The Oldies Music Board

You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



December 23, 2019 1:48 pm  #1


Xmas Oldies That Aren't Really Xmas Oldies

Is anyone here as tired as I already am of the same old Christmas tunes that start playing on your radio oh, roughly around September 30th? We're almost done, of course, and I don't mean to be a Scrooge, but I could live with a few less of them in rotation at this time of year. 

That said, this article about Christmas tunes that aren't really Christmas tunes reminded me of a Yuletide oldie that's not only not really about Christmas - but doesn't really even fit the definition of an oldie because it was never exactly a hit in the first place. 

I'm not sure if your market plays the late, great Jim Croce's otherwise wonderful "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way" every year around this time, but the song is about a guy who experiences a break-up in December. The song happens to mention a few seasonal references - "Christmas lights," "the corner Santa Claus," and that "The Christmas carols sound like blues" just once - and now it's become something of a holiday staple.

Yet the song has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas otherwise and isn't even a holiday tune in any other way. In fact, it's pretty damned depressing!
 
It was the B-side of a 45 and only reached #64 on Billboard. Hardly a hit. Yet every year, there is it is again.

I wonder if there are any other well-played oldies that don't really fit the Christmas category but yet endlessly get played at this time of year anyway. 


   

Last edited by aflem (December 23, 2019 1:49 pm)

 

December 23, 2019 2:35 pm  #2


Re: Xmas Oldies That Aren't Really Xmas Oldies

Winter World Of Love by Engelbert Humperdinck. Yes, it mentions December and the end of the year, but it doesn't refer to Christmas at all, and songs that mention other times of the year aren't restricted to the time that they mention -- and on top of that, the song also refers to summer. It didn't even enter the Billboard top 40 until January 1970, and it didn't peak until the end of the month.

 

December 24, 2019 9:13 am  #3


Re: Xmas Oldies That Aren't Really Xmas Oldies

I think  "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg might fit what you are looking for.

And yes, I still miss roger.

 

December 24, 2019 10:00 am  #4


Re: Xmas Oldies That Aren't Really Xmas Oldies

Agree with you about the Fogelberg song, which didn't peak on Billboard until Feb. 21 in 1981. And I was also thinking of roger recently ... I miss him as well. Thanks for mentioning him. 

 

December 24, 2019 8:04 pm  #5


Re: Xmas Oldies That Aren't Really Xmas Oldies

I love Jim Croce's song. I think it's one of the best he wrote and it's a staple on my Christmas playlist. Some other tunes on my mix tape that aren't necessarily Xmas tunes but seem to fit the season, include A Spaceman Came Travelling by Chris DeBurgh, Ding Dong, Ding Dong by George Harrison and my favourite, Toor-a-Loora-Loo by Trio. Although it's not a Christmas song it sure sounds like a Christmas song, and when Trio re-released it some years ago, the related artwork showed the band in Santa Claus hats. Have a listen, and Merry Christmas y'all.




 

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum