Daily Dirt: Even Ty Cobb would enjoy Michael Buble

At least once a year — usually in December — I get into a discussion with someone about “the only good Christmas songs” are the old ones. That’s akin to saying the only good baseball players were the ones from Ty Cobb’s era. No, no. no. Today’s baseball players are much better than those in days of old, and in many cases, so are the Christmas songs  … welcome to today’s three thoughts in Vol. 166 of the Daily Dirt.

1. A few weeks ago I offered what my four favorite contemporary Christmas songs were. I thought I’d expand that list today and include some of the older, “more traditional” songs we also hear at this time of the year.These are 10 songs — in order — that I enjoy the most as Christmas draws nigh:

• 1. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Darlene Love: I absolutely love Darlene Love’s voice, and I love it the most when she sings this modern Christmas standard.
• 2. “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, Olivia Olson: This is the song at the end of “Love Actually,” and the little girl singing it is now 29 years old.
• 3. “Feliz Navidad,” Jose Feliciano: If you don’t feel good after listening to this there is no holiday hope for you. For the record, Feliciano is now 76.
• 4. “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” Band Aid: I heard this earlier in the week on Sirius XM’s 1980s channel. It still sounds great, and it still gives me goose bumps.
• 5. “Silver Bells,” by just about anyone: The Diana Ross version is probably my favorite, but I could even listen to Michael Buble sing this classic. “Silver bells … silver bells … it’s Christmas time in the city … “
• 6. “White Christmas,” Bing Crosby: At least once a year I want to hear Bing sing this song, but there has to be snow on the ground and a chill in the air or it just doesn’t sound the same.7. “
• The Little Drummer Boy,” Bing Crosby: Another Bing classic that I like most on Christmas Eve.
• 8. “The Christmas Song,” Nat King Cole: Arguably the most famous opening line of any Christmas song … “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”. And no one has ever performed it better than Nat King Cole. 
• 9. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams version: I could listen to Andy Williams sing the phone book. When I was young, his TV show was always one of my favorites. Williams passed away at age 84 in 2012.
• 10. “Auld Lang Syne,” Rod Stewart: Rod the Mod outdid himself with a tremendous album of Christmas music a few years ago. His “Auld Lang Syne” is simply tremendous. I’m not sure if it should count as a Christmas song, but it deserves some sort of a spot on this kind of holiday list.

2. Since I’m feeling rather Christmas-y today, here are some more more of my favorite lines from Christmas-themed movies:

• “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” — “The Santa Clause” (1994).
• “No one should be alone on Christmas.” — “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000).
• “Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I can’t believe it.” –– “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993).
• “I believe, I believe … it’s silly, but I believe.” — “Miracle On 34th Street” (1947).
• “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal.” — Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992).

3. My favorite Santa performances on the silver screen:

Gold medal: Edmund Gwenn, “Miracle on 34th Street”: This famous film has had more than one remake, but I still consider the original the best. To this day, I remember the first time I saw it, watching on a small black-and-white television. I was sitting on the living room floor of my boyhood home on a Saturday afternoon in December 1961.

Silver medal: Ed Asner, “Elf”: Seriously, Ed Asner was born to play Santa Claus.

Bronze medal: Billy Bob Thornton, “Bad Santa”: Oh why not.

Steve Fact O’ The Day Steve has all of his Christmas shopping completed.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. May he have Buble on non-stop through the weekend.