Christmas Music Blog - January 2012

Recorded at the peak of her Peggy Lee's powers, this is one 'Jingle Bells' that you will be easily able to pick out of the crowd.

Coldplay's attempt at Christmas immortality is a noble one but falls short of being the classic they will surely write some December.

She may be enigmatic but there is no denying that Kate Bush still can pull it off on her ode to snow.

One of several thousand songs Sufjan Stevens has written about Christmas. That last line might be a slight exaggeration.

A slowcore rumble from Bill Withers that you're unlikely to hear on December radio playlists obsessed with the latest dandy and their diluted cover of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'.

A joyful whisper from a couple who live and work together in Pennsylvania.

Barbara Streisand, the veteran as always, offers a glossy postcard of Christmas from yesteryear.

A fireside sonic cuddle from Bobby Vinton that became a hit in the Billboard charts in 1964.

A sweeping arrangement and those glacial female vocals make Celtic Woman's version of 'Ding Dong Merrily On High' one of the best around.

A wildly of-its-time period piece that still has the ability to have you shaking your booty in super-quick time.

A quiet understated Christmas classic from the King.

Elvis has recorded the most enduring version of this classic but Ernest Tubb got their first and set the bar high.

A fantastical tune from the otherwise more adult orientated Madonna which featured on her hit album 'Like A Prayer' from the late 80's.

A family heirloom from Ray Linford but one that deserves to be heard beyond those 4 walls.

There was 17 years between the original by the Waitresses and the Spice Girls but it has lost none of its energy.