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Mentioned earlier in this thread was "Christmastime is Here," a great composition by Vince Guaraldi, which he performed masterfully for the first "Peanuts" Christmas television special. A sad irony was that Guaraldi never got to see the TV show that made his composition (and him) famous--he died before it was aired.
The Manhattan Transfer, with arrangements by Johnny Mandel, made a wonderful Christmas album a few years ago.
Mixed among the usual Christmas fare were these chestnuts. First, swing era bandleader Claude Thornhill's composition, "Snowfall" (Thornhill's wife wrote the lyric)--not really a Christmas tune, but long associated with Christmas because of the lyric.
Second, a tune by Paul McCartney from the Beatles' "White Cover" album that was nearly forgotten until the Transfer recorded on it on their Christmas album. This is an example of a tune that the Beatles performed pretty mundanely being turned into something magical by another group. Check out the beautiful harmony, starting at about 2:25:
Finally, what would be Christmas be without "The Christmas Song"? It was written by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells--Tormé claimed he wrote the melody in 40 minutes. Nat "King" Cole made it famous, but here is Mel singing it himself. As an aside, Tormé was Jewish. No matter, one of the great singers singing the one of the best Christmas songs ever penned.
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