Carols and Music Since 1900

Todd Decker

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198831464.001.0026

Carols and Music Since 1900

Todd Decker

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

This chapter defines and describes a core repertory of seventy-five Christmas songs that have been frequently recorded for popular consumption in the United States since 1900. Song titles in the repertory enjoy an enduring presence on the Billboard charts and on twenty-first-century streaming platforms. While traditional Christian carols from before 1900 survive in this repertory, secular popular songs introduced between 1942 and 1965 dominate. Christmas narratives, whether religious (birth of Jesus) or secular (arrival of Santa Claus; holiday celebrations set in cold weather), provide consistent points of reference for carol and song lyrics respectively. In some cases, Christmas songs have added new characters (Frosty the Snowman; the Little Drummer Boy) to a season centred on stories. Popular Christmas songs also explore the varied temporal nature of this holiday as event, season, and annual recurrence.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The Oxford Handbook of Christmas
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Pages	329-345
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Electronic)	9780198831464
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198831464.001.0026
State	Published - Jan 1 2020

Keywords

Bing Crosby
Christmas music
Commercialism
Holiday songs
Novelty songs
Popular music
Spotify
The Little Drummer Boy
‘White Christmas’’ Irving Berlin

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10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198831464.001.0026

Cite this

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Carols and Music Since 1900

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Keywords

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