song in the most obtuse sense. One of the two remaining cuts (both non-LP) is a medley of covers - "Arms of Mary" (Sutherland Brothers & Quiver, 1976) and "Looking At A Baby" (The Collectors, 1967, who evolved into Chilliwack). Fun, but it stretches even the most liberal definition of the already loose holiday genre. However, the third cut, "Joseph, Who Understood," is a real gem - a gorgeous song that plows deeper into the lyrical ground broken by fellow Canuck Bruce Cockburn with his "Cry Of A Tiny Baby" ( Nothing But A Burning Light, 1991). The Pornographers' new song examines the biblical Christmas story from the surrogate father's perspective. "Mary, I'm trying to be cool," sings A.C. Newman as Joseph, but "you're asking me to believe in too many things." Repeatedly he asks, "Mary, is he mine?" Singer Neko Case harmonizes sweetly, but she never proffers an explanation, leaving Joseph to struggle with the unlikely story his new bride is feeding him. Miracle? You be the judge. - Joy To The World
- Joys Of Christmas (Chris
Rea, 1987)
- Jungle Bells (Dingo-Dango-Day)
- Just A Lonely Christmas (Moonglows,
1953)
- Just Once This Christmas (The Drag, 1995)
- Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair (Alan
Jackson, 2003)
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