Artists You Were Introduced to via Christmas Music

[TjbBmb]

Who are some artists that you were first introduced to through their Christmas music?

I’ll start:

1. The Ventures.
I was hooked when I first heard Sleigh Ride. Those twangy guitars and the driving beat blew me away.

2. Booker T and the MGs.
I always preferred instrumentals to vocals and when I first heard Jingle Bells by Booker T, I just had to find out who that was.

3. Vince Guaraldi
The obvious, A Charlie Brown Christmas album was my introduction to Guaraldi and probably jazz. My memory is a bit hazy..

4. Beach Boys
Hearing The Beach Boys Christmas album got me into The Beach Boys as a kid. No wonder I love Christmas and Christmas music…

 

[Harry]

Amy Grant. Her HOME FOR CHRISTMAS album impressed me enough to get all of her other albums.

 

[Bobberman]

Vince Guaraldi was my example His Charlie brown Christmas was my gateway to his regular Jazz albums I now have several of his Fantasy records releases on CD and I'm sure most of them are out of print by now

 

[GDBY2LV]

I would say Straight No Chaser would be the one for me. Now I have all their music, including their new album released last week. Their version of “12 Days of Christmas” is brilliant.

 

[Murray]

In my case, it was Amy Grant's first Christmas LP, "A Christmas Album". I heard the song "Heirlooms" on the radio one December, and bought the album the next day. I was impressed enough that I soon added "The Collection", and then the rest of her albums.

 

[Mark-T]

Nat King Cole.

 

[tomswift2002]

I don’t really remember any specific artists, since my family would always play Christmas music every year and I always grew up with it. It was more the individual songs that I remember such as “Old Toy Trains” or “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”. Like “The Time-Life Treasury Of Christmas” (1986-1998) contains a slew of artists from the 40’s to the 80’s. And over the years I’ve picked up some LP’s, CD’s and cassettes by the artists. But it hasn’t really made me go all in for one artist do to speak.

Of course, I guess these Various artists albums are becoming a thing of the past now, with Spotify, YouTube and the randomized playlists. Some of those compilations are like family at Christmas with their familiarity.

 

[Rudy]

Only one I can think of is The Mavericks: Hey! Merry Christmas. Since it had mostly originals and came highly recommended, I gave it a chance. It is somewhat styled after the Phil Spector sound of the 60s, so it appeals to anyone who's into pop music. And Raul Malo's vocal talents are a refreshing change from the also-rans these days who can barely carry a tune and have thin, reedy voices.

 

[AliceMarshall]

Who are some artists that you were first introduced to through their Christmas music?

I’ll start:

1. The Ventures.
I was hooked when I first heard Sleigh Ride. Those twangy guitars and the driving beat blew me away.

2. Booker T and the MGs.
I always preferred instrumentals to vocals and when I first heard Jingle Bells by Booker T, I just had to find out who that was.

3. Vince Guaraldi
The obvious, A Charlie Brown Christmas album was my introduction to Guaraldi and probably jazz. My memory is a bit hazy..

4. Beach Boys

Here are a few artists that I was first introduced to through their Christmas music:

Bing Crosby: His smooth voice and timeless classics like "White Christmas" made a lasting impression on me.

Nat King Cole: His rendition of "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" is iconic and introduced me to his incredible vocal talent.

Michael Bublé: His modern take on Christmas classics and his album "Christmas" brought his smooth and charismatic voice into the holiday season for me.

Mariah Carey: Of course, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a staple during the holiday season. It's hard to imagine Christmas without her powerful vocals and catchy melodies.

 

[Harry]

Welcome, @AliceMarshall to the A&M Corner Forums.

 

[jfiedler17]

I was already a fan of Amy Grant (via Heart in Motion, which really doesn't get the credit it deserves for being one of the best pop albums of the Nineties; there is hardly any filler on that album whatsoever - I think there's only one song on there I ever skip past - and she scored something like five or six major hits from it, too) before I ever got around to checking out her holiday records, but I'd have to agree with the comments above that her Christmas albums are truly something special. I'm not sure there's anyone else in music today - except for maybe Michael Buble - who makes better Christmas albums than she does. My favorite Christmas albums still tend to be early ones from the likes of Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, etc. - the earliest Christmas albums just sound seasonal, in a way that most modern-day Christmas records don't (let's face it, if you took the lyrics off of most modern Christmas singles, you might not even be able to tell right away that you were listening to a seasonal release) - but on the rare occasions I reach for a Christmas album from the '80s or later, it's most often one of Grant's.

Vince Guaraldi is one, though, that I hadn't delved into at all prior to hearing A Charlie Brown Christmas, so that was definitely an entry point for me into his wonderful catalog. I also didn't get around to checking out any of Claudine Longet's catalog prior to my exposure to her via the inclusion of "Snow" on Something Festive!, so she's another.

 

[Rudy]

Vince Guaraldi is one, though, that I hadn't delved into at all prior to hearing A Charlie Brown Christmas, so that was definitely an entry point for me into his wonderful catalog.

My first was A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Until the CD era came along, I never even knew A Charlie Brown Christmas was on an album, since the stores didn't stock it with Guaraldi's albums in the jazz section even during the holidays. That and the TJB's album (on a German Polygram CD, years before it came out in the US) were the first two Xmas CDs I bought.

I might have explored a few artists from the first A GRP Christmas compilation but not many stuck with me. The one that I pursued from that set was the Japanese jazz artist Yutaka, who did a remake of "This Christmas."

 

[rockdoctor]

Most every artist that I like for Christmas music I already had albums by so there really is nobody that I got to liking by first hearing Christmas music.
That said, the very first Christmas album that I ever bought was the TJB Christmas album.
I had heard My Favorite Things on the radio many times the year it was released and really liked the arrangement by Shorty Rogers.

 

[Rudy]

I had heard My Favorite Things on the radio many times the year it was released and really liked the arrangement by Shorty Rogers.

I've seen a few reviews cut into those vocal parts arranged by Shorty, but to me those really make the album. I've listened to the tracks without, and it feels like something is missing. Probably because I heard the record so much while growing up, probably circa 1969 and onward once we had our stereo Magnavox console (that was one of the "good" records that couldn't leave the living room).

The first singie I owned at the ripe age of three, aside from kiddie records, was "Favorite Things" b/w "Christmas Song." I still have it. It's worn to a pulp. 🤣