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Christmas Classics

Christmas Classics (1988) is one of the first installments of Rhino Records' series of historic CD compilations of holiday music. The label had already released some great stuff on vinyl, including the brief Rockin' Christmas and Cool Yule series, both drawn from the dawn of the rock 'n' roll era. But, Christmas Classics is Rhino's first-ever attempt to compile the most popular Christmas songs, rather than the coolest songs, from those halcyon days. It's not that Christmas Classics isn't cool. I consider all 18 tracks to be essential listening (see below), and I enshrined fully half of them in my Top 100 Songs. But, most of these songs were hit records, not the amazing, exotic obscurities that filled out Rockin' Christmas and Cool Yule. Most of the rest were tracks on high profile albums by some of the biggest stars of the day.

If you've been listening to or collecting Christmas music for a while, some of these tracks are well-worn favorites, at best. Overplayed, often-covered songs like Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock," Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," and Charles Brown's twin classics, "Merry Christmas, Baby" and "Please Come Home for Christmas," may have even worn out their welcome. But, if you're new to this rarified world, Christmas Classics is a treasure trove. If you've never heard crazed classics like Santo & Johnny's "Twistin' Bells" (1960) or James Brown's "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" (1968), your worldview is about to change. If you think "White Christmas" is a Bing Crosby song, or "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a Gene Autry song, the Drifters and the Cadillacs are about to take you to school. If you've never heard the Ventures' experiment in musical fusion, run - don't walk - to your local record store and buy a copy.

Back in the day, Rhino was nothing if not eclectic, and Christmas Classics reflects that aesthetic. Consequently, it lacks a certain focus that is necessary for compilations of its sort to become truly great - greatness Rhino's later collections of country, jazz, blues, doo wop, reggae, punk, new wave, and swing would achieve. On Christmas Classics, we get an admixture of rock 'n' roll and rhythm 'n' blues, plus a token country song and a couple of wacky novelties. By attempting to cover so much ground, Christmas Classics can feel random and generic. The sheer brilliance of its selections, however, overcomes Rhino's scattershot programming, making Christmas Classics as close to an "instant record collection" as had ever been released in the arena of Christmas rock up till then. Christmas Classics is the rare disc that includes nearly all the widely accepted classics,while tossing in a few songs that are still hard to find decades later.

Best Of Cool YuleAlmost Classic, Almost Cool

Rhino Records was a fairly early adopter of the compact disc, releasing CD's as early as 1984, and their first Christmas compact discs appeared in 1987. But, early on, Rhino's embrace of the compact disc was somewhat tentative. To wit, they never reissued the wonderful Rockin' Christmas series on CD, and the Cool Yule series was shrunk down to a single compact disc called The Best Of Cool Yule, released one year after Christmas Classics. A few of the missing tracks appear on Christmas Classics, and this makes the two CD's companions of a sort - at least for digital connoisseurs. Of the rest, most would show up on later Rhino CD collections like Doo Wop Christmas, Hipsters' Holiday, or their Billboard series. But, more than a few would remain on the cutting room floor, leaving collectors to search elsewhere, and several never appeared in the digital realm at all - not counting bootlegs and the public domain.

I tell you all that so I can say that, as great as they are, Christmas Classics and The Best Of Cool Yule will leave you wanting more. Compared to the LP's that preceded them, they are an imperfect solution. They even overlap on one track - the Ventures' "Sleigh Ride". Rhino dipped their toes in the promising waters of the compact disc rather than diving in headlong, and they ended up missing a golden opportunity.

And, I do have a couple of specific quibbles about the track selection on Christmas Classics. Mainly, does the aforementioned token country song, "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" by Johnny Horton, really serve any purpose in this context? Musically, it sticks out like a sore thumb, and, more egregiously, it also appeared the same year on Rhino's fine Hillbilly Holiday compilation - where it made perfect sense. But also, Aretha Franklin's "Winter Wonderland" is tantamount to false advertising. She recorded the song for Columbia in 1964 - long before she reached her soulful potential. Aretha's label, Columbia, was struggling to figure out what to do with her, trying to mold her into a latter day version of Billie Holiday or Dinah Washington. Aretha's playful reading of "Winter Wonderland" is fun, but it's a far cry from the monumental soul music she would make after jumping ship to Atlantic Records in 1967.

Of course, no one album can tell the whole story. Among the major players missing in action are the Beach Boys and Elvis Presley, plus anything from Phil Spector's legendary collection.

But, I'm just whistling while the North Pole rocks. Taken as the sum of its parts, Christmas Classics is inarguably great, and every single one of 18 of its tracks are, indeed, classic. It's a fine place to start collecting rock 'n' roll and rhythm 'n' blues Christmas music - just don't stop there. You have miles to go before you sleep.

Consumer Notes

You may have noticed that the cover art of Christmas Classics says it's part of Rhino's "Golden Archive Series." This was a fairly short-lived series of compilations, some by individual artists like Richie Valens, the Turtles, and the Spencer Davis Group, and some focused on specific subgenres like doo wop, teen idols, and girl groups. It was one of Rhino's last series issued mostly on vinyl. So, while Christmas Classics kicked off Rhino's run of great CD compilations, it was also released as a vinyl LP - one of the last times that would be the case. So, hardcore vinyl junkies have something to search for, too. Be aware, though, that the vinyl edition has just 14 tracks compared to 18 on CD.

Charles Brown recorded his two greatest Christmas hits many times throughout his long career (read more). The version of "Merry Christmas, Baby" included on Christmas Classics is the 1956 recording for Aladdin Records - the one many people (myself included) consider definitive. However, the version of "Please Come Home For Christmas" is the 1970 remake Brown recorded for Jewel Records, not his definitive original 1960 King recording. The liner notes of Christmas Classics fail to make this distinction, claiming it's the King master. It is not.

Finally, like all the Rhino CD compilations, Christmas Classics did not make the leap to the world of downloads and streaming. That said, you can find most of the tracks online, but they may not be properly licensed or, worse, they might be taken from inferior sources. So, caveat emptor. [top of page]

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms, 1957) Top 100 Song
  • Merry Christmas, Baby (Charles Brown, 1956) Top 100 Song
  • Monster's Holiday (Bobby "Boris" Pickett, 1962)
  • A Not So Merry Christmas (Bobby Vee, 1962)
  • Please Come Home For Christmas (Charles Brown, 1970) Top 100 Song
  • Pretty Paper (Roy Orbison, 1963)
  • Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee, 1958) Top 100 Song
  • Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Cadillacs, 1956)
  • Run Rudolph Run (Chuck Berry, 1958) Top 100 Song
  • Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto (James Brown, 1968) Top 100 Song
  • Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Supremes, 1965)
  • Santa Claus Is Watching You (Ray Stevens, 1962)
  • Sleigh Ride (Ventures, 1965)
  • Someday At Christmas (Stevie Wonder, 1966) Top 100 Song
  • They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose (Johnny Horton, 1959)
  • Twistin' Bells (Santo & Johnny, 1960) Top 100 Song
  • White Christmas (Drifters, 1954) Top 100 Song
  • Winter Wonderland (Aretha Franklin, 1964)

Further ListeningFurther Listening

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