Sometimes you just need some swinging holiday tunes, to score your dinner or gift-wrapping parties. That's why we've created the Holiday Standards stream. But come mid-December, there may come a time when we all need a break from the usual Christmas carols. Here's a list of non-Christmas songs fit for a Winter Wonderland:
Jane Monheit – I Love The Winter Weather/I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Tony Bennett was the first to combine "I Love The Winter Weather" from 1941 with Irving Berlin’s 1937 cold-weather standard – a perfect combination for a New York winter. You can hear that New York cool, along with some Tony Bennett warmth and an Ella Fitzgerald smile in this Jane Monheit recording from 2005.
Ray Charles & Betty Carter – Baby It’s Cold Outside
Next is an Academy Award-winning song by Frank Loesser. It's a duet patter songs, like “Sue Me” from the show Guys And Dolls. Modern ears will hear a lyric that is not at all politically (or socially) correct. But the song has some sweet beginnings: Loesser and his wife used to sing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" together at parties, where Frank introduced himself as "the evil of two Loessers." Eventually, "Baby It's Cold Outside" became a holiday standard, and was included in MGM’s 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter. Ray Charles and Better Carter know what to do with it.
Having a holiday party? Let us bring the cheer, with Holiday Standards!
Diana Krall – Let It Snow
Hollywood had a heat wave in the summer of 1945. What did talented songwriters do to distract themselves? Write a holiday song, of course! For Mel Torme, it was "The Christmas Song" - chestnuts were roasting while they sat by the pool. Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn conjured a wintery scene in their own 1945 song, "Let It Snow!" They added another holiday standard later with “Christmas Waltz”. As you can hear in this song, Diana Krall doesn't show signs of stopping.
Al Jarreau – My Favorite Things
This wonderful Richard Rodgers waltz comes from the Rodgers and Hammerstein show The Sound Of Music, where it was a sort of “Whistle A Happy Tune” type confidence-builder. It's a great song any time of year, but "My Favorite Things" most likely became a holiday standard because of Oscar Hammerstein’s lyric: “snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes.” Al Jarreau's unique version from 1965 is one of our favorite versions.
We'll share these and other winter standards all season long on American Standards. If you're looking for a soundtrack to your holidays, be sure to tune in to Holiday Standards.