The Man and His Christmas Music

This will be my first attempt blogging about Elvis. I'd like to jump right into a topic. Since Christmas is right around the corner, it only makes sense to start there.

Elvis loved Christmas. He started a tradition at Graceland which lasts to this day. Elvis recorded two Christmas albums in his lifetime, Elvis' Christmas Album and Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas. E also released a Red west penned single in 1966 entitled "If Every Day Was Like Christmas."

Both albums are absolute Christmas classics. The Christmas season is just about the only time I'll fiddle with the buttons on my car radio and find an Elvis song playing on a random station. E certainly left his mark on the genre.

It's been said that Elvis wasn't particularly thrilled to be singing Christmas music during the studio sessions of each album. The FTD releases don't really bear that out. Other than breaking into other songs he liked, which E often did when the band was moving behind him and the mood felt just right, he approaches the material earnestly.

I'm going to break from convention a little bit and say right now that I prefer Elvis' 1971 effort, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, to his also fantastic Elvis' Christmas Album. Tracks like "Santa Claus is Back in Town," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "Blue Christmas" from the latter are indispensable at this time of year, and any other for that matter.

With that said, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas still gets the edge in my book. E's voice had matured. The songs on the album had more depth. Just listen to Elvis' bluesy, somberly hopeful "I'll Be Home on Christmas Day." It's a highlight on an album with a lot of highlights. Better yet, listen to one of the alternative takes with the extra verse which didn't make the master.

My playlists have more and more silver bells and chestnuts roasting as the days roll by. I love this season. I love the music Elvis left us to enjoy it with.