Christmas/Holiday Top 100 for 2012

As the saying goes, "It's that time of year again".    Once again this year, I am posting my top 100 favorites of the holiday season.    After overwhelming support for me to reprise my countdown posting videos this year, I began with #100 on Tuesday, November 27..  

Two years ago, I non-chalantly counted down my top 30 Christmas songs, but last year, I made a bold move and started from #100.    It wasn't until the early morning of the 25th that I made it all the way to the top.   

I have actually been compiling such a list since 1999 and have updated it every year.   Many songs (much of them then-current) come and go, but some can hang on to become classics.   Then of course, are the standards that become more timeless over the decades.   

For this year's list, aside from the current ranking, I will also show last year's standing.  And, as I did last year, I will track the number of "likes" and positive comments.    These numbers I have factored into this year's list, so in a sense, it's part of "your" list as well.   Although it's not shown, I am also keeping track of friends' song posts that I see as well.    I will update this list as I count every ten songs.

This year was a bit unusual for a Christmas season.    Just a month before it started, many areas of the East Coast were ravaged by Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, with many without power for weeks, and some losing everything they had.    We got obsessed with 12-12-12, the last time this century in which the day, month and year is the same number.   That night brought on an important benefit relief concert in New York's Madison Square Garden featuring many big local artists, legendary British performer, and others.     

Just two days later, another tragedy struck, as a 20-year old man shot and killed his mother at their home in Newtown CT, then headed over to the Sandy Hook Elementary, and killed 26 more, including twenty young children.    It put a damper on the holiday season, and thoughts and prayers are with all involved.     

Many were worried that the world would come to an end on 12-21-12, as that was the end of the Mayan calendar.   Yeah, we got a big storm, but the world remained intact and alive.


At about 7:30 AM Christmas morning, I completed my countdown of the 2012 edition of my Christmas and Holiday Top 100, with the results below.     The number at the far right reflects the popularity of the songs as I had posted them; they are the total number of likes and positive comments.     Here are some observations on these:

Five songs scored in double digits, compared to only two in 2011.   The most was 17, for "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt.   What's interesting was that Madonna's version of the song only had 1.   

Andy Williams, who passed away this year, scored 16 likes.   11 of these were for "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" which had already jumped from 27 to 11 this year.   The big winner from last year "Christmas Wrapping" which was still #1 on the list, and had 14 likes last year, garnered a still-OK 8 last year, third most of the top 10 songs, behind "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".

As for futility?    Three songs drew blanks in 2012, compared to five last year.   The only repeat this time around was Chicago's "Jolly Old St. Nicholas".  I guess it looks like this one is one the wane.   The other two were "Nuttin' For Christmas" by Smash Mouth / Rosie O'Donnell, and surprisingly "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", the classic version by Gene Autry.   

One more interesting thing was that of the bottom 50, only two songs got one LIKE or less (the aforementioned Smash Mouth song, plus "Christmas" by Blues Traveler), but the top fifty had FOURTEEN songs with none or one like.    When the Sandy Hook tragedy hit, I was at #50, so it's entirely possible that many couldn't really get into the countdown, and understandably so...I had stopped the countdown the day after this occurred.     Still, songs like "Happy Xmas" (John Lennon), and "Christmas All Over Again" (Tom Petty), only garnered one vote.    And both Chicago and Gene Autry's OTHER songs in the coundown ("Let it Snow...", "Here Comes Santa Claus"), in addition to the goose egg, only drew one like on their other songs.

Here is my 2012 Edition of the Christmas Top 100.






The TOP 100 CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY SONGS, 2012 EDITION:

2012

2011

Title

Artist

Year

Likes

1	1	Christmas Wrapping	Waitresses	1981	8
2	2	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	U2	1987	4
3	4	Snoopy's Christmas	Royal Guardsmen	1967	2
4	5	White Christmas	Bing Crosby	1942	6
5	6	All Alone For Christmas	Darlene Love	1992	1
6	3	Sleigh Ride	Leroy Anderson	1950	4
7	21	Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy	Bing Crosby & David Bowie	1977	9
8	8	Christmas Song	Nat King Cole	1954	5
9	7	Rockin Around the Christmas Tree	Brenda Lee	1960	9
10	9	Christmas Song	The Raveonettes	2004	4
11	27	The Most Wonderful Time of the Year	Andy Williams	1963	11
12	15	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town	Bruce Springsteen	1975	4
13	11	Wonderful Christmastime	Paul McCartney	1979	4
14	23	Merry Christmas Darling	Carpenters	1970	4
15	10	Happy Xmas (War is Over)	John & Yoko	1971	1
16	19	Christmas All Over Again	Tom Petty	1992	1
17	26	Twelve Days of Christmas	Ray Conniff	1962	1
18	16	Jolly Old St Nicholas	Chicago	2003	0
19	13	You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch	Whirling Dervishes	1995	1
20	20	Little Saint Nick	Beach Boys	1963	8
21	12	Grown Up Christmas List	Amy Grant	1992	6
22	14	Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24	Trans-Siberian Orchestra	1996	1
23	32	Hey Santa	Wendy and Carnie Wilson	1993	1
24	17	2000 Miles	Pretenders	1983	5
25	22	I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus	John Cougar Mellencamp	1987	6
26	28	Same Old Lang Syne	Dan Fogelberg	1980	7
27	33	Silent Night	Mannheim Steamroller	1984	5
28	18	Deck the Halls	Mannheim Steamroller	1984	2
29	24	Dominick the Donkey	Lou Monte	1960	4
30	25	Santa Baby	Madonna	1987	1
31	30	Step Into Christmas	Elton John	1973	7
32	37	Feliz Navidad	Jose Feliciano	1968	5
33	44	Sleigh Ride	Ronettes	1963	4
34	36	It's Christmas Again	Tommy James	2008	2
35	41	River	Sarah McLachlan	2006	2
36	53	Baby It's Cold Outside	Rod Stewart & Dolly Parton	2004	5
37	35	Sleigh Ride	Ventures	1965	2
38	39	Home For the Holidays	Perry Como	1954	4
39	31	Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer	Gene Autry	1949	0
40	34	Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer	Elmo & Patsy	1979	5
41	45	Christmas Time Is Here	Vince Guaraldi	1965	8
42	43	A Holly Jolly Christmas	Burl Ives	1965	9
43	48	Chanukah Song	Adam Sandler	1994	1
44	29	Do They Know It's Christmas	Band-Aid	1984	7
45	40	Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer	Smithereens	1988	3
46	51	It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas	Bing Crosby	1951	3
47	46	Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!	Chicago	1998	1
48	50	It Doesn't Have to Be That Way	Jim Croce	1973	6
49	42	Sleigh Ride	Debbie Gibson	1992	1
50	47	Here Comes Santa Claus	Gene Autry	1947	1

51	54	Thanks for Christmas	XTC	1983	2
52	38	Children Go Where I Send Thee	Natalie Merchant	1997	2
53	49	All I Want for Christmas Is You	Mariah Carey	1994	8
54	52	Winter Wonderland	Eurythmics	1987	6
55	57	Winter Wonderland	Darlene Love	1963	4
56	67	Do you Hear What I Hear?	Bing Crosby	1963	5
57	56	We Need a Little Christmas	Percy Faith	1966	2
58	58	Marshmallow World	Darlene Love	1963	2
59	60	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas	Pretenders	1987	6
60	61	I Love Christmas	Tommy James	2004	3
61	65	Christmas Vacation	Mavis Staples	1989	3
62	74	Christmas Tonight	David Barnes w/Hillary Scott	2010	2
63	59	Frosty the Snowman	Ronettes	1963	6
64	66	Jingle Bell Rock	Bobby Helms	1957	7
65	64	Carol of the Bells	George Winston	1982	5
66	88	Christmas in Hollis	Run DMC	1987	5
67	82	I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (remix0	Kay Starr	2006	2
68	62	Reggae Christmas	Bryan Adams	1985	2
69	71	Blue Christmas	Elvis Presley	1957	9
70	81	Shake Up Christmas	Train	2010	2

71	----	Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season	Andy Williams	1963	5
72	----	I'll Be Home for Christmas	Kelly Clarkson	2011	2
73	63	Christmas	Blues Traveler	1997	1
74	69	Last Christmas	Wham!	1984	7
75	76	Believe	Josh Groban	2004	3
76	86	Santa Baby	Eartha Kitt	1953	17
77	68	Christmas Time	Bryan Adams	1985	3
78	70	Where Are You Christmas	Faith Hill	2000	4
79	92	Christmas Lights	Coldplay	2010	4
80	79	Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You*	Billy Squier	1981	2

81	80	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	Death Cab for Cutie	2004	5
82	87	Christmas Can-Can	Straight No Chaser	2009	6
83	73	I'll Be Home for Christmas	Floyd Cramer	1967	4
84	85	The Bell That Couldn't Jingle	Bobby Vinton	1964	2
85	72	Chipmunk Song	Chipmunks	1958	5
86	75	Jingle Bell Rock	Daryl Hall & John Oates	1983	7
87	78	I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus	Ronettes	1963	10
88	83	Santa Claus is Coming to Town	Crystals	1963	4
89	84	Sock It To Me, Santa!	Bob Seger	1969	3
90	96	Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	James Taylor	2001	8

91	----	I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus	Jackson 5	1970	7
92	55	Oi to the World	No Doubt	1997	2
93	97	Father Christmas	Kinks	1977	6
94	91	Santa Claus is Coming to Town	Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper	1992	9
95	93	The Man With All the Toys	Beach Boys	1964	8
96	----	All I Want for Christmas Is You	Vince Vance & the Valients	1993	10
97	77	Christmas Song	Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds	1996	7
98	89	Nuttin For Christmas	Smash Mouth/Rosie O'Donnell	2000	0
99	98	O Holy Night	Celine Dion	1998	10
100	----	Naughty Naughty Children	Grace Potter & the Nocturnals	2011	4