A Christmas Music Conversation with Annie Zaleski
David talks with the author and music journalist about her new book This Is Christmas, Song by Song
Annie Zaleski first came to my attention when she was the music editor at St. Louis’ alternative weekly, The Riverfront Times. These days, she’s based in Cleveland and is one of the busiest and best music writers working. You’ve probably spotted her byline in Rolling Stone, The Guardian and Billboard, along with many other publications, and you may have read the liner notes she’s written for reissues of albums by R.E.M. or Game Theory. Annie is the author of two illustrated biographies, Lady Gaga: Applause and Pink: Raise Your Glass, and I can’t be the only one who thinks her 33 1/3 volume reappraising Rio is a big reason why one of her favorite bands, Duran Duran, is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her latest book, This Is Christmas, Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits, is about one of my favorite musical topics. (You can purchase any of Annie’s books here. You can find a signed copy of This Is Christmas here.)
I’m so glad she was able to find time during this busy season to answer a half dozen of my Christmas music questions.
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David Cantwell: Released in 1958 and first a hit a couple years later, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” just topped Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2023. Perfect timing for This Is Christmas! What is it about that song, and Lee’s recording of it specifically, that has proven so perennially appealing, do you think?
Annie Zaleski: I’ve been thinking a lot about this question this season! People love a good anniversary, for starters, as well as success stories—and a song finally hitting No. 1 as it turns 65 years old is a feel-good narrative, we can all embrace.
I think the song’s immediacy is also appealing. Lee told me Lee’s “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” was basically cut in one take, and you can hear it in the song’s energy. There’s unselfconscious verve to Lee’s vocal delivery—you can tell she’s having a blast belting out the song—and musically, this is also a case where Nashville’s A-listers put a little extra into the tune. The guitar licks especially are upbeat and positive, and Boots Randolph’s saxophone is just perfect!
In general, however, I think the last few years have been difficult for a lot of people. And the escapism of this song resonates: For a couple of minutes, you can immerse yourself in music that feels like a happy moment—a fancy party full of friends and fun—and forget about real life.
DC: When I turned in the manuscript of my Merle Haggard book, one of my readers suggested deleting the chapter I’d devoted to his Christmas recordings. That music, I was advised, wasn’t really meant to be taken seriously in the same way as the rest of his catalog; it was merely “a time-tested seasonal marketing strategy.” As a Christmas music fan who is also a music critic, I’ve encountered versions of that attitude quite often. Maybe you have, too? For sure, Christmas music doesn’t get much critical respect. Christmas albums and singles are inevitably left off year-end lists, even by critics who will cop to enjoying them, and I can’t count the times I’ve heard music-fan friends flat out declare, “I hate Christmas music!” Clearly that’s a minority view, but it’s been a loud one. How do you respond to such views, and—maybe this is getting at the same thing—what was your elevator pitch for taking Christmas music seriously enough to write a book telling its stories?
AZ: Reading the feedback on your Merle book makes me angry! But I’m not surprised: I’ve also heard variations on the “I hate Christmas music” sentiment. You are completely right that this genre doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It’s ludicrous: Not only do so many of these songs have amazingly talented players—I don’t need to tell you how many boast Nashville A-listers—but writing a good Christmas song is difficult.
To be fair, This Is Christmas came about because I saw an editor in a Facebook group looking for a writer for a Christmas music book—and I couldn’t email my clips to her fast enough!
But my elevator pitch is that Christmas music isn’t created in a vacuum. For starters, you can trace the evolution of 20th century popular music through the lens of Christmas music. Go decade by decade, and you can use holiday music to see how jazz and big bands gave way to country and then rock ‘n’ roll and the Beatles. In general, popular music genres just exploded post-Beatles—glam, soft rock, hard rock, hip-hop, synth-pop new wave. In the ’80s, the era of the superstar artist, these superstars also recorded Christmas songs. The ’90s and beyond—you have pop, rap, rock, electronic music, a cappella, and more.
And Christmas songs aren’t necessarily lighthearted; they possess depth and reflect social change and political challenges. For example, “White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” both capture the sadness and melancholy of family separation caused by World War II. “Do You Hear What I Hear?” emerged during the anxiety around the Cuban Missile Crisis. Stevie Wonder and James Brown recorded songs against the backdrop of the 1960s civil rights movement. The Kinks’ “Father Christmas” touches on England’s dire economic outlook of the late 1970s. Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was a benefit for famine relief.
I could go on. But Christmas music throws a mirror up to what’s going on in the non-holiday-music world—and I hope my book conveys that.
DC: I was struck that not-quite-but-damn-near-all your “100 Holiday Hits” were secular Christmas hits. I mean, baby Jesus barely gets a cameo. As a non-Christian who loves Christmas, I say: Amen to that! But it did get me to wondering if the book’s secular take had been a conscious decision on your part or if it just played out that way given what the actual most popular and enduring Christmas records have been? Bing and Brenda, Merle and Mariah may all agree on the reason for the season, but they tend not to bring it up it in their signature tunes.
AZ: It's interesting: The book was meant to cover Christmas hits in popular music, and not hymns or carols. But when I made my eventual selections, the songs I chose ended up being fairly secular—not on purpose, but because apparently over the years popular Christmas songs have ended up moving away from overt religious references. I think this plays into the fact that Christmas music inspirations go beyond just the holiday—and also that people often want these songs to have the widest possible appeal, so going secular is probably the better approach. But I didn’t realize the divide was so pronounced until I sat down to write and research the book.
DC: It’s hard to imagine what the Christmas music story would be like if it weren’t for country music. After those WWII hits by Bing Crosby put secular, grown-up Christmas music on the commercial map, it was Gene Autry’s goofy-fun-for-the-kids hits at midcentury—"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Frosty the Snowman”—that boosted Xmas tunes into an annual phenomenon. Later, and still going strong on an oldies radio station near you, there were all those Nashville Sound sides: Brenda Lee’s evergreen, of course, but also Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” Elvis’ “Blue Christmas,” Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Paper,” and so on. What is it about Christmas and big-tent country music that have seemed to fit so well?
AZ: I’m glad (but of course not surprised!) that you noticed this. For starters, the artists you name are all phenomenal vocal talents—and so they capture the emotional range needed to record a timeless Christmas song. After all, these songs can be happy and upbeat—but can also sometimes be melancholy or meditative. You need vocalists with the skills to recognize how to frame a song.
Country Christmas songs often feature Nashville’s A-list players, who treated Christmas songs with as much care as they did other songs. However, I think these players relished the chance to stretch out and have fun with these sessions, which made the songs more fun to listen to.
And I think timing has a lot to do with it as well: In the 1940s and 1950s, Christmas music played a major role in popular music—and that time was also a real golden age for country artists (and, correct me if I’m wrong, but country artists crossing over to the pop charts). It was a symbiotic relationship that provided commercial wins for everyone all around.
That’s not to say country music’s popularity waned after that – but when you look at the Christmas songs that have endured over time, it’s remarkable how many pre-1960 country tunes have become standards.
DC: Here’s something I think about a lot. Is Christmas music just a particular subject matter, a holiday-themed version of car songs or cheating songs or road songs, etc.? Or is it, at this point, an actual genre in its own right—one tied together, in part, by certain formal qualities but also one with the tremendous sonic variety we know just comes with the territory for any big genre like R&B, rock, or country? What do you think?
AZ: It's almost like a philosophical question, isn’t it? What exactly is Christmas music? There are some characteristics shared by many Christmas songs—simple but clever lyrics; short song lengths; the use of sleigh bells; strong hooks. There’s a good reason so many writers with a background in advertising have penned successful Christmas tunes: Many classic ones do resemble catchy jingles.
But I do think it’s more of a genre—or maybe even an aesthetic—at this point. I mean, you have Christmas songs that are explicitly about Christmas—whether the secular parts (i.e., Santa, presents, etc.) or the actual religious origins. But then you have Christmas songs that technically weren’t written as Christmas songs (Joni Mitchell’s “River”) or Christmas songs that don’t actually mention the holiday (Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock”). You know Christmas music when you hear it—and what “it” is varies greatly.
DC: I must confess, Annie, that my heart broke just a little bit when I saw you hadn’t included the biggest crossover hit of Merle Haggard’s career and perhaps the greatest hopeful bummer of a Christmas song ever, “If We Make It through December.” On the other hand, I think my heart grew three sizes when I saw you’d included Billy Squier’s “Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love” and Snow Miser/Heat Miser’s feud from The Year without a Santa Claus. Did you have any songs like that? Ones you knew you just had to include because they were so dear to your heart? And also was there a song or two that maybe broke your heart a little when you realized it wasn’t going to make the cut?
AZ: So Merle is in the book, albeit obliquely: I was tickled to learn that one of Randy Brooks’ inspirations for “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” was a Merle song! (The other was his real-life grandmother, who wore a wig.) But the song you name is of course phenomenal. All the more reason I need to do a second volume…
But choosing only 100 songs was very difficult. I was happy to get Kate Bush’s elegant “December Will Be Magic Again” in the book, as well as a tune from the classic TV special Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. But I was deeply sad not to include one of R.E.M.’s great holiday songs. For many years, the band sent out a 7-inch to their fanclub that included versions of classic tunes like “Silver Bells” or very funny originals such as “Christmas Griping.” I was also bummed not to have room for Squeeze’s “Christmas Day,” which is one of the group’s more obscure singles, as well as the dB’s gem “You’re What I Want for Christmas,” from the holiday LP Christmas Time. (That’s actually one of my favorite holiday LPs ever!) Once again, I’m hoping one day I can do a second volume where I can include a ton of music I didn’t have room for this time around.
DC: Fingers crossed for “If We Make It through December”! But regardless thank you for answering my questions, Annie. And Merry Christmas to you!
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