First Listen: Christmas In The ‘70s/’80s

It started with an e-mail blast for a SiriusXM channel called ‘70s/’80s Holidays, one of the service’s 17 holiday music channels. I was intrigued. I certainly understood why the major-market FMs had come to emphasize the Christmas standards of the ‘40s through ‘60s so heavily. But I was missing the holiday music I grew up with. I took a First Listen; then went to AccuRadio for its Classic Hits Christmas channel, covering ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. 

Some ‘70s titles became scarce by the mid-‘00s when Mainstream AC took firm control of the holiday safe list. Only Urban AC has kept “Christmas Ain’t Christmas . . . ” by the O’Jays on the radio for me for the last decade and it usually takes some work to search out. But even titles like Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” have been sifted out over the years. In the pre-research days, it was a Christmas music staple. Recently, I heard one large-market FM using it as a fill song during the online stopsets.

It wasn’t just the songs I was missing, but the context. I associate much of the Christmas music of the time with the screaming “Q-format” top 40 stations of the ‘70s or the “Hot Hits” outlets of the ‘80s CHR boom. I heard Elton and the O’Jays play out of a shotgun jingle. I heard “Last Christmas” by Wham in between “I Feel For You” by Chaka Khan and “I Can’t Hold Back” by Survivor at Christmas ‘84. “Last Christmas” remains plenty available on holiday formats, but the energy is different because of what surrounds it.

If you’re specializing in the ‘70s and ‘80s, there’s still plenty of the Christmas music that does make the cut at Mainstream AC. The early ‘70s were still tied to the ‘60s MOR tradition; the late ‘80s saw compilations like “A Very Special Christmas” steer artists from originals to remakes. (And some songs that feel older were actually recorded in the ‘80s as well, such as Johnny Mathis covering the ‘60s showtune, “We Need A Little Christmas.”) The AccuRadio channel I heard, one of their extensive suite of holiday channels, covered the ‘90s as well, allowing it to play “All I Want For Christmas Is You” as well. But the ‘90s also saw covers-based holiday albums provide a surprise hit for Neil Diamond, then many others.

Despite that, both channels did provide relief from the safe list; both also introduced me to songs I didn’t know. SiriusXM’s ‘70s/’80s Holidays includes Carpenters and John Denver, and, in the hour I heard, one song from a ‘70s holiday treasury that would have fit on Easy Listening radio at the time, But I also heard George Harrison’s “Ding Dong, Ding Dong,” which certainly qualifies as lost uptempo ‘70s. I didn’t know the Wayne Newton song, but it’s a disco version of “Jingle Bells” from 1976, by which time many of his early ‘70s peers (Frankie Valli, Al Martino, Frankie Avalon) had ventured into disco as well. 

Here’s a stretch of Sirius XM ‘70s/’80s Holidays as heard on Nov. 23:

• Kenny Rogers, “Winter Wonderland”
• George Harrison, “Ding Dong, Ding Dong”
• Amy Grant, “Sleigh Ride”
• John Denver & Muppets, “Twelve Days of Christmas”
• Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Wayne Newton, “Jingle Bell Hustle”
• Bob Seger, “Little Drummer Boy”
• Elvis Presley, “If I Get Home on Christmas Day” (from a ’71 Christmas album, similar feel to “Always On My Mind”)
• Johnny Mathis, “We Need A Little Christmas”
• Carpenters, “Carol of The Bells”
• Starlite Pop Orchestra, “The Night Before Christmas Song”
• Temptations, “Silver Bells”
• XTC, “Thanks For Christmas”
• Davy Jones, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Colorado Christmas”

Here’s AccuRadio’s Classic Hits Christmas as heard on Nov. 24

• Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
• James Brown, “Go Power At Christmas Time” (from a 1970 album that was mostly holiday songs; I actually encountered this twice in one day, the other time being on SomaFM’s Jolly Ol’ Soul channel)
• Chicago, “The Christmas Song”
• John Mellencamp, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”
• Dave Edmunds, “Run, Rudolph, Run”
• Vanessa Williams & Bobby Caldwell, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
• Boyz II Men, “Silent Night”
• Celine Dion, “Don’t Save It All For Christmas Day”
• Cocteau Twins, “Frosty The Snowman”
• Elmo & Patsy, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”
• Christina Aguilera, “The Christmas Song” (an uptempo dance remix that sounded like Cher, “Believe”)
• Elton John, “Step Into Christmas”

I’ve already listened to several of the more traditional holiday choices in an attempt to determine “What Will Christmas 2020 Sound Like?” Look for more holiday monitors shortly, mostly beyond the Mainstream AC world, including a few taken from your suggestions.