Best Holiday Rock Songs: Now Send Us Your Faves!

From Marvin Gaye, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Darlene Love, Brandi Carlile, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Glen Hansard, Otis Redding and more.

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including “Hiroshima in America,” “Atomic Cover-up,” and the recent award-winning “The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood—and America—Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” He has directed three documentary films since 2021 for PBS (including “Atomic Cover-up”) . He was #2 editor at the legendary Crawdaddy during the 1970s. You can subscribe to this newsletter for free.

Two weeks from Christmas, so here is an electic mix of holiday favorite, often with a backbeat. Now, I ask YOU to suggest your faves for his period, just pick one and send along the You Tube link and we will post a few in an upcoming edition. Use the Comment section of send to my email to join this “contest.”

Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill with “Fairytale of New York” at Shane MacGowan’s funeral in Ireland on Friday…

Otis Redding, “Merry Christmas Baby”

Louis Armstrong, “Christmas in New Orleans”

Yes, it’s Leonard Cohen w/ Jennifer Warnes, “Silent Night”

Darlene Love just last week received a gold record for this presented by friend Springsteen, “Baby Please Come Home.”

Robert Earl Keen, wild and classic “Merry Christmas from the Family,” live

Bobby Dylan, buh-rump-a-dumpa-dum, calling for the Little Drummer Boy.

Bob says, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” making more a threat than a promise?

Marvelous Marvin Gaye, who also wants to come home

Santa Chuck (Berry)

Brandi Carlile skating along Joni’s “River”

Steve Earle, a Christmas protest, in honor of Woody

Early live version (1978) of Springsteen’s “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”