Merry Christmas Advent…ure (December 22)

Peace on the earth, good will to men
From heaven’s all gracious King
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing

Johnny Mathis

Songs 43 and 44 from artists with different frames of reference in my life which in some ways is unique to the holidays.

O Come, All Ye Faithful (Darius Rucker Version)

Darius Rucker a.k.a Hootie, a.k.a. Mr. Blowfish had an album that is tattooed on my memories of freshman year at Truman. Like Weezer or other artists on the list, the Christmas albums are the sidecar to the motorcycle of their catalogs.

This is probably my favorite song on Mr. Rucker’s Christmas Album.

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear Johnny Mathis, Percy Faith & His Orchestra

Unlike Weezer, Robert Plant, Bob Seager, Run-D.M.C., or almost every other artist on this list, Johnny Mathis I know ONLY through Christmas.

Not like my Andy Williams or Bing Crosby Bona Fidas are strong but I am at least aware Mr. Williams has a theatre in Branson. Have had a few laughs watching Bing and Bob Hope shenanigans on the little screen thanks to TCM.

Have nothing for Mr. Mathis. Zero point Zero.

Johnny Mathis Merry Christmas Album front to back, A and B sides are woven into the quilt of my Christmas memories. It’s just funny to me that I have no other context for him at all.

I am guessing though that Johnny was a Darius Rucker to some part of a different generation. Which is what makes music so cool.

That’s one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people and they’ll sing it back to you for 85,000 different reasons.

Dave Grohl

This quote from Mr. Grohl encapsulates the exact spirit of why I am sharing this list.

I know why I sing along to these tunes. Time goes so fast for all of us I hope if you are taking time to read along with me, you pause to reflect on why you sing along to your favorites this time of year.

Thank you for reading.

See you tomorrow.

Main Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash