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MIAMI: At the height of their career, the Beatles were not above
cashing in on Christmas tunes at the end of the year, a formula that
40 years later still serves well for musical groups from Venezuela
to Australia.
The seven Christmas albums the Fab Four put out
between 1963 and 1969 were condensed into a single, special album
for their fans in Britain and the United States in 1970, when
arguably the most famous pop group of all time split up.
One year into his solo musical career John
Lennon composed “Happy Christmas [War is Over],” a
holiday-protest song against the Vietnam War. The album, which sold
like hot cakes around the world, also featured his wife Yoko Ono and
a Harlem children’s choir.
Less political but extremely catchy, was the
tune written by Paul McCartney in 1979, “Wonderful Christmas
Time.” Over the years the song has grown in popularity to rival
all-time favorites Irvin Berlin’s “White Christmas” (1942) and
James Pierpoint’s “Jingle Bells” (1857).
Christmas songs are a 700-year-old Christian
tradition celebrating the birth of Jesus and the visit of the three
Wise Men, but the song-writing it spawned over the past few decades
has led to enormous commercial success—and this year to Venezuelan
group Voz Veis’ first Latin Grammy.
Like many musical ensembles before them, Voz
Veis made it to the top of the charts with a new type of Christmas
tune, “Come To My House for Christmas,” written by Luis Aguile.
“We wanted a magical repertoire for Christmas
that was different,” Voz Veis singers Luis Fernando Castillo told
Agence France-Presse. “The song is about the nostalgia you feel
for somebody far away, a feeling many immigrants have that is not
reflected in Christmas jingles.”
The Grammy the group won in November, he said,
“showed the world that there’s more to Venezuela than [President
Hugo] Chavez,” Castillo said, referring the country’s
anti-American firebrand leader.
Some of the biggest names in the music business
are among the most popular Christmas jingle singers Internet music
sites.
Topping the charts are “We Wish You a Merry
Christmas,” sung by Ireland’s Enya, and the “Christmas Song
[Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire],” versions by Nat King Cole
and Celine Dion.
Another highly popular song is Mariah Carey’s
“All I Want for Christmas is You,” inspired by actor Johnny Depp.
“Commercially Christmas is an important time
for music companies, but it varies from year to year. Generally,
they record a selection from different artists and its edited for
that season,” EMI Televisa’s Meyber Santos told Agence France-Presse
in her Miami office.
Sting, U2, Phil Collins and Freddy Mercury and
even Spanish crooner Jose Luis Perales—every singer seems to have
a Christmas tune in the music stands.
But Christmas jingles are not restricted to
warm, feel-good images of reindeer, Santa Claus and toasty
fireplaces. Some artists instead plumb the dark side of holiday
cheer.
Australian Kevin “Bloody” Wilson tops the
list among eccentrics seeking guffaws over rosy cheeks for Christmas
on YouTube, especially with holiday tunes like “Santa Got Stoned
at Christmas” and “Kristmas Without Snow.”
-- AFP
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