Thursday, December 12, 2013

A Baker's Dozen Of "White Christmas" Renditions

So, I've pulled 13 different versions of the same song for your holiday listening pleasure. Now it's up to you to decide which one you like best. I have my favorites among these – and ultimately, my single favorite – as I've noted here. But I'd love to hear your take on it too. Get used to this idea, by the way. I'm likely to do a couple more of these posts – all Christmas songs, of course! Enjoy!  ~  JH



1)  Rod Stewart  (Nice traditional take on a classic – isn't that David Foster on piano?)




2)  Michael Bublé & Kellie Pickler  (Classy cool with a dash of raucous redneck – not bad at all!)




3)  Cee-Lo Green  (Somehow Cee-Lo seems to make this song his own – well-done!)




4)  Lady Gaga  (Surprisingly subdued – plus, she wrote a new verse to it…and it's actually NOT nasty!)




5)  Tony Bennett  (Crooners and Christmas just seem to go together for some reason – a masterful jazz rendition.)




6)  Garth Brooks  (Hey, I found Garth Brooks on YouTube! I thought that was impossible! Nice version, too!)

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 of course! – click link to view:



7)  Michael Bolton  (I'm not a huge fan of Bolton – I think he tries too hard at that blue-eyed soul thing – but I suppose this one isn't too bad.)




8)  Martina McBride  (I've always loved Martina's voice/music, and she doesn't disappoint here either – surprise, surprise!)




9)  Il Divo  (A little too slow for my tastes, but there's no denying that these guys are mega-talented.)




10)  Kelly Clarkson  (I wish this were an actual video, but whatevs… Kelly is, as always, fantastic on this song.)




11)  Glee Cast  (Not surprisingly, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer knock this one out of the park!)




12)  The Drifters  (Often-copied, never-duplicated – this is the group that originally recorded the doo-wop, Motown-style version of the song made über-famous on the Home Alone soundtrack.)




13)  Bing Crosby  (For my money, Crosby's is the quintessential version of what is truly a quintessential Christmas song. Many have performed it well, but no one does it better than Bing!)


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