Someday at Christmas - Stevie Wonder

Someday at Christmas is a beautiful song of hope and a wish for peace. Released by a young Stevie Wonder during the Vietnam War, it is of the first Christmas songs with a political message, one which is just as pertinent today. Someday at Christmas manages to combine Wonder's youthful sound with an important anti-war message, asking questions about what is important and putting into perspective what Christmas really means.

Snoopy's Christmas - The Royal Guardsmen

And so begins Café Chick's 12 days of Christmas. :-)

Here's a song to polarise the punters. I've decided to start with it and see who sticks around. As a huge Snoopy fan growing up, Snoopy's Christmas by The Royal Guardemen is my annual Christmas indulgence. I spent years of Decembers playing it in my bands and somehow still manage to love it to this day. Three key changes and some great keyboard lines - what's not to love?

Monday, Monday - The Mamas and the Papas

Like most people, I'm not a huge fan of Mondays. The plethora of songs lamenting the start of another week indicates that many songwriters also agree. That's where Monday, Monday, released by The Mamas and the Papas in 1966, is a gem. It gets the point across with such gentle perfection that the listener couldn't possibly hear the song without smiling, even if they are reminded of what day it is.

In primary school, I had an eccentric teacher who was a brilliant pianist and musician. I remember one afternoon him playing Monday, Monday repeatedly while we were working in class. He'd point out interesting things to listen to, much to the chagrin of my classmates: "... and now another harmony comes in", "oh, beautiful" and "wait for the break - ahhh!". Years later, when I fell in love with this song for myself, I realised he had a point. Several, in fact.

The harmonies are indeed superb. I've practised each harmony line individually and still find myself choosing one to sing whenever I hear the song played. It's fun to listen to in stereo; just block off a side and you get either male or female parts. Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day.

She's Not There - The Zombies

She's Not There was released by English rock band The Zombies in 1964. The tone is distinctively different to your usual 60s pop sound, even if the image of the band remains somewhat sanitised and respectably scrubbed up.

The song pumps up during each verse before abruptly stopping and letting the bass calm things down again. Listen for the lower harmony; it's what defines the tone of the song at any given point as the chords modulate between major and minor keys. Add a distinctively melodic bass line and a superbly anticipated electric piano solo (there is a complete stop before the solo begins) and you have the makings of something really different.

There are a few versions of this song floating around, some of them pretty good, but The Zombies' original composition remains my favourite.

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong has to be one of the most beautiful songs of all time and instantly brings a smile to my face. The perfection is in its simplicity along with the pure optimism of the lyrics. 1968 was a time of political unrest and a cultural revolution; this song reminds us to bring everything back to basics by celebrating the simplest things in life.

This live version captures all of the essence from Armstrong's original recording with some extra flair provided by the piano and horn section (in place of the string orchestration). It is a monumental way to cap off Armstrong's extensive musical career and a wonderful tribute to his overall contribution to music.

Little Sister - Ry Cooder

A song that always seems to have been in the background for me is Little Sister by Ry Cooder. (There is also a great, but faster, live version here.) Even though I could never quite pinpoint what it is that appealed to me about the song, I remember it vividly from my childhood radio listening days.

Fast forward to the 1980s when I was first learning to play the piano. Dad said I could learn a couple of songs to play with his band one night and his keyboard player (my piano teacher) and I worked out what was manageable for me to play. We settled on the dreadful Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves and this number by Elvis Presley:



It was a long time before I realised that these were actually versions of the same song. In fact, it was only the lyrics that made me think about it. Now I wonder how I could have possibly missed it! There have been several versions of Little Sister released over the years, but I remain most impressed with Ry Cooder's fun arrangement.

War - Edwin Starr

I was watching a dreadful version of Gulliver's Travels (2010) last night and heard an equally dreadful version of a song I absolutely love. I had to banish that version from my mind with the original. Here is the result.

War is a protest song released by Edwin Starr in 1969 under the Motown label. A less intense version was originally recorded by The Temptations but, in response to public demand, was instead released as a single by Starr in order to not risk the image of Motown's most popular male vocal group.

I was first introduced to War via the first (and best) Tour of Duty soundtrack album; it opened my eyes and ears to a whole genre of music from a very specific era. The lyrics speak for themselves, but so does the instrumentation. Listen to the busy rhythm section kept in line by a repeated horn theme and punctuated by a baritone sax.

War is another song best enjoyed loud.