Sam Smith - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

This version is so open hearted. Smith finds something magical in his rendition. Able to both embrace the innate sadness of the song, but truly lives in the wishing of joy. Truly, a gift.

Smith's debut studio album, In the Lonely Hour, was released in May 2014 on Capitol Records UK. The album's lead single, "Lay Me Down", was released prior to "La La La". The album's second single, "Money on My Mind", became Smith's second number one single in the UK. The third single, "Stay with Me", was an international success, reaching number one in the UK and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, while their singles "I'm Not the Only One" and "Like I Can" reached the top ten in the UK. The album won four awards, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

For Smith's and Jimmy Napes's song "Writing's on the Wall", the theme for the James Bond film Spectre (2015), Smith won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Smith's second studio album, The Thrill of It All, was released in November 2017 and debuted atop the UK and US album charts. The lead single, "Too Good at Goodbyes", reached number one in the UK and Australia and number four in the US. They released the single "Promises" with Calvin Harris, which peaked at number one in the UK. Smith released "Dancing with a Stranger" with Normani in 2019, which reached the top ten in the UK and the US and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards, and followed it by releasing a string of commercially successful singles "How Do You Sleep?", "To Die For", and "I'm Ready" with Demi Lovato; all of which feature on Smith's third album, Love Goes.

Smith has won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, and an American Music Award, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award through their career. They are non-binary and use they/them pronouns.

So today, with wings open, I choose Sam Smith’s version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” as my, micro-joy, little gratitudes, happy eyes, song for a, bright hearts, hopeful hands, singing smiles, Friday.

John Williams - "Home Alone Theme"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can. 

Today’s choice is filled with nostalgia, and indeed is written around the theme that somewhere in your memories you can relieve all your happiest holidays, and bring back to life those you’ve lost.

Regarded by many as one of the greatest film composers of all time, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history in a career that has spanned over six decades. Williams has won 25 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 52 Academy Award nominations, he is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest film score of all time. The Library of Congress also entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Williams has composed for many critically acclaimed and popular movies, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Home Alone, the Indiana Jones films, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films.  Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor. He has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but five of his feature films. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island.  Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. He has composed the score for eight of the top 25 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation). His work has influenced other film composers and contemporary classical and popular music

So today, floating through misty colored memories, I chose John Williams’ " Home Alone Theme" as my, remember the good, shine the bright light, savor the sweetness, song for a, remember when, once again, in a dream, Thursday.

The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School Of The Arts Concert Choir - "Maoz Tzur"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

Today’s traditional Hanukkah blessing is a translation of the phrase “Stronghold of the Rock”, and to me is an example of the virtues of being steadfast and true. It calls to mind those friends of mine whom stay true to themselves even when faced with adversity. In this very dark year of 2020, when we have been battered by constant negative news cycles and wild extremes of isolation, it has been important to me to remain true to the human that I am built to be. Staying hopeful, positive, and kind. Be true to you, shine your light as brightly as you can, even when others are telling you to snuff it out for your own good.

So, today I choose “Maoz Tzur” as my, hold fast to your rock, wherever you may find it, believe that you can be a rock too, song for a ,watch your soul find solidity, hear your heart sing the sacred songs of love, believe that your truth is reflected in every set of eyes you meet Wednesday, the 7th night of Hanukkah.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - "8 Day of Hanukkah"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

Sharon Lafaye Jones is an American soul/funk singer. She is the lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based out of Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced a breakthrough success relatively late in life, releasing her first record when she was 40 years old. In 2014, Jones was nominated for her first Grammy forBest R&B Album for Give the People What They Want.

In 2002, under the name Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, the group released an album Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings for which they received immediate attention and acclaim from enthusiasts, DJs and collectors. With three more albums under their belt, Naturally (2005), 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007) and I Learned the Hard Way (2010) they are seen by many as the spearhead of a revivalist soul and funk movement.

In 2015, during an interview with Billboard about her Grammy nomination, Jones discussed her commitment to the Daptone Label, an independent. She cited artistic freedom and the commitment to the project that is the band.

In 2015, Jones joined the judging panel for The 14th Annual Independent Music Awards and by doing so, helped to assist the careers of upcoming independent artists. She also served as a judge for the 13th annual awards.

Sharon Jones died in 2016, with the band releasing the posthumous final album Soul of a Woman in 2017. Her backing band have since performed together live and worked with other artists.

How inspiring? Am I right? A woman in her 40’s releasing her 1st studio album and finding a wealth of success? It’s the belief in the idea that if you persist, you are sure to succeed. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; “If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”

So today, with knowledge at my fingertips and confidence in my soul, I choose Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings’ “8 Days of Hanukkah” as my, let the lower lights be burning, find the passion that is your calling, never give up, song for a, don’t you quit, give more than you receive, know that once you have aligned yourself on the path of right-mindedness you can not falter, 6th night of Hanukkah, Tuesday.

Let’s go make dreams come true.

Chanticleer - "In the Bleak Mid-Winter"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

This song speaks so simply of belief. Belief that tomorrow, or next week, or next year, will be brighter. Belief that something divine is watching over us and will see us through the dark passage and back into the light.

2020 has been an absolute shit storm, and with the current covid cases on the rise, family gatherings being canceled, and hardship all around, this song seems to be the perfect candle in the darkness. Hope is the beginnings of belief, and belief makes things real.

This is one of my favorite versions of this song, right up there with the wonderful Sarah McLachlan version.

Chanticleer is a full-time male classical vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, California, founded in 1978. It is known for its interpretations of Renaissance music, for which they were founded, but also a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel and contemporary classical music. Its name is derived from the "clear singing rooster" in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The ensemble has made award-winning recordings.

So today, sparks at my fingertips, I choose Chanticleer’s version of “In the Bleak Mid-Winter” as my, look to the light, hope for the hopeless, give yourself some grace, song for a, keep believing, sacrifice now to celebrate later, we’re all in this together, Monday.

The 2005 Broadway Cast of Wicked - "We Are Lights (The Chanukah Song)"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

Sung by the 2005 broadway cast of Wicked, this song epitomizes what the holiday season means to me, no matter what religion you are.  Blaze brightly and bring the light of love into the darkest part of the year.

So, today with grace and gratitude I choose the 2005 Broadway Cast of Wicked singing “We Are Lights (The Chanukah Song)” as my, burn brightly until you burn up, the more you give the more you have to give, there’s a miracle waiting around the corner, song for a, do you hear it coming?, one little hope at a time, this is the moment that you make things better, 2nd night of Chanukah, Friday.

Faith Hill - "Where Are You Christmas"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

Sometimes the world shifts, and things change and you feel like the everything else in the world should stop. It doesn’t. The world spins madly on and things go on without you unless you run to catch up with them.

This holiday, it’s important to realize that though you may not always feel the holiday spirit moving inside you, that doesn’t mean it stops for everyone else. Do your best to smile back and reciprocate what cheer you can muster, no one likes the Grinch when they’re feeling happier than the Whos in Whoville.

This has personally been a challenging holiday for me, in case you haven’t noticed already by my posts, but what sorrow there is in loss, there is also joy in the memories of once happy times. To know sadness means that you also know joy. So in the bluest moments, it is a small solace to remember that this sadness is merely the price to pay for loving so deeply, and that, in itself, is a great gift.

The gift of love is something that can never be un-given. So gather those precious jewels closely to you and hold on to the knowledge that it only takes a moment to be loved your whole life long.

So, today with gloomy skies overhead, I choose Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas?” as my, just keep looking with a hopeful heart, life changes and continues to change, honor the gifts you’ve been given, song for a, look for the laughter, rearrange your own pieces, accept that you will not be the same - and that this is ok, Thursday.

Vince Guaraldi - "Christmas Time Is Here"

As every Holiday Season, this month I’ll be choosing only Holiday Songs from as many holidays as I can.

His music was the soundtrack for a generation. He helped make jazz popular, and then made it classic. His touch on the heart of American Music will never be forgotten.

Vincent Anthony Guaraldi /ɡəˈrældi/ (July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976), born Vincent Anthony Dellaglio, was an American jazz pianist noted for his innovative compositions and arrangements and for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip including their signature melody, "Linus and Lucy" and the holiday standard, "Christmas Time Is Here". He is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. His 1962 composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition.

"Christmas Time Is Here" is a popular Christmas standard  and was written by Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi for the 1965 television special A Charlie Brown Christmas,  one of the first animated Christmas specials produced for network television in the United States.

Two versions were included on the album A Charlie Brown Christmas: an instrumental version by the Vince Guaraldi Trio and a vocal version by choristers from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California who had previously performed with Guaraldi on At Grace Cathedral (1965).

So today, wistfully, I choose Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here” as my, hold on to the memories, light the little candles, turn on the tree, song for a, spirit in the air, be the light you’re looking for, it’s still within you, Wednesday.

As a bonus, I’m giving both the instrumental and the vocal versions!