This is that time of year when you can't avoid Christmas music. Some radio stations switch their entire format to holiday songs starting in mid-November. And it's nearly impossible to enter any store without hearing seasonal classics - some of which generate warm memories, while others are so overplayed they make you want to scream and pull out every hair on your head.
There are several songs that always remind me of Christmas, no matter the time of year. The following is my top 10 list of my favorite "non-holiday" holiday songs - tunes that weren't specifically recorded as Christmas music, but have that seasonal feel to them:
"Diamonds and Pearls" by Prince - This song from Prince's 1991 album of the same name was, appropriately, released during Thanksgiving week of that year (according to Wikipedia). The lyrics are representative of the holiday spirit: "If I gave you diamonds and pearls/would you be a happy boy or a girl?/If I could I would give you the world/But all I can do is just offer you my love."
This song easily could have been used in a Christmas commercial for a high-end jeweler, if Prince hadn't been so opposed to his music being used for advertising. Even the instrumentation on this heartfelt ballad sounds like it could have been the background music for a Christmas tune.
"Diamonds and Pearls," like all of Prince's music, has taken on a special significance since his untimely death on April 21.
There are several songs that always remind me of Christmas, no matter the time of year. The following is my top 10 list of my favorite "non-holiday" holiday songs - tunes that weren't specifically recorded as Christmas music, but have that seasonal feel to them:
"Diamonds and Pearls" by Prince - This song from Prince's 1991 album of the same name was, appropriately, released during Thanksgiving week of that year (according to Wikipedia). The lyrics are representative of the holiday spirit: "If I gave you diamonds and pearls/would you be a happy boy or a girl?/If I could I would give you the world/But all I can do is just offer you my love."
This song easily could have been used in a Christmas commercial for a high-end jeweler, if Prince hadn't been so opposed to his music being used for advertising. Even the instrumentation on this heartfelt ballad sounds like it could have been the background music for a Christmas tune.
"Diamonds and Pearls," like all of Prince's music, has taken on a special significance since his untimely death on April 21.
While "Peace and Joy" wasn't officially released as a single, the lyrics' sentiments calling for global harmony make it ideal to include on a playlist for a holiday party.
"Oh People" by Patti LaBelle - The legendary R&B diva released this song six months before Christmas in June of 1986, but it definitely captures the spirt of the holiday season. The lyrics are all about world peace and people coming together as one - a message that seems even more relevant 30 years later with all the division and conflict in America and the world at large.
"Love Makes Things Happen" by Pebbles and Babyface - This smooth duet by R&B star Perri "Pebbles" Reid and superstar musician/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds was released in November of the first year of the last decade of the 20th century. It makes perfect sense that this beautiful ballad came out during 1990's holiday season, since it's all about finding love in unexpected places, and the power of love to transform lives.
"That's What Love Is For" by Amy Grant - No surprise that this number one '91 pop hit sounds like a Christmas song, since Grant was a superstar Christian recording artist before she crossed over to the secular world.
"River" by Herbie Hancock and Corrine Bailey Rae - I'm not sure if the title song to Hancock's Grammy-winning 2007 tribute to Joni Mitchell qualifies as a Christmas song since it mentions the holiday in the lyrics. But it's certainly more forlorn and introspective than most holiday tunes.
"The Gift of Love" by Bette Midler - This ballad from Midler's smash '90 album "Some People's Lives" is yet another song that technically isn't a Christmas song. But, like Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls," this sentimental tune sounds like it could be the background music for a jewelry commercial that runs during the holiday season or Valentine's Day.
As an interesting aside, in researching this blog post, I discovered that "The Gift of Love" was co-written by Susanna Hoffs, lead singer of The Bangles.
"Celebrate Me Home" by Kenny Loggins - This 1977 soft-rock hit could be the theme song for the millions of people who travel great distances to see family and friends during the holidays. I must admit that I didn't think of this one on my own, since jazz star Dave Koz used this song for years as the finale for his annual Christmas tour.
As an interesting aside, in researching this blog post, I discovered that "The Gift of Love" was co-written by Susanna Hoffs, lead singer of The Bangles.
"Celebrate Me Home" by Kenny Loggins - This 1977 soft-rock hit could be the theme song for the millions of people who travel great distances to see family and friends during the holidays. I must admit that I didn't think of this one on my own, since jazz star Dave Koz used this song for years as the finale for his annual Christmas tour.
"Seasons Change" by Exposé - This '87 pop ballad by female trio Exposé is definitely not a Christmas song. But the melancholy lyrics convey how many of us feel this time of year, when we reflect on friends and loved ones who have passed away and relationships that came to an end like the changing seasons.
"The Closing of the Year" by Wendy and Lisa - I'm topping off this list with yet another nod to Prince and his peeps. Anyone who has seen "Purple Rain" knows that Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were two of Prince's closest musical confidantes during the height of his commercial success in the '80s.
Wendy and Lisa's "The Closing of the Year" is sort of a Christmas song, since it actually refers to the holiday in the lyrics. However, the song did not appear on a Christmas album, but rather the soundtrack to the 1992 Robin Williams movie "Toys."
Featuring a guest appearance by pop star Seal, "The Closing of the Year" is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs I've ever heard. Wendy croons lead vocals in an angelic voice that sounds like she should be the soloist for a celestial choir.
Like much of Wendy and Lisa's post-Prince music, this song is extremely underrated. This tune is a little-known gem that should be as ubiquitous on radio station holiday playlists and retail store Muzak as anything by Mariah Carey or Celine Dion.
Wendy and Lisa's "The Closing of the Year" is sort of a Christmas song, since it actually refers to the holiday in the lyrics. However, the song did not appear on a Christmas album, but rather the soundtrack to the 1992 Robin Williams movie "Toys."
Featuring a guest appearance by pop star Seal, "The Closing of the Year" is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs I've ever heard. Wendy croons lead vocals in an angelic voice that sounds like she should be the soloist for a celestial choir.
Like much of Wendy and Lisa's post-Prince music, this song is extremely underrated. This tune is a little-known gem that should be as ubiquitous on radio station holiday playlists and retail store Muzak as anything by Mariah Carey or Celine Dion.
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