SIX SONGS THAT SHOULD DEFINITELY BE ON YOUR CHRISTMAS ROAD TRIP PLAYLIST!

It’s December, and that means Christmas is right around the corner. For lots and lots of folks out there, what that also means is holiday travel, and nothing cuts a holiday road trip down to size like a great Christmas-themed playlist. From the old classics to the new favorites, there’s thousands of Christmas and winter-themed songs to choose from to keep the kids occupied and help everyone ward off those stuck-in-the-car blues all the way to that gathering with family and friends.

Seen below, check out seven songs that are must-haves on any self-respecting holiday road trip playlist. And if you need a beautiful, reliable, comfortable vehicle to get you over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house, stop in today for a test drive at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC of Bentonville, or…

check out our full selection of beautiful Buick and GMC vehicles at our website right now.

1) “Little Saint Nick” by The Beach Boys

A rockin’ good tune that builds on the success of The Beach Boys’ other hot rod-themed hits like “409” and “Little Deuce Coupe,” the hit “Little Saint Nick,” written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, reimagines Santa Claus’s sleigh as a tricked out ride, and went all the way to number three on the charts when it debuted in December 1963. It’s still a holiday crowd pleaser.

2) “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives

First released by Decca Records in October 1965 and featuring the soulful baritone of crooner Burl Ives — who, fun fact, also voiced the snowman narrator in the stop-motion classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” — was a big hit when it appeared as the B-side of an even bigger hit for Ives: his classic rendition of the title song from that iconic film about our favorite shiny-nosed deer who led Santa’s sleigh one foggy Christmas Eve.

3) “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton

Lest you think we’re biased toward the oldies, there’s few holiday classics that can top this Christmas hit from 2017, with Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton rocking out on a Motown-flavored duet about the joys of being with someone you love on The Big Night. It was the title track from Stefani’s Christmas album that year — a stocking stuffed with similar feel-good holiday hits.

4) “Run, Run Rudolph” by Chuck Berry

Written by Johnny Marks, who also penned classic holiday hits like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Run, Run Rudolph” kicks Christmas cheer into high gear with a kickin’ beat and plenty of rolicking guitar work by one of the undisputed masters of Rock n’ Roll. Though it peaked at number 69 on the charts when it was released, it has since gone on to become a Christmas classic, used in iconic films like “Home Alone” and recorded by artists from Keith Richards to Lynyrd Skynrd. Chuck’s version will always be the best, though.

5) “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Thurl Ravenscroft

While it’s often mistakenly attributed to horror-film master Boris Karloff, who provided narration and voices to the 1966 animated Christmas classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” the artist singing the most familiar tune in the film was actually the lesser known but just as baritone Thurl Ravencroft, who — in case you can’t place why that voice sounds so familiar — is also the golden pipes behind a year-round fave: cartoon spokescat Tony the Tiger of Kelloggs’ Frosted Flakes fame. Whatever the case, we think “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is about as grrrrrrreat as they come for a holiday playlist.

6) “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie

You just knew it was going to be magic when legends David Bowie and Bing Crosby got together in 1977 to record a duet for Crosby’s Christmas TV special, but the two icons went one better by doing a mashup, with Bing crooning the classic “The Little Drummer Boy” while Bowie simultaneously provided a soulful, perfectly-matched counterpoint in “Peace on Earth,” featuring all-new lyrics by Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman and Alan Kohan and written specially for the occasion. While fans of Bing and Bowie didn’t overlap much back then, the result was holiday magic that would go on to be one of the biggest sellers of Bowie’s entire career.

Great music always makes good times more fun, especially at the holidays, and we hope these suggestions help you get your holiday road trip playlist off to a great start. Need some premium audio to go with your playlist? Then stop in today at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC of Bentonville and check out our full selection of beautiful Buick and GMC cars, trucks and SUVs, or shop us online at our website right now.

Posted in Holidays & Seasonal | No Comments »