Another groupthink challenge! Another classic Christmas song! My goodness, America has a lot of weird depressing Christmas songs. It really is the Seasonal Affective Disorder holiday.
“Blue Christmas” was written in 1948 and recorded by a bunch of not very famous people and immediately became a hit, just because it is a really really good song. But it entered another level when Elvis recorded it in 1957. Great mix of country/bluesy/gospel in it which is perfect for Elvis.
There were other hit versions, but the one I like best isn’t one of the big famous ones. Tammy Wynette in 1970 recorded a very straight country version. It’s a torch song, straight up.
As you can probably guess, I am all about Tammy for this one. But seeing as the Elvis version is considered the classic, maybe I am an outlier? Which is your favorite?
dontcallitbollywood 
Tammy definitely. But if I’m decorating the tree I would probably prefer Elvis in the background.
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Yeah, Tammy is a “sing along in the car while running Christmas errands” kind of recording, Elvis is more of a “in the background while talking and moving” thing.
On Sun, Nov 29, 2020 at 1:16 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m going to really be the outlier and choose this version: https://youtu.be/S8YQqK5e5es
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Madness!
On Sun, Nov 29, 2020 at 7:25 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You went with the strings again! I like Tammy’s vocal better, and it makes me feel sympathetic to her, whereas with Elvis I’m not really thinking about the lyrics or if I do I assume he’s the playboy in the equation since he seems so cheerful. But his arrangement is more fun.
On another holiday note (ha!) my friend introduced me this year to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Christmas album It’s a Holiday Soul Party and it’s my new Christmas jam
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Oooo, I may have to check that out! I listen to so much Christmas music in December, every waking second basically, that I am always on the look out for new options.
On Sun, Nov 29, 2020 at 11:49 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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