AP Photo/Disney, Mark Ashman / Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has reached the top of the Billboard 100 list for the first time since its release in 1994.LISA DENTON: Barry, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been humming Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” all week, ever since the news broke that it’s Spotify’s most-streamed Christmas song of all time. Carey actually released the song in 1994, but it wasn’t until this year, 25 years later, that it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
The rest of Spotify’s Top 5 are “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande, “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé and “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber.
None of those are on our Top 5 lists, as we discussed last week. Ours were way more traditional.
BARRY COURTER: Only the Bublé one makes my Top 500 list. Wow. Just goes to show you how huge the Christmas music world is. Or how hep you and I are. By the way, I used the word “hep” there for irony, in case anybody missed it. I understand we got a few readers to share their favorite songs with us after our story ran last week.
LISA: We did indeed hear from several readers. Diane Martin reminded me of “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem,” which is also a favorite of mine.
“It’s my favorite,” she wrote, “especially the versions by The Judds, the Appalachian Christmas Tour and my church choir. It’s got that special Southern style and melody.”
Her church is New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian in Sequatchie County. “Our choir is small, maybe 15 people, but they can really sing,” she said.
She also told me a little of the song’s history. It was written by a Tennessee farmer, Robert Fisher Boyce of Rutherford County. You can read more about it at www.rutherfordtnhistory.org.
J. Steven Hiatt recommended “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John and Yoko/Plastic Ono Band and said he likes several songs from Bob Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart” album because Dylan’s “gruff vocals” make them noteworthy.
“‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ and ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ are good examples of Dylan’s unique interpretation of a standard, classic Christmas carol,” he said.
Makes me wish pop radio played more of these songs instead of some of the schlock that gets played over and over.
BARRY: Those are good. There are some really good Christmas songs by pop and rock stars. I didn’t mention it, and I should have, but “Little Drummer Boy” with Bing Crosby and David Bowie is not only the perfect mash-up of classic crooner and modern pop, it is a nearly perfect Christmas song.
Rex Anderson saw our story while visiting family and shared some new songs he recently recorded, including one called “Merry Christmas to My Family.”
LISA: I especially like the name of the EP, “Big for His Age.” I think that tells us all we need to know about Anderson’s childhood.
Kathleen Maxwell didn’t supply an artist, but her favorite song is one that also made your Top 5: “Mary, Did You Know.” It’s a beautiful song.
BARRY: Kathleen, I hope you’ll check out The Impressions’ version. And Bamafancd15 had some good picks, with “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives at No. 1. Followed by “O Holy Night” by John Berry, which was also on your list; “Silent Night” by Stevie Nicks; “Silver Bells” by Dean Martin” and “What Child Is This” by John Denver.
He or she also had “The Chipmunk Song” as an honorable mention, which, again, shows how diverse the genre is. Not only do we all have differing favorite holiday songs, but differing types of them or maybe even the same song but by different people.
LISA: Yep, there are some songs I could listen to over and over by whichever artist happens to come up in the rotation.
This has been fun. Thanks for playing, everybody.
BARRY: And Merry Christmas to all.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.