This Is Christmas, Song By Song by Annie Zaleski
Now here’s a book sure to get you into the holiday spirit – and “fast!” For anyone who is a fan of music or a fan of Christmas, This Is Christmas Song By Song by Annie Zaleski gives you the interesting stories behind 100 of some of the most beloved holiday hits!
The songs are arranged in chronological order and span decades of holiday music. It’s filled with plenty of trivia and entertaining histories behind 100 Christmas classics. When collectively stepping back and looking at these holiday songs, you’ll realize that most of these are holiday titans that will stand the test of time – now or 50 years from now.
The book starts with a history of The Twelve Days of Christmas (the theme originated in 1780 in a children’s book) and ends with Taylor Swift’s Christmas Tree Farm.
Here are some of the other songs and artists to give you an idea of the diversity of this stellar hardcover book: White Christmas (Bing Crosby), Blue Christmas (Elvis), Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano), 2000 Miles (The Pretenders), We Need A Little Christmas (Johnny Mathis), Run Rudolph Run (Chuck Berry), Happy Xmas (War is Over)-John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band, Christmas Rappin’ (Kurtis Blow), Silent Night (The Temptations), Thank God It’s Christmas (Queen), All I Want for Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey), Must Be Santa (Bob Dylan), Santa Tell Me (Ariana Grande) and Santa Baby (Eartha Kit). And that’s just a few of the 100 songs covered in this book!
There’s also quite a few songs in here that you may not recall or even heard of – and they all come with fascinating backstories. Songs like: I Want An Alien for Christmas (Fountains of Wayne), Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) by the Ramones, and Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (James Brown).
This is the kind of book you’ll want to bring out every holiday. It’s nicely laid out and easy to read. The book’s compact size of approx. 7 1/4” x 8 1/4” (224 pages) is perfect for a coffee table or end table. It’s a fun and festive stroll down Memory Lane. If nostalgia, trivia and/or Christmas is your “thing,” you’ll have a hard time putting this book down.
This Is Christmas, Song By Song by Annie Zaleski was recently released in October by Running Press. With the holidays around the corner, this might be the perfect gift for someone you know and even as a gift to yourself. If I didn’t already own this book, it would be high on my Christmas Wish List!
A copy of this book and photo were provided by Running Press.
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