Author: wamdiness

Hot on the heels of his new Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, Elton John has released a new video for his 1973 Christmas classic Step Into Christmas. Starring British model and Only Murders In The Building star Cara Delevingne as Elton, the new promo clip reimagines what it was like on-set and behind the scenes for the original’s music video. Speaking about the team-up, Elton said that himself and Delevingne had been working on ways to collaborate and this was it.

“I saw Cara at Glastonbury last summer and we talked about how much we’d love to work together if the right idea came up,” he explained. “She’s hilarious to spend time with, we both have quite a self-deprecating sense of humour. When someone suggested the idea of her playing me in a riff on the 1973 Step Into Christmas video, I just thought it was the perfect opportunity. Thank God Cara thought the same, because it came out great.’

“Elton has always been an idol of mine, to say his music has had a deeply profound effect on me is an understatement,” added Delevingne. “To be asked by him to play him in this recreation was a dream that I didn’t know I had until it happened. Honestly I wish I could pretend to be Elton every day. I hope that Elton may one day return the favour and agree to play me in my not yet developed, written, pitched or funded biopic. Fingers crossed.”

Watch the new video below:

Irish post-rockers The Murder Capital have announced details of a brand new single with proceeds being donated to a charity set up to help Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. The quintet say that all profits from Love Of Country, taken from their forthcoming third album Blindness, will be given to the Medical Aid For Palestinians charity. The track is available as a limited-edition seven-inch and download, available at the band’s website and Bandcamp store.

Speaking about the track, frontman James McGovern said, “Love Of Country is a song about the dark side of patriotism and nationalism, and what they become when they are warped and weaponised. Across the world, we are seeing hatred of “other” spreading like a disease. No claiming of land today is more barbaric than the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”

“We are releasing a 7” record of Love Of Country, with 100% of the proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestine. In the face of, and beyond such clear acts of evil, it is more vital than ever to cherish the richness of our diverse communities and the power of human connection. We must stand firm against the rise of nationalist ideologies and speak up for those whose worlds are being torn apart by hatred and violence.”

Alongside the single release, the band also unveiled a mural by artist Viktor H commissioned by the group that went on display in central Dublin today. View the mural below:

Out of all the songs written by the members of the Beatles following their 1970 breakup, Paul McCartney‘s “Wonderful Christmastime” is often considered one of the most controversial, not for its subject matter, but for its artistic worth.

At best, it’s thought of as a mediocre release from someone who clearly possesses an extraordinary amount of talent, and at worst, as an intolerable number and an affront to Christmas itself.

The latter is an inaccurate and callow perspective to hold. To be clear: “Wonderful Christmastime” is by no means one of McCartney’s most profound works, but the criticism it has garnered in the decades since its 1979 release is frankly unjustified and downright silly.

Perhaps it’s best to start there, with the word “silly.” A significant strength of McCartney’s is in writing songs that appeal to the whimsical and quirky. Yes, he wrote tender-hearted things like “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.” He also wrote “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “When I’m 64” and “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Beatles Solo No. 1 Singles

“Wonderful Christmastime” comes from a similar artistic vein, which is to say: it’s supposed to be fun. It’s perfectly understandable for people, in the year 2024 especially, to have a difficult time embracing the concept of uninhibited joy for its own sake, but “Wonderful Christmastime” is best enjoyed when one sheds their hard external layer for a more spontaneous one.

In other words: lighten up.

To Each Their Own

This isn’t to say that there’s not an argument to be made against the song’s…eclectic, borderline annoying arrangement. This writer once saw a social media post stating something to the effect of: “Wonderful Christmastime” sounds like McCartney walked into the studio, pressed every single button on the synthesizer he could reach and left it at that. But if you’re asking this writer — and technically you are, since you’re reading an opinion piece written by her — there is usually more fun to be had in eccentricity than in tradition. Not to pit Beatles against one another, but this writer is also a through and through John Lennon fan and still cannot seem to sit through the entirety of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” Well-intentioned as it is, I do not want to be preached to during the holidays — they’re stuffy and conformist enough as it is.

If anything, “Wonderful Christmastime” is a representation of the things that make the holiday season bearable and worth participating in: surprise, wonder, togetherness, nostalgia, fantasy and just a dash of mayhem and corniness.

“I think structure’s great. But I also like to start with chaos in order to get the freedom,” McCartney once said of his songwriting approach. “You know, if you structure too early it’s like [makes hitting the breaks noise]. But if you’re just creating, just free and flowing from chord to chord and idea to idea, something then sort of lands that you think is a good idea.”

Listen to Paul McCartney’s ‘Wonderful Christmastime’

There is usually an emphasis in holiday music — and Christmas songs in particular — on ritual, heritage and habit. There is undeniable value in these things, but there ought to be more room for the “just creating” part.

And in case you wondered if McCartney has regrets about “Wonderful Christmastime,” he doesn’t and nor should he.

“I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas,” he told The Paul McCartney Project in 2022. “They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ I was trying to capture that party aspect. I did hope it would keep coming back – which it has. Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear it a little too much, but I don’t care! I’m happy!”

Paul McCartney Through the Years: 1948-2023 Photos

The announcement that REO Speedwagon would be ending its touring career in 2024 due to “irreconcilable differences” between Kevin Cronin and bassist Bruce Hall came as a huge shock to fans.

But as Cronin reveals, it’s something which also blindsided him personally. “The thought of REO Speedwagon coming to an end, it’s just unfathomable to me,” he tells UCR. “I never expected it.”

For the first time since the news broke in mid-September, the singer-songwriter sat for a conversation to lay out the details from his side. [We’ve also reached out to Hall and offered him the same opportunity.] He has three more concerts with REO Speedwagon later this week. After that, he’ll continue touring under his own name in 2025, backed by fellow longtime REO guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt, and keyboardist Derek Hilland and bassist Matt Bissonette. His first post-REO concert is set for Jan. 25 in Thackerville, Oklahoma.  Cronin is also part of the newly announced Brotherhood of Rock tour, which will reunite him with his longtime touring partners and friends in Styx for a sixth run next summer.

“There’s a difference between Styx and REO Speedwagon and Styx and Kevin Cronin, at least on paper,” he says. “But those guys put their faith in me. We did a couple of shows this past year and they saw the current lineup of the band and they were blown away by it. I’m very, very grateful to Tommy Shaw and the whole Styx organization for having faith in me.”

Let’s start by talking about your health, briefly. You had to leave the tour with Train unexpectedly this summer due to health issues. I had the chance to see you with REO in Toledo since then, so the good news is you’re back at it – but fans were concerned. So whatever you’re comfortable with sharing about that whole journey, you can talk about it a bit if you want to.
You know, it was just an unexpected accident. I hurt myself and it required a little surgical repair in my abdominal area. Luckily, I had great care from a great surgeon out here in Southern California. She told me it would be four to six weeks recovery. I trusted her and did what I was supposed to do. Boy, the human body is an amazing organism. Its healing powers are astounding. The accident happened the night of our Forum show here in Los Angeles. It happened in the middle of the night. If you’d asked me a couple of days after that, I was just in pain [and had to] go to the hospital. But man, even at the ripe old age of 73 – and of course, I feel like I’m 23 – it healed up. If you saw the show in Toledo, you know that I really haven’t lost a step. I feel better than ever and made a full recovery, no complications. The bummer was that we couldn’t do the final two shows of the Train tour.

We got some shocking news with the word that REO Speedwagon is winding down at the end of this year due to what was described as “irreconcilable differences.” People have been understandably sad about that and I’m sure that extends to you as well. How did it come to this point?
Well, I mean, it’s very sad for me. I’ve spent my entire adult life putting 100% effort and energy into REO Speedwagon and it’s meant the world to me. All of my best songs were recorded by REO Speedwagon and we accomplished so much together. The thought of REO Speedwagon coming to an end, it’s just unfathomable to me. I never expected it. There was a lot of information that was circulating online. I would say a lot of it was inaccurate and some of it was hurtful. It’s very sad. [There are] a lot of people who connect their life to certain REO Speedwagon experiences they had. Whether it was a song of ours that they played at their wedding or their first date – or they went to an REO show for their anniversary, whatever it was … you know, REO Speedwagon has been the constant. It’s been an American institution. I never in my wildest dreams thought that REO Speedwagon would end before my career was over.

I expected to, for lack of a better term, ride the Speedwagon all of the way into the barn, when I couldn’t do it anymore – whether it was health or whatever. But I never expected what has come down this year. It’s sad and it’s unfortunate. There’s a part of me that’s angry about it. But there’s a part of it that has had to accept it. There’s only so much I can do. You know, REO Speedwagon at this point, it’s a partnership between the three heritage members. I got one vote. I wanted to keep the band that you saw in Toledo, that everyone saw with Train this year and in various other cities around the country. My intention was just to keep that going. It’s just too good. But I got outvoted, so it’s as simple as that. I’m kind of left with no alternative, because I want to keep this band. Playing with this band has been so fulfilling, uplifting and inspirational for me that I want to keep it together and keep it going.  If it can’t be called REO Speedwagon, we’ll call it Kevin Cronin or the Kevin Cronin Band and we will carry on and just keep building upon what we did in 2024.

Kevin, when someone joins a band like you did back in the day, they don’t necessarily think that it is eventually going to become a brand and a corporation and as you say, a partnership. But you guys have for so long, gone against the grain. The band always seemed really close-knit. So fans obviously have had a lot of questions, like, why can’t there be a farewell tour?
Well, you know, a farewell tour would be a farewell celebration of some sort. That would be a great idea, except for the fact that I’m not ready to say farewell. Some guys might be ready to say farewell, but I’m not one of them. At some point, when I’m ready and when I’m done for whatever reason that happens to be, I will have a massive farewell celebration – because the fans deserve that. You know, it’s the fans who have allowed me to pursue and reach beyond my wildest rock and roll dreams. I’ve been so fortunate to write songs that get into people’s DNA, basically. Here we are in 2024 playing sold-out arenas. A huge Live Nation tour. The audiences have been beyond enthusiastic, as opposed to people’s enthusiasm kind of dampening a bit as time goes by. It’s even become more powerful. I think people appreciate the fact that we’re still out here doing it. So there will come a time for a farewell tour and I wish it could be as REO Speedwagon. But as I said, there’s only so much I can do about that.

I guess I would say this. If people really look at the history and culture of REO Speedwagon – and I’m just talking about the way the band evolved – it’s never been like U2, Aerosmith or Cheap Trick, guys who grew up together and knew each other since elementary school. It’s never been that kind of thing. REO Speedwagon started in Champaign, Illinois, which was a place that people came from all over the country to go to school, because it’s an amazing school. It was a hotbed of activity for rock bands back in the late ’60s. There was an agency there called Blytham Limited, that was run by Irving Azoff, who of course went on to rule the world as he does now. REO Speedwagon and Dan Fogelberg were his first management clients, but I digress. The point is that REO Speedwagon, by the time I joined the band in 1972, they’d had three different lead guitar players, two different bass players. They had a brass section for a while.

They had made one album and Gary Richrath, who kind of discovered me up in Chicago, realized the band needed some reinforcements in the songwriting department. The fact that I also played guitar, they brought me in. Two years later, I had some vocal cord-related issues that got in the way of recording the Ridin’ the Storm Out album. I was replaced by Mike Murphy and a couple of years later, it wasn’t working with Murph, so they brought me back. The next year, it wasn’t working with Gregg Philbin and Bruce joined. It’s been a constant evolution. At any rate, as you said, there’s always been a closeness and camaraderie and it always showed on stage. But you know, like many bands over the year, people change, circumstances change and relationships change. It makes me sad, but I don’t know what I can do, except that, I’m not ready to stop. I’m not ready to call it quits. I feel like I’m surrounded by a great group of guys. The chemistry is great, the music sounds awesome and I want to keep this band together.

READ MORE: How a Road Trip Inspired REO Speedwagon’s ‘Roll With the Changes’

In order to do that, I have to change the name of my band to my own name – which seems weird. You know, I’ve always been a band guy. It wasn’t like I quit REO Speedwagon to pursue a solo career. Someone told me that was circulating online and that is the furthest thing from the truth. I never quit REO Speedwagon. I will never quit REO Speedwagon and I have no intention of embarking on a solo career. This is just the hand that I’ve been dealt. And as far as 2024 goes, the way I understand it is that Bruce agreed to sit out the 2024 tour and to receive full pay as if he was touring. That’s exactly what we did and that’s what he accepted. So that’s 2024 in a nutshell. I know there’s been a lot of opinions from people who think they know what goes on within this band. Honestly, I was a little bit disheartened that so much of this was played out publicly. The fans were actually brought into this whole thing.

You never like to see that.
Yeah, we don’t like that. You know, fans don’t like it and that’s why I’ve kept my mouth shut. I feel like these are private matters that are personal, they’re musical and they’re creative. Things happen in bands that no one can possibly understand unless you’re there, unless you’re in it and feeling it. Because music is such a spiritual thing. It’s a creative thing and things change. So that’s the way I understand it. I feel a combination of sadness and excitement. I feel sad that REO Speedwagon has to come to a close this way. But I feel excited that I’m going to continue making music. I’m writing. Richard Marx and I wrote a song together, which I’m so proud of. I’m looking forward to getting in and recording that with Richard. We’ve already got Richard’s version done. We’re going to work on [mine next], so we’re going to have two versions of the song.

Are you looking to do an album sometime in 2025?
You know, I love making records. I always have. Writing songs is probably the most rewarding part of my professional life. When you finish the song, that’s such a magical moment. Because you’re working on it and for me, there’s that moment of inspiration, I call it the holy moment, where it just hits you. A little chord progression hits a certain feeling and this magic trip happens. It ends up being a song. Once that part of the job is complete, then I start thinking in terms of the record. What could this song sound like? Where would there be vocal harmonies? Where would the guitars be? I love making records and it’s tough, because it takes so much time. At this point, we tour a lot. We’re probably on the road at least half the year, if not more. So then to come home and look at my wife, Lisa and go, “Yeah, honey, I know I’ve been gone for six months, but I’m going to go in the studio for the next six months,” I don’t know if that’s gonna fly.

The business has changed to the point that it used to be that you just kept writing until you had enough songs for an album and then you went in and made an album. Now, you can release songs one at a time if you want to. I’m definitely planning on recording my version of the song that Richard and I wrote. [Beyond that], I’m just looking forward to moving past the drama of the year and putting it behind us. I’m so grateful to the fans who have supported me through the years, who will hopefully continue to support me. Because starting in 2025, if you want to see an REO Speedwagon concert, you’ll come and see Kevin Cronin. Because that’s the songs, that’s the attitude and that’s what it is kind of going to be. I’m feeling grateful and at the same time, I can’t deny feeling sad about it. It’s both of those things at the same time. But we’re going to get through this and I’m looking forward to 2025.

Despite a career spanning more than 40 years and over 14 million albums sold, the members of Tesla are not as financially comfortable as you’d expect.

In fact, guitarist Frank Hannon tells Sonic Perspectives that part of the reason his band constantly tours is that they need the money.

“We’re a lot older now and we have to tour a lot to make a living. We’re not rich. We never became millionaires,” he admitted, noting that it’s also the reason Tesla has begun releasing singles instead of albums. “We still have to pay our bills, and so it makes more sense, the philosophy of going out on tour and writing a song and while that song is fresh, putting it out and enjoying it at the time.”

READ MORE: How Tesla Fought Back From Grunge ‘Failure’

Hannon went on to note that the pandemic had a heavy financial impact on his band – and they’re only slowly starting to come out of it. “We took such a huge loss being grounded for two years that we’re still barely pulling ourselves out of that hole financially,” he said.

“But that being said, the blessing to it is that when we focus on a song like [their recent single] ‘All About Love’ or [2022’s] ‘Time To Rock!’ and just focus on that and then go out and play it live while it’s hot, it just tastes better,” Hannon said. “It’s like eating a meal as soon as you get it off the stove and you put it on your plate, man — that’s when it tastes good. So, for us, we can write a song and make it happen and then hit the road and play it. And I like it better, honestly.”

Why Tesla Has Turned to Singles

While some fans may decry the move toward singles and away from albums, Hannon and his band have embraced it. “The days of taking a year off and arguing in a studio over 10 songs that aren’t gonna really get their full due [are over],” he said. “Because, really, the best way to create songs is to let them live for a while and to try ’em out at the shows and stuff, and it takes a lot of time.

“So, if you notice, a lot of bands, including ourselves, the albums, all 10 songs aren’t as good anymore because the process of spending all that time trying to make every song great, it’s just not realistic anymore,” Hannon said. “So, it works much better for us just to put all of our eggs into one song or maybe two and really make them as best as we can be and go out on the road and play ’em while they’re fresh.”

20 Rock Stars Who Went Broke

Millions of dollars sure can disappear fast. 

Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin

More From Ultimate Classic Rock

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy, unity and general well wishes.

But let’s face it: for most people it’s impossible to be merry and bright 100 percent of the time. For as happy of a time as it can be, the holiday season can also bring up feelings of loneliness, isolation, rejection and sadness. What sort of festive music goes with that?

Turns out, there are more than a handful of “sad” holiday songs written about the not-so-fun parts of the season. We’re taking a look at 30 of them below.

1. “Blue Christmas,” Elvis Presley
From: Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957)

Many, many people have covered “Blue Christmas,” including but not limited to: the Beach Boys, Billy Idol, Sheryl Crow and Ringo Starr, to name a few. But arguably the definitive recording is Elvis Presley’s 1957 version, a hit that featured gospel group the Jordanaires on backing vocals. Forget a white Christmas, the blues are here to stay.

2. “Last Christmas,” Wham!
From: 1984 Single

Yes, “Last Christmas” by Wham! is a total bop and is still a popular holiday song decades after its original release. It’s also a song about Christmastime memories with a lover who has betrayed the narrator. George Michael wrote it in his childhood bedroom, probably with no idea that it would reach No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 40 years later. “It is a testament to the enduring appeal of one of George Michael’s songwriting masterstrokes that ‘Last Christmas’ seems to have become woven into the very fabric of Christmas,” his Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley told Billboard in 2024.

3. “Please Come Home for Christmas,” Eagles
From: 1978 Single

You might not think of Eagles as a blues rock band, but there have been points where they’ve lent their talents to the genre, like with 1978’s “Please Come Home for Christmas,” a cover of a 1960 song first recorded by the blues singer Charles Brown. When you’re done with this version, there are also renditions of it by Bon Jovi, Cher, Willie Nelson, B.B. King and more.

4. “Same Old Lang Syne,” Dan Fogelberg
From: The Innocent Age (1981)

You know those Hallmark holiday movies where two high school sweethearts return to their hometowns for Christmas and reconnect? That’s kind of the premise of Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne,” in which a pair bump into one another at the grocery store on Christmas Eve and wind up reminiscing on years gone by over a six-pack in the car. (Grocery shopping on Christmas Eve and drinking behind the wheel both seem like questionable choices though…)

5. “I Want to Come Home for Christmas,” Marvin Gaye
From: 1972 Single

You could think of Marvin Gaye’s “I Want to Come Home for Christmas” as the sort of sultry, soul version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Co-written by Gaye and Forest Hairston, it’s also an anti-war number: “I want to see snowflakes fall / I want to see Santa Claus / Ooo, I want to hear jingle bells ring / Want to hear jingle bells ringing / But I can’t promise my eyes this sight / Unless they stop the fight.”

6. “River,” Joni Mitchell
From: Blue (1971)

“It’s coming on Christmas, they’re cutting down trees,” Joni Mitchell sings forlornly in “River.” But as she points out, it doesn’t snow much in California, which only seems to add to her feeling of isolation post-partnership with Graham Nash. “‘River’ made me sad, because it chronicled the end of our relationship,” Nash told The Guardian in 2021, “but also elated, because it was such a beautiful song and she had the courage to bare her soul. We were very much in love. I treasured that relationship.”

7. “Christmas Eve Can Kill You,” The Everly Brothers
From: Stories We Could Tell (1972)

The full title of this Everly Brothers recording is “Christmas Eve Can Kill You (When You’re Trying to Hitch a Ride to Anywhere).” Don’t let the delicate two-part harmony deceive you – this is a song about being stranded on the side of the road in the cold with no help to be found, even on Christmas Eve.

8. “Father Christmas,” The Kinks
From: 1977 Single

Unfortunately the Kinks’ “Father Christmas” remains relevant today in the sense that money is often more useful to young people than toys. To be clear, we are not encouraging kids to beat up people dressed as Santa Claus or, as the song states, acquire machine guns to deal with the problem. All we’re saying is the wealth could be distributed a little more evenly. “I love the humor of it, and the aggression and bitterness,” Dave Davies would later say. “I could see the faces of my parents when Christmas came around. They had to struggle to make ends meet. We kind of got what we needed, but there was something fake about the holiday.”

9. “If We Make It Through December,” Merle Haggard
From: Merle Haggard’s Christmas Present (1973)

The next few entires focus on some more country-leaning artists, starting with the late Merle Haggard, whose 1973 hit “If We Make It Through December” is a deceptively upbeat number about hard times making the holiday season even harder: “I wanted Christmas to be right for Daddy’s girl / I don’t mean to hate December, it’s meant to be the happy time of year / But my little girl don’t understand / Why Daddy can’t afford no Christmas gear.” (For a contemporary version of the song, check out Phoebe Bridgers‘ 2020 cover.)

10. “Ringing the Bells for Jim,” Johnny Cash
From: The Christmas Spirit (1963)

Christmas is a good time for hope. In “Ringing the Bells for Jim,” Johnny Cash sings about approaching a priest around this time of year, whom he asks to pray for his dying brother Jim. This appeared on Cash’s 1963 album The Christmas Spirit, which also includes a cover of “Blue Christmas.”

11. “Hard Candy Christmas,” Dolly Parton
From: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982 Soundtrack)

“Hard Candy Christmas” was written by Carol Hall for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which opened off-Broadway in the late ’70s. Dolly Parton, who appeared in the 1982 film version of the production, turned it into a No. 8 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Cyndi Lauper released her own version in 2016, which featured Alison Krauss.

12. “Christmas in Prison,” John Prine
From: Sweet Revenge (1973)

There are few more depressing places one could spend Christmas than behind bars, but John Prine didn’t appear to be speaking about a literal place in “Christmas in Prison.” Rather, it’s about feeling emotionally trapped, unable to live life to the fullest extent with loved ones. “It’s Christmas in prison / There’ll be music tonight / I’ll probably get homesick/ I love you, goodnight.” (According to Rolling Stone, Prine loved the holiday season so much he kept a Christmas tree up all year round in his bachelor house.)

13. “Another Lonely Christmas,” Prince
From: 1984 Single

Leave it to Prince to write a Christmas song that is somehow both sexy and sad. “Another Lonely Christmas” came out in 1984 as the B-side of the single “I Would Die 4 U.” Things take an awfully dark turn at the end of this track…

14. “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night,” Simon & Garfunkel
From: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)

Have you ever wanted to listen to a Christmas song that was both biblical and chock full of depressing news? Simon & Garfunkel have you covered with “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night.” As its title suggests, it’s a cover of “Silent Night” over top of various pieces of then-contemporary news reports: the death of comedian Lenny Bruce, protests against the Vietnam War, a speech by Richard Nixon, etc.

15. “Someday at Christmas,” Stevie Wonder
From: Someday at Christmas (1967)

Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas” is another one of those deceptively cheerful sounding holiday songs. Wonder’s voice is smooth as silk, but he’s singing about the world being rife with violence and discrimination — hardly the picture of holiday goodness or “peace on earth.” The Jackson 5 released a version of this song in 1970, and so did Lizzo in 2022.

16. “Just a Lonely Christmas,” The Supremes
From: Merry Christmas (2015 Reissue)

The Supremes’ recording of “Just Another Lonely Christmas” did not appear on their 1965 holiday album Merry Christmas. Many years later, it popped up when a reissue of the album was released in 2015. Diana Ross is pretty convincing here as a beautifully depressed lover yearning for her partner to return to her arms.

17. “Christmas Ain’t Christmas, New Years Ain’t New Years Without The One You Love,” The O’Jays
From: 1969 Single

There’s a reason they call it the holiday season. There’s not just one holiday to possibly endure alone but several, back-to-back. For a song that covers both Christmas and New Year’s, the O’Jays have you covered with this 1969 single.

18. “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis,” Tom Waits
From: Blue Valentine (1978)

Nothing says Christmas quite like hearing from a woman of the night. Here is how Tom Waits introduced the song at one of his concerts in 1985 — make of it what you will: “I was in Minneapolis — it was 200 degrees below zero — I know, you think I’m bullshitting, no, I swear to God, I was wearing just a bra and a slip and a kind of dead squirrel around my neck — he was colder than I was. The police cars would go by and they’d wave. … Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. Anyway, I got caught in the middle of a pimp war between two kids in Chinchilla coats, they couldn’t have been more than 13 years old — they’re throwing knives and forks and spoons out into the street. It was deep, so I grabbed a ladle, and Dinah Washington was singing ‘Our Day Will Come’ and I knew that was it.”

19. “Snow,” Harry Nilsson
From: Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)

If you didn’t already know this, Harry Nilsson recorded an entire album in collaboration with Randy Newman back in 1969 titled Nilsson Sings Newman — Newman himself provided the piano and keyboard for it. “Snow” actually did not make the original album cut, but was instead released on the 2000 CD reissue. To be fair, “Snow” never mentions any specific holidays, but it sure is a sad song about feeling alone during the winter.

20. “Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues
From: If I Should Fall From Grace With God (1988)

There are certainly more comfortable places to spend Christmas Eve than a metropolitan drunk tank, but that’s where the story begins in the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.” As Shane MacGowan insisted over the years, the song came to be when the Pogues’ producer at the time in 1985, none other than Elvis Costello, wagered that the band could not write a hit Christmas single. He could not have been proven more wrong when “Fairytale of New York” wound up an incredibly successful release in 1987, reaching No. 2 on the U.K. singles chart. “For a band like the Pogues, very strongly rooted in all kinds of traditions rather than the present, it was a no-brainer,” banjo player and the song’s co-writer Jem Finer told The Guardian in 2012.

21. “Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas),” John Denver
From: Farewell Andromeda (1973)

Being sad or upset during the holiday season is hard enough for adults, let alone children for whom it should be the most exciting time of the year. John Denver was an adult when he recorded the self-explanatory “Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas),” but he was singing from the perspective of a seven-year-old boy: “Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas / I don’t want to see my momma cry.”

22. “Winter Song,” Lindisfarne
From: Nicely Out of Tune (1970)

“When the turkey’s in the oven and the Christmas presents are bought,” Alan Hull notes in “Winter Song,” from 1970’s Nicely Out of Tune, a song Elvis Costello considered a favorite and performed live himself, “And Santa’s in his module, he’s an American astronaut / Do you spare one thought for Jesus who had nothing but his thoughts, who got busted just for talking and befriending the wrong sorts?“

23. “Christmas,” The Who
From: Tommy (1969)

To get the full effect of “Christmas” by the Who, you’ll need to listen to the entirety of their 1969 concept album Tommy. In this particular number, Christmas morning brings up some serious concerns in Tommy’s father, given his son’s lack of hearing or sight — deaf, dumb and blind. “Tommy doesn’t know what day it is / He doesn’t know who Jesus was or what praying is / How can he be saved from the eternal grave?“

24. “I Believe in Father Christmas,” Greg Lake
From: 1975 Single

Greg Lake did not set out to write a happy, feel-good type holiday song when he came up with “I Believe in Father Christmas,” his debut solo single released in 1975. Instead, his aim was in “objecting to the commerciality of Christmas and trying to sort of, basically, remind people that the Christmas you get, you deserve. It’s all about giving, it’s the joy of giving. That was the real intention behind the song.”

25. “Christmas Wrapping,” The Waitresses
From: 1981 Single

The American new wave group the Waitresses were only together for five years and broke up in 1983. But in that time they released the adorably upbeat “Christmas Wrapping.” It gives off the air of happiness, but the lyrics tell a different story about trying to move on from a former partner during the holiday season and spending it mostly alone. “Calendar picture, frozen landscape / Chill this room for 24 days / Evergreens, sparkling snow / Get this winter over with!“

26. “Pretty Paper,” Roy Orbison
From: 1963 Single

Roy Orbison did not write “Pretty Paper” – Willie Nelson did that – but frankly Orbison’s silky voice is half of what makes this song as poignant as it is. “Crowded street, busy feet hustle by him / Downtown shoppers, Christmas is nigh / There he sits all alone on the sidewalk / Hoping that you won’t pass him by.”

27. “Christmas at Ground Zero,” Weird Al
From: Polka Party! (1986)

At Christmastime, who doesn’t want to think about violence and destruction? “It didn’t make much of a splash because radio stations didn’t seem to think it was appropriate to release a song about nuclear annihilation during the holidays,” Weird Al later explained of his 1986 song “Christmas at Ground Zero.” “It’s still a fan favorite. The sad part is, I can’t really play the song live anymore because too many people misunderstand the connotations of Ground Zero. It’s not a reference to 9/11, obviously. It was written in 1987 [sic] when ‘ground zero’ just meant the epicenter of a nuclear attack.”

28. “What a Merry Christmas This Could Be,” Willie Nelson
From: 1964 Single

“What a merry Christmas this could be,” Willie Nelson sings here, “if you would just come back to me.” Written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard, “What a Merry Christmas This Could Be” was also recorded by George Strait in 1986.

29. “It Won’t Be the Same This Year,” Vince Gill
From: Let There Be Peace on Earth (1993)

Vince Gill really decided to put people through the emotional wringer with “It Won’t Be the Same This Year,” a song about coming home for the holidays with one less family member there — “first time home since brother passed away,” he sings. It’s the one and only original number on Let There Be Peace on Earth, Gill’s 1993 album of mostly Christmas song covers.

30. “Merry Christmas, Darling,” The Carpenters
From: 1970 Single

With a title like “Merry Christmas, Darling,” you would assume this 1970 song by the Carpenters would be a happy one. But the lyrics are sung from the perspective of someone going through the holiday season motions without the one person she wants to be with.

Top 10 ’80s Christmas Movies

Greek heavy rock titans Nightstalker announce the release of their seventh studio album, Return From The Point Of No Return, on March 14, 2025 through Heavy Psych Sounds, with the first single and video “Uncut” streaming now.

After more than two decades of taking the underground by storm, Nightstalker return with their most colossal and bold statement yet: Return From The Point Of No Return. More than just a continuation of their career, this seventh studio album is the moment they transcend everything they have accomplished in their 30-year history.

As soon as the rip-roaring, banger-heavy fire of the anthemic opening track “Dust” sets your stereo ablaze, you’re in for an epic ride. On Return From The Point Of No Return, Nightstalker’s signature sound of gritty, massive blues-laden riffs and hypnotic grooves crowned by the commanding vocals of frontman Argy Galiatsatos has gone deeper, darker, and more expansive. It’s a record that speaks to the soul as much as it pounds the body, leaving you wondering how you ever lived without it.

From moments of crushing intensity driven by the band’s muscular rock ‘n’ roll pulse to slow-burning atmospheric tension, each song takes you on a journey through the darker side of life, telling a story that’s as much about pushing boundaries as it is about confronting the void. This new album is a statement of intent: Nightstalker is not here to follow trends for they have paved the way for an entire generation of Greek stoner rockers, and everything in this new album feels like an electrifying call to arms for legions of fans to pump their fists in the air in unison. Return From The Point Of No Return is a triumph of heavy rock and a paramount testament to their legacy. 

Tracklisting:

“Dust”
“Heavy Trippin”
“Uncut”
“Return From The Point Of No Return”
“Shipwrecked Powder Monkey”
“Shallow Grave”
“Falling Inside”
“Flying Mode”

For further details, visit Nightstalker on Facebook.