I am sure you all have seen the pictures of the ladies in magazines with the question who wore it better. If not then I assure you it exists as if there is more than one way to wear a dress or boots. Performing a work of art on the other hand is a different matter.
Choosing to kick off my blog at the holidays is intense perhaps, but it gives me an easy first subject. I will write several posts about different holiday songs and see who did it best and perhaps shed some light on some awesome holiday music for people who check in and find some good gems for myself.
The first song is appropriately Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Off the top of my head and iTunes library I can think of a few really good versions of this song. The first that comes to mind is Frank Sinatra's version which is perhaps the most popular. You could make a case for Judy Garland as the most popular but it is well documented that I am not the biggest fan of the female singers in general so there will be a shocking amount of bias as far as that goes. Frank has the classic voice and tone to the song.
Bright Eyes has a great Christmas album and he will be featured in many of the posts I am sure. He did a great rendition of the song. His version is quite melancholy. Although the song itself when sung from the point of view of one singing the song out of a perspective of hope or hope lost and not celebration it fits quite well. I remember the year I really fell in love with this album is when I was in Boise, Idaho for Christmas. While I had many "faithful friends" there it was not the same as being able to spend the holidays with my family. Listening to this song didn't make me sad. Instead it fit my holiday mood. Not one of scroogery, but one of muted excitement.
A hybrid of the two you say? Perhaps it is best embodied by Coldplay. Chris can sing and tickle the ivories plenty good. They play in a slower tempo than Frank but not with the disparaging voice that we hear from Bright Eyes.
Taking the cake on fun has to be John Denver who got to sing it with Rowlf who is no slouch on the piano himself.
So who sang it best? It depends on who you are and how you spend your holiday. At the bottom is a poll of wich version is your favorite.
Did you know that the guy who wrote this song (Featured "Meet Me In St. Louis")couldn't get the song lyrics right? He had the melody all down, but not the words. An early draft went "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last. Come next year, we'll all be living in the past..." ouch. Just a fun fact.
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