The 12 Earworms of Christmas

Earlier this year I talked a lot about ear worms. You know, when a song gets stuck in your head no matter how annoying it is or how hard you try to get rid of it? Of course Christmas can be guilty of these. And why not the way some songs are relentlessly played on the radio over and over and over again!




So here are ten songs which will always and forever be stuck in my head, no matter what time of year it is!




Mickey’s Christmas Carol (Intro)

This is a great cartoon, doing a fantastic job telling A Christmas Carol in a very short run time. But the first thing loved, and have loved ever since, was that great opening song. I once had the song on a compilation CD and I listened to it all the time.

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Ok I am not proud of this one, but how can anyone get that repetitive piano riff out of their heads?

Dominic the Italian Donkey
This one I had never head of until the local stations began playing it all the time. It had become such a local sensation that one station literally played it every hour, on the hour. Ugh.

Christmas Don’t Be Late/Christmas Time is Here
A tie since I couldn’t decide. The first was simply made to be stuck in your head. It’s a classic by Alvin and the Chipmunks and…do I really need to say more? And the second is a beaitful song head in the classic Charlie Brown Christmas. Yes “Lucy and Linus” is the more famous tune, but I love this one too.

O Holy Night
This is a no brainer, but which version is my favorite? It’s a tough call but I settled on one. This version from Kenny Rogers that he sang in a 1993 Christmas special has to be right up there.

All I Want for Christmas is You
Mariah Carey created a new Christmas classic, and when this song came out I loved it so much I listened to it all year. Now I pretty much only listen to ti at Christmas time, but how can you resist this tune?
(I’m sharing this version from The Tonight Show because I love it)

Underneath the Tree
After Mariah’s song we went a long time without having a new hit Christmas song. I think Kelly Clarkson finally broke that streak with this cool song from a few years ago. It’s original and a pretty good feet tapping tune. And damn Clarkson can sing!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
I was torn between this one and O Come all Ye Faithful, but let’s be honest we all know how this one goes. All you have to do is hears the instrumental version and you’re singing along. Well, at least I am. I talked before how much I adored the version for the otherwise awful Disney’s Christmas Carol. Here it is.

Feliz Navidad
While the traditional one from Jose Feliciano is great the one i could never forget was the time Charo performed it on the Pee-Wee Christmas special. It was the one parr of that very strange special I never forgot. Never heard of the spcial? It’s very 80’s!!

The First Noel
This one I just cannot explain. This isn’t the greatest song, it isn’t the most memorable song, and it sure isn’t the most popular song. So why is it this thing tends to be blaring away inside my head all the time? I just don’t get it. But here it is.

Finally, just because I had to end on a Rankin/Bass note. Especially since if I had wanted, this whole list would have been just Rankin/Bass :

Did I miss your favorite? Comment and let me know.