CHRISTMAS SONG

NAT KING COLE
SONGWRITERS: TORME MEL & TORME MELVIN H
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: THE NAT KING COLE STORY
LABEL: CAPITOL RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1961
 
            Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer and jazz pianist. He recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series. He was the father of singer-songwriter Natalie Cole (1950–2015).
              Nat King Cole recorded "The Christmas Song" with his group The Nat King Cole Trio in 1946. There were two versions made: the first without the strings, and the second with the strings. The second version was released that year, while the first one was put on hold and appeared much later on a compilation "Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954" in 1989.
              Nat King Cole recorded four versions of this song in total: in June 1946, in August 1946, in August 1953 and in March 1961. The first version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
 
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots, with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
 
They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly
 
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
 
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you.

IT DON'T MAKE SENSE IF YOU CAN'T MAKE PEACE

WILLY DIXON
SONGWRITER: MÁRIO DE VASCONCELOS SÁ
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: IT DON’T MAKE SENSE
LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS
GENRE: BLUES
YEAR: 1984
 
              Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 1, 1915. He was one of fourteen children. His mother, Daisy, often rhymed things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianista Little Brother Montgomery. He sang his first song at Springfield Baptist Church at the age of four Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as a young teenager. Later in his teens, he learned how to sing harmony from a local carpenter, Theo Phelps, who led a gospel quintet, the Union Jubilee Singers, in which Dixon sang bass; the group regularly performed on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC. He began adapting his poems into songs and even sold some to local music groups.
               William James Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.
             Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians worldwide.
             Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, his songs were adapted by numerous rock artists. He received a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

You have made great planes to span the skies
You gave sight to the blind with other men's eyes
You even made submarines stay submerged for weeks
But it don't make sense you can't make peace
 
You take one man's heart and make another man live
You even go to the moon and come back thrilled
Why you can crush any country in a matter of weeks
But it don't make sense you can't make peace
 
You can make a transfusion that can save a life
Why you can change the darkness into broad daylight
You make the deaf man hear and the dumb man speak
But it don't make sense you can't make peace.

JINGLE BELL ROCK

BOBBY HELMS
SONGWRITERS: JIM BOOTHE & JOE BEAL
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: JINGLE BELL ROCK
LABEL: DECCA RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS ROCK
YEAR: 1957
 
                Robert Lee Helms (August 15, 1933 – June 19, 1997) was an American country music singer, best known for his 1957 Christmas hit "Jingle Bell Rock". His other hits include "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel".
           "Jingle Bell Rock" is an American popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal (1900–1967) and James Ross Boothe (1917–1976), although both Helms and session guitarist on the song Hank Garland disputed this. Beal was a Massachusetts-born public relations professional and longtime resident of South Ocean Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Boothe was an American writer in the advertising business.
            "Jingle Bell Rock" was released by Bobby Helms as a single in 1957, and re-released in 1958 and 1960. The B-side was "Captain Santa Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol".
             According to a 1986 interview, Bobby Helms said, that he wrote the bridge for this song.
           Anita Kerr Quartet provided the backup vocals on this track.
            "Jingle Bell Rock" was featured in the film "Jingle All the Way" (1996) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad.

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun
 
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
 
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
 
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell rock
 
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
 
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
 
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell rock.

DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

CHRIS REA
SONGWRITER: CHRIS REA
COUNTRY: U. K.
ALBUM: ON THE BEACH
LABEL: MAGNET RECORDS
GENRE: CHRISTMAS SONG
YEAR: 1986
 
          Christopher Anton Rea (/ˈriːə/REE-ə; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born and raised in Middlesbrough, he is of Italian and Irish descent. He is known for his distinctive, husky-gravel voice and slide guitar playing, and the Guinness Rockopedia described him as a "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart".
              British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s" and "already a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10 with the release of the single "The Road to Hell (Part 2)", which was his 18th chart entry." Two of his studio albums, The Road to Hell and Auberge, topped the UK Albums Chart. Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 1989 and 1990. His other hit songs include "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "Josephine", "On the Beach", "Let's Dance", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Working on It", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge", "Looking for the Summer", "Winter Song", "Nothing to Fear", "Julia", and "If You Were Me", a duet with Elton John.
                In the United States he is best known for the 1978 song "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which reached Nº. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at Nº. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. This success earned him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1979. As of 2009, he had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.
           "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the b-side to Hello Friend in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version served as one of two new songs on Rea's first compilation álbum New Light Through Old Windows. It was issued as the fourth single from the album in December 1988, where it peaked at number 53 on the UK Singles Chart as the lead track of The Christmas EP.
                Despite its original modest chart placement, the song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007 when it peaked at Nº. 33, and is featured among the Top 10 Christmas singles. It reached a new peak of number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in 2018. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted twelfth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.
              A 2011 version by Stacey Solomon peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.

I'm driving home for Christmas
I can't wait to see those faces
I'm driving home for Christmas
Yeah, well I'm moving down that line
And it's been so long
But I will be there
To sing this song
To pass the time away
Driving in my car
I'm driving home for Christmas
It's gonna take some time
But I'll get there
Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights on the run
But soon there'll be a freeway
Get my feet on holy ground
So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get trough
And feel you near me
Driving in my car
I'm driving home for Christmas
Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take a look at the driver next to me
He's just the same
Just the same
Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights on the run
I'm driving home for Christmas, yea
Get my feet on holy ground
So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get trough
Oh I feel you near me
Driving in my car
Driving home for Christmas
Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take a look at the driver next to me
He's just the same
Driving home
Driving home
Driving home for Christmas
Driving home for Christmas.