Best Renditions of Christmas Songs

[iiipopes]

OK, there are not one, but two, yes, count'em, two radio stations that have gone totally Christmas in their programming for the duration, in the area, having started the day after Thanksgiving, and which will, of course, continue until 11:59 pm on December 25. So I've heard an incredible variety of renditions of all seasonal songs, new, old, ancient, modern, secular, sacred, traditional, new wave, etc. So, since by now over the course of recorded music history just about every song has been covered by every artist, what are your favorite renditions of songs? For example, I'll name just a few of my favorites just to get the ball rolling:

Gene Autry's original version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Jimmy Durante's version of Frosty the Snowman
The Muppets' version of Twelve Days of Christmas
Boston Pops version of Anderson's Sleigh Ride

[Chuck Jackson]

The Klezmanauts "Oy to the World". Hands down the wackiest, and best, renditions of Christmas tunes EVER. Take a standard carol, add some Klezmer clarinet and just about every standard lick (gotta love the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida lick and "Wipeout"), mix them all up and you have pure joy!!!!!!

Chuck"who generally dislikes ANY Christmas music, but who LOVES this cd"Jackson

[bort]

I don't know about "best", but I have 2 new entries on my "worst" list, both from TV commercials this year:

1) The Hyundai commercials with the kooky stop-action video of the drummer and singer lady. Makes me want to throw something at the TV every time.
2) A close second place is the Verizon commercials with the mash-ups of songs, like Our House/Jingle Bells and Bust a Move/Deck the Halls.

A few non-mentioned ones I like:
Jackson 5 -- We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Elvis -- Blue Christmas
Perry Como -- No Place Like Home For the Holidays

And because it reminds me of my childhood, this, or anything similar will ALWAYS make me laugh:

[tbn.al]

For those of you who have not heard it, I found a link......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-dPUXSWoew" target="_blank

I love Miles but this really makes me blue...................Can't listen but maybe every 4 or 5 years.

[iiipopes]

OK, and for a couple I can't stand -- not the artist, but the arrangements:
1) Any rendition of Jingle Bell Rock that uses a straight V or V7 instead of the V+ at the end of the first verse before going into the second verse.
2) Any rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas which goes back to the I or the IV before the third statement of the motif instead of evading the cadence and going to the third secondary dominant, V of vi, as in:
(V7) We (I) wish you a Merry (IV) Christmas; we (V of V) wish you a Merry (V) Christmas; we ([evading the cadence] V of vi) wish you a Merry (vi) Christmas and a (ii6) Hap- (ii) py (V7) New (I) Year.

[TMurphy]

Sorry bloke, I have to respectfully disagree. After listening to your link to Torme's performance, I'm afraid I still prefer the Nat King Cole version.

[Kevin Hendrick]

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Mel Tormé - "The Christmas Song" (sorry Nat King Cole fans, the Nat King Cole version is very good - but affected, and only 'the best' version to Nat King Cole fans...and Mel wrote the song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9lpSlo7zHY
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...and of course !!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Sv0DniGmI

Mustn't get those two too close together -- you never know what might happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3M7IR6jkpc

[iiipopes]

And one you'll never hear: a few years ago for the usual church cantata/Christmas presentation/annual big deal, one of the songs was done solo by a local professor at a regional liberal arts college with only his own Martin guitar accompaniment to "Mary Did You Know." I've heard many recorded versions that were technically remarkable. But this guy not only nailed the words, phrasing, and guitar finger picking, but unlike all these commercial versions, he meant it. And it comes across. I'll take his version over the rest of them. Luckily, I have a personal DVD of the recorded performance.