Holiday Standards Pop
tagStarted 1940Peak 1942-1965Last big hit still active
The seasonal wing of traditional vocal pop: Christmas and holiday songbook standards delivered with crooned vocals, sleigh-bell percussion, warm strings and choir or big-band backing. Cozy, nostalgic and instantly familiar, these mid-century recordings became the permanent soundtrack of the holidays, replayed every December for generations.
History
Launched by wartime-era hits like Crosby's 'White Christmas' (1942), the holiday-standards canon was built largely by 1940s-60s traditional-pop singers cutting seasonal albums. Though new originals were added later, these mid-century recordings remain the genre's core, reissued and re-charting every holiday season and keeping the catalog perennially, reliably active.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- White Christmas — Bing CrosbySpotifyYouTube
- The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) — Nat King ColeSpotifyYouTube
- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree — Brenda LeeSpotifyYouTube
- It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year — Andy WilliamsSpotifyYouTube
- A Holly Jolly Christmas — Burl IvesSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_music
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_(song)
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/holiday-ma0000012130