Gary Brown: You'll catch me singing the songs of the holiday

I shouldn't name-drop, but Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Burl Ives, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby all came to our house to sing carols on Christmas Eve.

Williams sang "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Dean Martin belted out "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" Burl Ives intoned the memory of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Sinatra offered us a wish to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." And Bing Crosby crooned about what we all desired, a seasonal "White Christmas."

Nat King Cole was a guest in our living room, as well, bringing us a calming rendition of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" for our Christmas Eve celebration, which, with four children, our parents attempted to keep as peaceful as possible. Louis Armstrong sang in his own unique voice about the "Winter Wonderland" then jazzed his words up a little with the instrumentals of "Cool Yule."

And sisters showed up from time to time. The Andrews Sisters sang "Sleigh Ride" for us, while Perry Como came into our house with the Fontane Sisters to let us know – as if we couldn't tell from our multitude of decorations – that "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas."

My parents even let Elvis Presley through the door, perhaps because most Christmas carols were, by the name, Christian music. And when he strayed from songs that would be sung at church, you couldn't see him doing any rock-and-roll shaking during his renditions of "Blue Christmas" or "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me" on a holiday album we played on the family phonograph. As a result, Elvis posed no more moral danger to her children than Bobby Darin singing "O Come All Ye Faithful."

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Favoring carols of rodents

I was a Chipmunks man myself, in my younger years. I possessed 45 or 78 rpm records of the Chipmunks' major holiday works.

"The Chipmunk Song: Christmas Don't Be Late." "Frosty the Snowman." "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas." "All I Want From Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth." "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." There are more Chipmunk Christmas songs than you'd think.

Personally, even at my younger ages, I didn't press for the Chipmunks for our holiday listening pleasure and I let the adults play their favorite Christmas music on Christmas Eve without me complaining about it. I knew there were holiday-shaped sugar cookies and pieces of ribbon candy in it for me if I just compromised that night with family members.

So, having "A Holly Jolly Christmas" with Burl Ives and listening to "Do You Hear What I Hear" sung by Johnny Mathis became my part in promoting family harmony.

In exchange, I was able to go on the greatest sugar high of any day in the year other than Halloween Eve or Easter morning.

I don't think I mentioned eating dark chocolate peanut clusters, white chocolate bark, bits of hard candy, or slices of fruit cake. Whining about the need for more than one Chipmunk song was not worth the risk of losing any of those traditional treats.

"OK, since we can't seem to be pleasant anymore we must be tired," my mother would say after too many pleas for Alvin and his buddies. "Everybody to bed now or Santa won't come."

Reliving memories through radio

Sometimes we'd sing along in our celebration, which is the main reason that if you pull up beside my car at a stoplight today you might catch me seemingly singing to myself and maybe keeping a beat by nodding my head and tapping my hands on the steering wheel.

I'm participating enthusiastically with a satellite sing-along as I listen to Christmas carols on the Holly channel on my radio.

Some of the old family favorites are played over and over on Holly. Andy Williams sings "The Holiday Season." Dean Martin croons "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." Gene Autry assures me that "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Jimmy Durante gravel-talks his way through "Frosty the Snowman."

Slightly more modern holiday hits are aired, as well. John Lennon's "Happy Christmas" and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas." Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad." Chicago's "Let It Snow!" Jimmy Buffet's "Mele Kalikimaka," a wish for a merry Hawaiian Christmas. Dolly Parton's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." She really does sound like a little kid when she sings this song.

Holly's playlist shows me that Michael Jackson long ago, as a young member of the Jackson Five, performed another version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

"I did! I really did!," he added at the end. "And I'm going to tell my dad!"

Even more current songsters have gotten into the holiday spirit, it seems from listening to Holly. Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Jason Mraz, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, John Legend, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson, LeAnn Rimes, Michael Buble, and Kaycee Musgraves are among them.

The latter sang "I want a Hippopotamus For Christmas." I don't want to whine, but, I still like the way Alvin and the Chipmunks sang it back in the day.

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com. On X: @gbrownREP.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Gary Brown: You'll catch me singing the songs of the holiday