Here’s a Christmas music countdown of the ‘top 100’ hits

Everybody respects the legacy of Billboard magazine as the premier authority within the music industry, so people took notice when the staff released its picks as the “100 favorite songs of the holiday season” in 2024.

Yet, there was a lot of consternation about the rankings that were expressed by readers...because everyone has an opinion about Christmas music.

A lot of the time, musical preferences reflect one’s mood and the setting – whether somber, spiritual or festive. Thus, one’s listing of top holiday songs can…and does fluctuate.

 

As a lead-in, here’s how Billboard’s editors prefaced their “Christmas countdown” list:

“People have been singing about Christmas almost as long as it’s been celebrated. And with each passing year, more than a few contemporary artists try their hand at crafting a new seasonal standard, something sweet and melancholy that lingers in the pine-scented air for as long as it takes you to finish a candy cane (without chewing, that is).”

“Some succeed; others have yet to prove their mistletoe mettle. But when they do connect, it’s magic – not to mention a holly jolly payday.”

 

“Christmas music has a wavelength entirely its own….It evokes a visceral, nearly oppressive sentimentality, one fortified and strengthened by a lifetime’s worth of associated holiday memories – personal, familial, romantic, nostalgic. It’s music for the most wonderful time of the year, even if it…makes you cry.”

 

“And it never goes away. Well, maybe for 10 months of the year, it goes into hibernation – but you know it’ll be back next November at the latest, and it’ll include the same songs it has for your entire life, while new seasonal releases often take whole decades to prove their worthiness.”

A few contemporary artists cracked the Billboard top-100 with their renditions of Christmas carols or traditional songs. Here are some noteworthy entries along with comments from the Billboard reviewers:

No. 92: Destiny’s Child – “Carol of the Bells” (a.k.a. “Opera of the Bells”) – 2001. The trio consisted of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

 

“Carol of the Bells” has long been known as a traditional, old-school Christmas carol, but Destiny’s Child’s take on it feels modern without sacrificing its festive magic…while introducing soaring harmonies.

Beyoncé’s unmatched runs and spirited vocals from all three members make it hard to believe that the song is performed a cappella. Who needs instruments when you’re Destiny’s Child?

No. 72: Nat King Cole – “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – 1960. Cole was a wildly talented jazz pianist…and gifted with one of the richest, most distinctive voices of his era. 

Bing Crosby’s version from the 1940s of this 18th century Christmas carol was stately and genteel, but Nat sings it with a warmth and familiarity.

No. 68: Celine Dion – “O Holy Night” – 1998. This popular carol dates back to the 1800s, but the pop rendition we’re familiar with today was ushered in by producer David Foster’s piano-forward arrangement.

 

Dion gets the dynamics of the plaintive ballad just right: starting the song in barely a whisper and ending with her patented power note – an utterly “bombastically earnest performance.”

No. 62: Vince Guaraldi Trio – “O Tannenbaum” – 1965. Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy take on “O Tannenbaum” sheds the somewhat formal nature of the classic Christmas carol with casual yet jolly piano runs that provide a warmth that feels like the holidays at home, cozied up by the fireplace.

 

No wonder it’s a fan favorite from the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack – it’s innocent, intimate and heartwarming, just like the “Peanuts” holiday special itself.

 

No. 48: The Temptations – “Silent Night” – 1980. “Silent Night” got the Temptations’ traditional treatment in 1968, helmed by Eddie Kendricks’ heavenly falsetto. But in 1980 came the more popular soulful interpretation, captained by the soothing, sonorous voices of Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin and Glenn Leonard.

 

Between its gospel undertones, ad-libbed verses like “If I had one wish in this world / It would be that all men would be free”…this 1980 “Silent Night” truly hits home.

No. 36: Bing Crosby & David Bowie – “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” – 1977. There is nothing normal about watching one of most successful mainstream entertainers from the 1930s-50s share a microphone with the transcendently weird/wired Bowie.

 

Somehow, though, the forced marriage on this string-laden, soft rock duet recorded for Crosby’s 1977 “Merrie Olde Christmas” special has become one of the most enduring, beloved holiday classics.

The key is the way it pairs Crosby’s mellow croon with Bowie’s high harmonies and counter-melodies as they meld the two old chestnuts into one beautifully weird, warm modern carol.

If you don’t get chills from hearing these two masters bounce back and forth, then you deserve that lump of coal.

Come back soon to resume the countdown…focusing on the secular side of the biggest hits in holiday music.