Holiday Family Song
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The Christmas and holiday song from family films and TV specials: warm, nostalgic, singable numbers celebrating the season with sleigh bells, cozy orchestration and inviting vocals. Arrangements range from vintage crooner and novelty styles to full orchestral and choral grandeur, unified by festive warmth and singalong melody. Lyrics evoke snow, wonder, belief and togetherness, and performances are heartfelt or playfully characterful. The mood is cozy, magical and sentimental, built to become an annual tradition.
History
Holiday family songs span the crooner era's 'White Christmas' (Holiday Inn, 1942) and the beloved Rankin/Bass television specials of the 1960s, whose Burl Ives ('A Holly Jolly Christmas,' 1964) and Jimmy Durante ('Frosty the Snowman,' 1969) recordings became perennial standards, alongside Thurl Ravenscroft's 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' (1966). The tradition continued through Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas ('What's This?,' 1993) and 2000s film songs like Faith Hill's 'Where Are You Christmas?' and Josh Groban's 'Believe' (The Polar Express, 2004). These screen-born holiday songs are now inseparable from the seasonal canon.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch(1966) — Thurl RavenscroftSpotifyYouTube
- A Holly Jolly Christmas(1964) — Burl IvesSpotifyYouTube
- Silver and Gold(1964) — Burl IvesSpotifyYouTube
- Frosty the Snowman(1969) — Jimmy DuranteSpotifyYouTube
- Believe(2004) — Josh GrobanSpotifyYouTube
- What's This?(1993) — Danny ElfmanSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Thomas S. Hischak and Mark A. Robinson, The Disney Song Encyclopedia (2009)
- Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (2001)
- Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music (2008)