Classic rock music isn’t often about nostalgia, but those who listen to it today often do so with nostalgia in their heart. And what better time to feel that pleasant, warm pang of longing than the holiday season?
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To bridge the genre with the feeling, we wanted to dive into three classic rock songs from some of the biggest names in music that highlight the holiday season. So break out your big buzzy amplifiers, electric guitars, and your drum kit, these are three classic rock songs about Christmas that go hard.
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“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Bruce Springsteen (1975)
This song was published in 1934 and has been a Christmas classic ever since. And while it has been covered by everyone from The Carpenters and Frank Sinatra to Bing Crosby and The Jackson 5, no one has done it quite like The Boss. Bruce Springsteen cut his version in Dcember 1975 at what was then C.W. Post College in Brookville, New York. The song was first released in 1981 on the In Harmony 2 compilation. And unlike softer, more somber offerings from other artists, Springsteen’s channels the hard-hitting feeling that classic rock is known for.
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon (1971)
This 1971 original song from the former Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono as part of their Plastic Ono Band, this track was part holiday offering and part protest song expressing anti-Vietnam War sentiments. Hence the song’s title includes the phrase “war is over.” The song also came after many other attempts at protest by Lennon and Ono, including their two famous bed-ins. In this number, Lennon attempts to present the idea that the Vietnam War and any other war can end in an instant if we all believe and want it so. In fact, Lennon and Ono commissioned billboards in 1969 across a dozen cities that shared the refrain, “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko.” Now, with this song, that sentiment had a soundtrack.
“Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry (1958)
This 1958 original rock song was written by Chuck Berry, the man John Lennon said the genre of rock and roll should be named after. The fast-paced blues song highlights the red-nosed Christmas character Rudolph, invented by Johnny Marks. If Christmas had a special party song, this song would be it. That’s the beauty of classic rock and roll, it can turn any subject into one that makes you want to swing your hips. And Berry is the original master of that in the genre.
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Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
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