Retro Crimbo 2012/ Playlist: Listen, my merry friends!

In the words of Moby Grape… listen, my friends! Yes, it’s the (hopefully) monthly playlist presented by George’s Journal just for you good people.

There may be one or two classics to be found here dotted in among different tunes you’re unfamiliar with or never heard before – or, of course, you may’ve heard them all before. All the same, why not sit back, sip a glass of mulled wine, munch on a mince pie and listen away; for in the words of Noddy Holder, ittttttt’s… well, I’m sure you know what comes next…

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CLICK on the song titles to hear them

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Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen ~ Snow¹

The Beatles ~ The Beatles’ 1963 Christmas Record

Booker T. & The M.G.s ~ Jingle Bells

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass ~ Sleigh Ride

Nina ~ Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?²

Burt Bacharach ~ Turkey Lurkey Time³

Joni Mitchell ~ River

Marvin Gaye ~ I Want To Come Home For Christmas

National Lampoon Radio Hour ~ Kung-Fu Christmas⁴

Larry Grayson ~ Who’s Stuffing Your Turkey This Christmas?

Kurtis Blow ~ Christmas Rappin’⁵

The Star Wars Intergalactic Droid Choir & Chorale ~ What Can You Get A Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Owns A Comb)?⁶

Huey Lewis And The News ~ Winter Wonderland

Madonna ~ Santa Baby

Darlene Love ~ Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)⁷

John Williams ~ Carol Of The Bells⁸

Howard Goodall ~ Mr Success/ Mr No Good⁹

Kate Winslet ~ What If¹⁰

Katherine Jenkins ~ Abigail’s Song¹¹

Cary Grant ~ Christmas Lullaby¹²

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¹ From the all-time classic movie musical White Christmas (1952)

² A performance by noble-cum-pop star Nina, Baroness van Palladt of John Barry’s seasonal ditty from the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on the 1969 Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show

³ From the 1968 Broadway musical Promises, Promises (music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David and book by Neil Simon – and based on Billy Wilder’s 1960 classic film The Apartment) and performed on a February 1970 edition of The Ed Sullivan Show

⁴ As featured on The National Lampoon Radio Hour LP ‘Goodbye Pop’ and written by Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Brian Shaffer and Brian Doyle-Murray

⁵ Kurtis Blow – real name: Kurtis Walker – was the first rapper to be signed by a major record label (Mercury) and Christmas Rappin’ was his first single released by them; it sold 400,000 copies

⁶ From the 1980 album Christmas In The Stars (narrated by C3P0 actor Anthony Daniels and featuring songs and stories about a droid factory making toys for Santa), produced by Meco (Domenico Monardo) the man behind the chart hit that was the disco-ified version of the Star Wars Main Theme 

⁷ A compilation of performances by Darlene Love of the classic Christmas hit on The Late Show With David Letterman – her first festive appearance on the show was in 1986

⁸ From the soundtrack of the film Home Alone (1990)

⁹ As featured in the BBC Christmas special Bernard And The Genie (1991)

¹⁰ Performed by Winslet – in the role of Belle – in the animated film Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) and released as a single that reached #6 in the UK charts

¹¹ As featured in 2010’s seasonal Doctor Who episode ‘A Christmas Carol’, in which Jenkins played the character of, yes, Abigail

¹² The recent birth of his daughter Jennifer – with wife Dyan Cannon – was the inspiration for this 1967 festive effort from Grant, the only single he ever recorded 

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