Santa Baby - Cynthia Basinet

I had to relearn something today: I always thought this version of Santa Baby was by Marilyn Monroe. My bad! Actually, Cynthia Basinet recorded it in 1997 as a gift for Jack Nicholson but somehow the rest of the world still credited Monroe. I wonder if this works to Basinet's advantage or whether it is just annoying?

This is a perfect song for Christmas Eve. After all, a girl's gotta dream, right? There are other less tolerable versions of Santa Baby which try to go for the cutesy pie appeal but they fall short of Basinet's smooth style and classy vocals. See what you think:

White Christmas - Bing Crosby

White Christmas by Bing Crosby has to go down as one of the greatest Christmas songs ever, even for those of us who celebrate Christmas in summer. I came across this montage of performances by Crosby and am amazed at the consistency of his singing. It makes me wonder how many times he performed this very song during his career and hope he still got pleasure from it after all those times.

Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Here's another non-typical Christmas song with rocky undertones. Christmas All Over Again by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers reminds me of years of Christmas seasons with my band. We didn't play this number ourselves but it was part of the Christmas CD I'd play during our third break ... actually, that brings back mixed memories but this is one of the songs I preferred listening to every December.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis

I'm not sure why I have a fondness for cheesy northern hemisphere Christmas music; things couldn't look more different to those snowy chocolate box scenes here in New Zealand at this time of the year. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas is another Christmas offering by Johnny Mathis. Once again, there are many, many versions around and this one was also made famous by a movie sequel - but I won't hold that against it. I actually think it's just Mathis' dulcet tones that could win me over with almost anything he sings - don't you agree?

Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

Jingle Bell Rocks really does rock. This classic Christmas song from Bobby Helms has been around forever and was his biggest hit. I guess if you are going to have a hit, make it a Christmas one and that way you'll be remembered every year. A whole stack of other versions have been released since then but Bobby Helms' version is the one we all know and love. I'll bet you can't listen to it without a smile on your face!