The Top 10 Classic Rock Christmas Songs

22 December 2023, 18:07

Radio X looks at the greatest Classic Rock song for the festive period - from John Lennon to Paul McCartney, Elton John to The Pretenders... and all your other favourites!

By Radio X

@RadioX

Catch the Classic Rock Top 10s every Friday at 10am and Sunday at 1pm with Sunta Templeton on Radio X Classic Rock here - listen at Global Player!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... and time for Radio X Classic Rock to break out those Christmas tunes. From evergreen songs like John & Yoko's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and Elton's Step Into Christmas to a bit of Queen, Tom Petty and The Pretenders, here's a rocking playlist to help you get into the seasonal mood - in order of Spotify streams...

1. John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

   

   HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER). (Ultimate Mix, 2020) John & Yoko Plastic Ono Band + Harlem Community Choir

   Released in the US three months after the popular Imagine album in December 1971, British fans had to wait until Christmas '72 before they could get their hands on this seasonal message from the former Beatle and his wife. The song features the Harlem Community Choir and opens with the duo offering a message to their children: "Happy Christmas, Kyoko"; "Happy Christmas, Julian".

2. Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime (1979)

   

   Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

   Lennon's former Beatle colleague waited the best part of a decade to record his own Christmas classic, which effectively called time on his post-Fabs band Wings - even though they get one last hurrah in the video. Released in the final days of the 1970s, it made Number 6 in the UK charts.

3. Elton John - Step Into Christmas (1973)

   

   Elton John - Step Into Christmas

   Issued shortly after the release of his masterpiece Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, this Elton and Bernie Taupin favourite has only become more popular over the years - in '73, the song only made Number 24 in the UK charts. Now it's had nearly a quarter of a billion plays on Spotify!

4. Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (1975)

   

   Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Official Audio)

   Recorded live at a show in New York in December 1975, this cover of a 1930s seasonal standard first appeared on a Sesame Street charity album of all places back in 1983, and then found its way onto the b-side of The Boss's 1985 single My Hometown. Since then, it's been a festive radio favourite.

5. Queen - Thank God It's Christmas (1984)

   

   Queen - Thank God It's Christmas (Official Lyric Video)

   '84 was Queen's big comeback year, thanks to the success of their album The Works and they capped it all off with this festive ballad. It didn't even break the Top 20 at the time, but in the years since Freddie Mercury's death in 1991, it's become ever more poignant.

6. The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick (1963)

   

   The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick

   When Brian Wilson heard Phil Spector had plans to release a Christmas album, he ran home and wrote this variation on the band's own Little Deuce Coupe - a hit for the Beach Boys earlier in the year. The tune later appeared on The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in 1964 and has stayed around ever since.

7. Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (1973)

   

   Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (Official Music Video) [HD]

   Roy Wood's tribute to the Phil Spector wall of sound went head to head with Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody in the battle for the Glam Rock Christmas Number 1 - and lost. In fact, this Yuletide classic was infuriatingly stuck at Number 4 for four weeks - and never got any further. In Spotify terms, Wizzard beats Slade by about 3 million streams - close!

8. Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody (1973)

   

   Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (Official Top Of The Pops Video)

   Noddy Holder and Jim Lea's eternal classic went straight to Number 1 in December 1973 and remained there for five weeks. Merry Xmas Everybody was Slade's third Number 1 in 1973 - but it would be their last trip to the top. Nevertheless, the single has been certified double Platinum by the BPI.

9. The Pretenders - 2000 Miles (1983)

   

   Pretenders - 2000 Miles (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]

   The first music to come from the new line-up of The Pretenders (after the deaths of original members Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott), this poignant song is now a Christmas evergreen and peaked at Number 15 in the charts. Coldplay later covered the song in 2003 for charity.

10. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Christmas All Over Again (1992)

    

    Christmas All Over Again

    Petty's seasonal outing was recorded for A Very Special Christmas 2 in 1992, a charity album benefitting the Special Olympics. Also appearing on that year's volume were Sinead O'Connor, Extreme, Run DMC, Jon Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper.