Top Ten Rock n’ Roll Christmas Songs by Eric Senich
Every Time A Rock And Roller Sings, An Angel Gets His Wings…
Eric Senich Has Come Up With His Top Ten Christmas Rock Song List So Grab Some Hot Chocolate, Fire Up The Spotify App And Turn The Volume Up!
Bobby Helms “Jingle Bell Rock”
Where Would Any Of The Songs On This List Be If Not For Bobby Helms? His 1957 Song “Jingle Bell Rock” Is Considered To Be The First Mainstream Rock ‘N’ Roll Christmas Song Ever. And Just How Much Did Fans Like It When It Was Released?
Although It Was Released Only Two Days Before Christmas Of ’57, It Shot All The Way To #6 On The Pop Chart. It’s The Show Starter. It’s The Show Stopper. It’s The Mightiest Of All Mighty Christmas Songs, So Fire This One Up And Let’s “Jingle Bell”
ROCK Boys And Girls!!!!
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Band Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
There Are Super Groups And Then There Are SUPER Groups Like Band Aid. Bob Geldof Brought A Who’s Who Of Rock Stars Together To Sarm West Studios In London To Record This Song In November Of 1984 All In An Effort To End Famine In Ethiopia. With A Roster That Includes Bono, Phil Collins, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, Sting, And Paul
Young, I Say, “Here’s To You Mr. Geldoff, And I Raise A Glass To Everyone Who Made This Timeless Song Happen. This Child Off The ‘80s Thanks You All!”
David Bowie & Bing Crosby “Peace On Earth/ Little Drummer Boy”
David Bowie’s Appearance On Bing Crosby’s Merrie Old Christmas TV Special In 1977 Was Described By TV And Music Critics As “Surreal.” It Appears As If The Record Label Suits Felt The Same And Had No Intentions Of Releasing The Recording Is A Single.
Following The Special’s Broadcast, This Song Went Unavailable For Several Years. But In November Of 1982, Someone At RCA Records Thought It Wouldn’t Be A Bad Idea To Release It As A Single. It Went all The Way To #3 In The UK. It’s Since Become a Holiday Staple.
Elvis Presley “Blue Christmas”
This Is A Prime Example Of Just How Gifted Elvis Was. According To His Backup Singer Millie Kirkham, Elvis Didn’t Want To Record This Song From 1957’s Elvis’ Christmas Album. He Was Told He Had To Since The Sessions Had Already Been Scheduled. So Elvis Said, “Well, OK.” He Turned Around, Said To The Musicians, “OK, Let’s Just Get This Over With. Just Do Anything. Have Fun… Do Something Silly.” Unbelievable. My Dad Had This Album And Dropped The Needle On That Classic Every Christmas Morning. Brought Smiles To The Senich Family Every Time.
John Lennon “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
John Lennon And Yoko Ono Wrote This In Their New York City Hotel Room And Recorded It During The Evening Of October 28th And Into The Morning Of The 29th, 1971, At The Record Plant In New York.
Imagine (No Pun Intended) What It Must Have Been Like To Have Been In That Studio Listening To This Song Being Born. It’ll Live On Long After We’re Here.
Greg Lake “I Believe In Father Christmas”
Greg Lake Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer Fame Wrote This Song At His West London Home. He Decided To Tune The Bottom String Of His Guitar From E Down To D And A Christmas Classic Was Born. What Is A Stunning Piece Of Music. Next Time There’s A Snowfall, Just Put This Gem On Repeat And Feel The Magic Take Over Your Mind, Heart And Soul.
Billy Squire “Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You”
When I Think Of Billy Squire, I Choose Not To Think Of Him Prancing Around In A Pink Tank Top To “Rock Me Tonite”. I Prefer To Remember Him Wearing Anything But A Pink Tank Top And Hangin’ Out With The Original Vjs At The MTV Studios Back In 1981 Performing This Song.
Brenda Lee “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”
How Many Of You Love This Classic From 1958 ‘Cuz Of Home Alone? It’s The Song That Never Fails To Pay Off Every Christmas. And Keep The Change… Ya Filthy Animal!
Paul Mccartney “Wonderful Christmastime”
All I Want For Christmas Is A Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 So I Can Write A Song Like This One. Yeah, I Know What Most Of You Are Thinking. Sure, It’s A Cheesy Song But I Can’t Resist Its Charm. Call Me Crackers And You Can Throw That Cheese On Me At Any Christmas Party.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)”
Never Judge A Record By Its Cover. This Song About Sarajevo-Born Cellist Vedran Smailovic’s Return To His Homeland In Ruins After The Bosnian War, Was Initially Delivered To Radio Stations In 1995 As A Track Recorded By The ‘80s Heavy Metal Band Savatage. It Received Enough Airplay To Earn A Decent #65 Spot On Billboard’s Hot 100. But One Year Later, The Exact Same Song Was Sent Out To Radio Stations, Only This Time It Was Credited To Savatage’s Side Project Band Called Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The Cover Of The Record Also Had A Different Look. It Featured A Christmas Tree And An Angel On The Cover. The Result—It Shot To #1 On 500 Radio Stations.
Eric Senich has been a professional FM rock disc jockey for over 20 years. He began his career in 1996 as a weekend on-air personality for WCCC in Hartford, CT. He went on to work for various stations throughout Connecticut before finding a home at i95/ WRKI in Danbury, CT where he was the night-time personality from 2000-2006. He returned to i95 to do Saturday mid-days from 2009-2019.
In March of 2019 Eric launched his own podcast called DISCovery with Eric Senich. Each week he discovered the stories behind the greatest albums, artists and songs of the classic rock era. Along the way he interviewed many interesting guests including authors Greg Prato, Greg Renoff, Martin Popoff, Matt Swayne, Corbin Reiff and Sandra B. Tooze.
Eric was having so much fun interviewing all of these great authors he decided to launch the “Booked On Rock” podcast in May of 2021.
Eric also has a background in journalism. He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT in 1994. He worked as a sports writer for several years before turning his writing skills towards an ever bigger passion: Van Halen. He’s been a contributing writer for the Van Halen News Desk since 2017.
