From White Christmas to Wham! – the recipe for the perfect Christmas Song

What makes the perfect Christmas song? Is there a formula for a festive hit? Call me foolhardy, but I think there might be!

Hello and welcome to this special Christmas edition of All About The Music, with me, Neil Brand. Today the guest chair is empty, but instead my studio sleigh is bursting with Christmas songs – from Slade’s joyfully raucous “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” to Chris Rea’s bittersweet drive home and the timeless grace of David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s unlikely collaboration.

In this episode, I reveal my key ingredients for creating a Christmas hit. (Even better, it will become a hit year after year after year!) From picking the right instruments to penning the right lyrics and even choosing the right chord pattern, all is discussed as we work through 80 years of Christmas classics.

And once we’ve heard from everyone from Mariah Carey to John Lennon, I’ll be able to reveal the ultimate Christmas song. (Plus, whisper it quietly, the one festive favourite that breaks all my recipe rules.)

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and join me – where it’s all about the music.

Find the Spotify playlist of all my Christmas selections here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0EQvrCcPm648fHKgmJTNwQ

Featured artists & tracks:

Bing Crosby - “White Christmas”

Wizard - “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day”

Chris Rea - “Driving Home for Christmas”

Wham! - “Last Christmas”

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”