<![CDATA[The Sounds of Christmas

<![CDATA[The Sounds of Christmas - Top Ten]]>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:20:30 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[The Last Top Ten Of The Season]]>Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:18:46 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/the-last-top-ten-of-the-season2Hi All!

It's hard to believe, but another season has come and gone. Thanks so much for spending part of your Christmas with us!

This caps our ninth season, and even though Live 365 is shutting down, we will be back this Fall for our tenth anniversary!

I'm still crunching numbers, but there will be one more chart, the top 100 songs from Christmas 2015, and that should be up in another week or so.

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

I think that's all the news, so here is this week's new top ten list (it's actually a top twenty list, since we play thousands of Christmas songs, it's hard to limit it to just ten)!

1) Emerson, Lake and Palmer
"I Believe In Father Christmas"

2) Dean Martin
"Silver Bells"

3) Darlene Love and the Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Sleigh Ride"

4) Corey Hart
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

5) Manhattan Transfer with Tony Bennett
"The Christmas Song"

6) The Carpenters
"Sleigh Ride"

7) The Rosebuds
"I Hear (Click, Click, Click)"

8) Pretenders
"Happy Christmas"

9) Brian Wilson
"What I Really Want For Christmas"

10) Nick Lowe
"Just To Be With You (This Christmas)"

11) The Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Yabba-Dabba Yuletide (Extended)"

12) Pomlplamoose
"Deck The Halls"

13) Darius Rucker
"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

14) Ray Charles
"Little Drummer Boy"

15) Susan Egan
"All Those Christmas Clichés"

16) Stevie Wonder
"Someday At Christmas"

17) Dick Van Dyke with the Vantastix
"Old Fashioned Christmas"

18) Little Isadore and the Inquisitors
"Christmas Of Love"

19) Luanne Hunt
"This Is Christmas (And How It Feels To Me)"

20) Judy Pancoast
"The House On Christmas Street"

Thanks again for listening and sharing your holiday celebration with us!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[After Christmas Top Ten]]>Tue, 29 Dec 2015 13:44:54 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/after-christmas-top-ten1Hi All!

Wow! That was fast. But here we are again, between Christmas and New Year's!

And of course we're still on! The 12 Days of Christmas come AFTER Christmas, so we'll be on through Epiphany (January 6)!

We're still adding new music, too! In fact, if you missed it, on Christmas Eve we got new songs from Lauryn Hill, Miley Cyrus and Green Day!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already stopped by and shared some of this early part of the season with us! We already have listeners in all 50 states, Washington, DC and 88 other countries and territories!

The All Request Hour and the New Music Hour continue through this week. The All Request Hour airs weekdays from noon to 1:00pm Eastern, and you can make your requests HERE. The New Music Hour airs weeknights from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern), and you can get an idea of some of the new music we're playing on our new NEW FOR 2015 page.

And at 1:00am and 7:00am, and 1:00pm and 7:00pm, you'll get an hour's worth of Christmas music from the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas - spotlighting the singers and bands who have supported us in the past, and continue to support us, with their time, talent and treasure!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

I think that's all the news, so here is this week's new top ten list (it's actually a top twenty list, since we play thousands of Christmas songs, it's hard to limit it to just ten)!

1) Emerson, Lake and Palmer
"I Believe In Father Christmas"

2) Manhattan Transfer with Tony Bennett
"The Christmas Song"

3) Dean Martin
"Silver Bells"

4) Brian Wilson
"What I Really Want For Christmas"

5) John Schneider and Tom Wopat
"Christmas Waltz"

6) Lemon
"Home For Christmas"

7) Nick Lowe
"Just To Be With You (This Christmas)"

8) Pomplamoose
"Deck The Halls"

9) Andrew Gold
"Little Saint Nick"

10) Bob Sirois and Shirley Bunnell
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

11) The Carpenters
"Sleigh Ride"

12) Cyndi Lauper
"Early Christmas Morning"

13) Ron Dante
"Rock and Roll Christmas"

14) Southside Johnny Lyons
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

15) The Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"

16) Carolyn Sills
"George Bailey"

17) Colbie Caillat
"Mistletoe"

18) Little Isadore and the Inquisitors
"Christmas Of Love"

19) City Harbor
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

20) Dave Stewart
"White Christmas"

Thanks again for listening and sharing your holiday celebration with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them our way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[Christmas Is Next Week]]>Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:21:33 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/christmas-is-next-weekHi All!

I'm not ready, are you? Whether we are or not, Christmas will be here at the end of next week!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already stopped by and shared some of this early part of the season with us! We already have listeners in all 50 states, Washington, DC and 73 other countries and territories!

This week, we added new music from the Romantics, Cyndi Lauper, Shakin' Stevens and Macy Gray (just to name a few)! Rumors are there will still be some surprises coming this week and next!

The All Request Hour and the New Music Hour are rolling along. The All Request Hour airs weekdays from noon to 1:00pm Eastern, and you can make your requests HERE. The New Music Hour airs weeknights from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern), and you can get an idea of some of the new music we're playing on our new NEW FOR 2015 page.

And at 1:00am and 7:00am, and 1:00pm and 7:00pm, you'll get an hour's worth of Christmas music from the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas - spotlighting the singers and bands who have supported us in the past, and continue to support us, with their time, talent and treasure!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

Continuing this Tuesday, and following on every Tuesday in December, it's Two For Tuesdays! All day long you'll get two songs in a row from all your favorite Christmas music artists!

I think that's all the news, so here is this week's new top ten list (it's actually a top twenty list, since we play thousands of Christmas songs, it's hard to limit it to just ten)!

1) Roger McGuinn
"Angels We Have Heard On High"

2) Colbie Caillat
"Mistletoe"

3) Bobby Goldsboro
"Look Around You (It's Christmas Time)"

4) Bob Rivers
"Decorations"

5) Crash Test Dummies
"First Noel"

6) John Schneider and Tom Wopat
"Christmas Waltz"

7) Southside Johnny Lyon
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

8) Steve Miller Band
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

9) Carolyn Sills
"George Bailey"

10) Cyndi Lauper
"Early Christmas Morning"

11) Mindy Gledhill
"Little Saint Nick"

12) Andrew Gold
"Little Saint Nick"

13) Bob Sirois and Shirley Bunnell
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

14) Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"

15) Diane Birch
"Gee Whiz It's Christmas"

16) Lemon
"Home For Christmas"

17) Little Isidore and the Inquisitors
"Christmas Of Love"

18) Ron Dante
"Rock and Roll Christmas"

19) Stevie Wonder
"What Christmas Means To Me"

20) City Harbor
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

Thanks again for listening and sharing your holiday celebration with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them our way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[First Week Of December Top Ten]]>Sun, 06 Dec 2015 00:16:12 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/first-week-of-december-top-tenHi All!

Well, most of us have our trees up, lights on and stockings hung by the chimney with care, as we're just over two weeks away from Christmas Day!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already stopped by and shared some of this early part of the season with us! We already have listeners in all 50 states, Washington, DC and 60 other countries and territories!

This week, we added new music from Jessie James Decker, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, Taylor Hicks, Nick Lowe, the Osmonds, Southern Culture on the Skids, Michael Bublé, Pat Benatar and the Yule Logs (just to name a few)! And, if previous years are any indication, there's still plenty more to come. In fact, on Monday, we'll be debuting Adam Sandler's new, fourth version of "The Chanukah Song">

The All Request Hour and the New Music Hour are rolling along. The All Request Hour airs weekdays from noon to 1:00pm Eastern, and you can make your requests HERE. The New Music Hour airs weeknights from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern), and you can get an idea of some of the new music we're playing on our new NEW FOR 2015 page.

And at 1:00am and 7:00am, and 1:00pm and 7:00pm, you'll get an hour's worth of Christmas music from the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas - spotlighting the singers and bands who have supported us in the past, and continue to support us, with their time, talent and treasure!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

Continuing this Tuesday, and following on every Tuesday in December, it's Two For Tuesdays! All day long you'll get two songs in a row from all your favorite Christmas music artists!

I think that's all the news, so here is this week's new top ten list (it's actually a top twenty list, since we play thousands of Christmas songs, it's hard to limit it to just ten)!

1) The Jackson 5
"Give Love On Christmas Day"

2) The Eels
"Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"

3) Bob Sirois and Shirley Bunnell
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

4) Zoe Bentley and Canadian Brass
"A Very Merry Christmas"

5) Susan Egan
"All Those Christmas Clichés"

6) Stevie Wonder
"What Christmas Means To Me"

7) Carolyn Sills
"George Bailey"

8) Bobby Vinton
"Jingle Bells"

9) 38 Special
"Here Comes Santa Claus"

10) Sheena Easton
"Christmas All Over The World"

11) John Schneider and Tom Wopat
"Christmas Waltz"

12) Don Dixon
"I Saw Three Ships"

13) Diane Birch
"Gee Whiz It's Christmas"

14) Colbie Caillat
"Mistletoe"

15) Chris Mann
"Deck The Halls"

16) Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"

17) Annie Marie Lewis
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

18) The Yule Logs
"Christmastime Is Here (Again)"

19) Wizzard
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"

20) U2
"Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)"

Thanks again for listening and sharing your holiday celebration with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them our way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[You Can Get Anything You Want]]>Mon, 23 Nov 2015 02:45:35 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/you-can-get-anything-you-wantHi All!

Wow! I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.)!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already stopped by and shared some of this early part of the season with us! We already have listeners in all 50 states, Washington, DC and 47 other countries and territories!

This week, we added new music from Patty Smyth, Eddie Money, Carla Rae Jepson, Cassie Ramone, Beat Radio, Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, Jessie James Decker and Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (just to name a few)! And there's plenty more to come!

Over the coming week, we're expecting to add new music from Nick Lowe, Janet Devlin, the Wiggles' Greg Page and the Yule Logs!

The All Request Hour and the New Music Hour are rolling along. The All Request Hour airs weekdays from noon to 1:00pm Eastern, and you can make your requests HERE. The New Music Hour airs weeknights from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern), and you can get an idea of some of the new music we're playing on our new NEW FOR 2015 page.

And at 1:00am and 7:00am, and 1:00pm and 7:00pm, you'll get an hour's worth of Christmas music from the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas - spotlighting the singers and bands who have supported us in the past, and continue to support us, with their time, talent and treasure!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

A couple other programming notes to mention. First, we've gotten a lot of requests to play Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" on Thanksgiving. We're going to do it again this year. So if you'd like to hear that on your Thanksgiving, you'll get three opportunities - 10:00am, 4:00pm and 10:00pm (all times Eastern). The first one will be the original recording. The second will be an update Arlo did in the 1990's. The third will include a recent performance from Australia about the difficulty in Remembering Alice, along with the original version!

Here are the three different versions, if you want to get one for yourself...

And then, once we're into December, Two For Tuesdays will be back! Every Tuesday in December, you'll hear two in a row from all your favorite singers and bands!

That's the news for now, so let's move on to this week's top twenty! Since the Sounds of Christmas plays so many songs, all the top ten's are actually top twenty's. It just seems hard to limit it to only ten, when we play so many!

By the way, here's how the rating system works at Live 365. To be able to vote on songs, you have to have an account with Live 365. This is free and only takes a minute or two to set up. Just go to their home page RIGHT HERE and click LOG IN/SIGN UP in the upper right. Then follow the prompts to start a new account.

To vote, listen through the Live 365 website HERE. On the player, you'll see a cartoon "thumbs up" hand and a cartoon "thumbs down". Click on either during the song you want to vote on. Oh, and Live 365 also counts it as a "thumbs down" vote when you turn off the station, so don't turn us off when it's a song you really like. Hope that all makes sense! If not, you can check out a previous blog which goes into a little more details RIGHT HERE!

Anyway, here's this week's list of the highest-rated songs on the Sounds of Christmas....

1) Susan Egan
"All Those Christmas Clichés"

2) Jive Aces and the Three Belles
"Christmas Is Where You Are"

3) Diane Birch
"Gee Whiz It's Christmas"

4) Brian Wilson
"On Christmas Day"

5) 38 Special
"Here Comes Santa Claus"

6) Russ Lorenson
"Holiday For Two"

7) Jonathan Butler
"Merry Christmas To You"

8) Don Dixon
"I Saw Three Ships"

9) Chris Mann
"Deck The Halls"

10) Bobby Vinton
"Jingle Bells"

11) Annie Marie Lewis
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

12) Zoe Bentley and Canadian Brass
"Very Merry Christmas"

13) Huey Lewis and the News
"Winter Wonderland"

14) The Yule Logs
"Christmastime Is Here (Again)"

15) Wizzard
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"

16) Johnny and June Carter Cash
"Christmas With You"

17) Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones
"Home For The Holidays"

18) Lisa Kessler
"Merry Christmas Darling"

19) Wilson Phillips
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"

20) Kat Tingey
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"

Thanks again for listening, and sharing the early part of the season with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them my way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[Halfway Through November Top Ten]]>Sun, 15 Nov 2015 23:58:25 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/halfway-through-november-top-ten2Hi All!

And just like that, we're barreling through November and just over a week away from Thanksgiving! And we already have listeners in 42 states, Washington, DC and 34 other countries and territories! Thanks so much for spending this early part of the season with us!

As usual, it's very busy here. We're constantly loading music, and this week we added songs from the Braxtons, Travis Cloer, Jacob Overstreet, the Coasters, Train, Kylie Minogue, the Count Basie Orchestra, Luanne Hunt, Vespers Nine, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and many more! And this week, we'll be adding new stuff from Kellie Pickler, FM Radio, Jessie Jacmes Decker, the December People, Sabrina Carpenter and the Osmonds (no, really)!

Also this week, the All Request Hour will be back at noon each weekday and the New Music Hour will be back at 8:00pm each weeknight (all times are Eastern). You can make requests by simply clicking on REQUEST in the banner at the top. Hopefully, Two For Tuesdays will be running in another week or two!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

We'll also be featuring those artists that are sponsoring this year, as well as those that have in the past, with Stars Of The Sounds of Christmas, which you can catch each weekday at 1:00am, 7:00am, 1:00pm and 7:00pm.

That's the news for now, so let's move on to this week's top twenty! Since the Sounds of Christmas plays so many songs, all the top ten's are actually top twenty's. It just seems hard to limit it to only ten, when we play so many!

By the way, here's how the rating system works at Live 365. To be able to vote on songs, you have to have an account with Live 365. This is free and only takes a minute or two to set up. Just go to their home page RIGHT HERE and click LOG IN/SIGN UP in the upper right. Then follow the prompts to start a new account.

To vote, listen through the Live 365 website HERE. On the player, when you hover your mouse over it, you'll see a cartoon "thumbs up" hand and a cartoon "thumbs down". Click on either during the song you want to vote on. Oh, and Live 365 also counts it as a "thumbs down" vote when you turn off the station, so don't turn us off when it's a song you really like. Hope that all makes sense! If not, you can check out a previous blog which goes into a little more details RIGHT HERE!

Anyway, here's this week's list of the highest-rated songs on the Sounds of Christmas....

1) Susan Egan
"All Those Christmas Clichés"

2) 38 Special
"Here Comes Santa Claus"

3) Chris Mann
"Deck The Halls"

4) Don Dixon
"I Saw Three Ships"

5) Annie Marie Lewis
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

6) Bobby Vinton
"Jingle Bells"

7) Johnny and June Carter Cash
"Christmas With You"

8) Zoe Bentley and Canadian Brass
"Very Merry Christmas"

9) Huey Lewis and the News
"Winter Wonderland"

10) Kat Tingey
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"

11) Wizzard
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"

12) Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones
"Home For The Holidays"

13) Wilson Phillips
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'

14) The Yule Logs
"Christmastime Is Here (Again)"

15) Lisa Kessler
"Merry Christmas Darling"

16) Chris Rea
"Driving Home For Christmas"

17) Andy Williams
"Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season"

18) Billy Mack
"Christmas Is All Around Us"

19) Chicago
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

20) Josh Groban
"Believe"

Thanks again for listening, and sharing the early part of the season with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them my way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[First Top Ten For 2015]]>Mon, 09 Nov 2015 00:01:56 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/first-top-ten-for-2015Hi All!

Well, it's hard to believe, but our ninth season is already a week old! And we already have listeners in 38 states, Washington, DC and 26 other countries and territories! Thanks so much for giving us such an awesome start!

As usual, it's very busy here. We're constantly loading music and going through stacks of the latest CDs and mp3s (not really stacks of mp3s, but you know what I mean). The first 2000 songs are already up and playing, and there are plenty more on the way!

Coming in another week or so, the All Request Hour will be back at noon each weekday and the New Music Hour will be back at 8:00pm each weeknight (all times are Eastern). With luck, Two For Tuesdays should be running again by Thanksgiving!

Special thanks to Russ Lorenson, Courtney Rau, Lily Lambert, Fetal Records, Brian Hutson, Rebecca Angel, Moe and Thisbe Vos for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright, Kanisha K, Rick Lang, Barbara Bretton and Louis Colaiannia for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

That's the news for now, so let's move on to our first top twenty of the season! Since the Sounds of Christmas plays so many songs, all the top ten's are actually top twenty's. It just seems hard to limit it to only ten, when we play so many!

By the way, here's how the rating system works at Live 365. To be able to vote on songs, you have to have an account with Live 365. This is free and only takes a minute or two to set up. Just go to their home page RIGHT HERE and click LOG IN/SIGN UP in the upper right. Then follow the prompts to start a new account.

To vote, listen through the Live 365 website HERE. On the player, when you hover your mouse over it, you'll see a cartoon "thumbs up" hand and a cartoon "thumbs down". Click on either during the song you want to vote on. Oh, and Live 365 also counts it as a "thumbs down" vote when you turn off the station, so don't turn us off when it's a song you really like. Hope that all makes sense! If not, you can check out a previous blog which goes into a little more details RIGHT HERE!

Anyway, here's this week's list of the highest-rated songs on the Sounds of Christmas....

1) Lisa Kessler
"Merry Christmas Darling"

2) Chris Rea
"Driving Home For Christmas"

3) Zoe Bentley and Canadian Brass
"Very Merry Christmas"

4) Straight No Chaser
"The 12 Days Of Christmas" (live)

5) Polyphonic Spree
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

6) Luther Vandross
"May Christmas Bring You Happiness"

7) Hall and Oates
"Jingle Bell Rock"

8) Debbie Gibson
"Sleigh Ride"

9) Brenda Lee
"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"

10) Trouvere
"Up On The Housetop"

11) She and Him
"Christmas Wish"

12) Nat King Cole
"Deck The Halls"

13) Kelly Clarkson
"Wrapped In Red"

14) George Thorogood
"Rock And Roll Christmas"

15) Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones
"Home For The Holidays"

16) Band Of Merrymakers
"Christmastime"

17) Thisbe Vos
"I'd Like You For Christmas"

18) Ronettes
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

19) Michael W. Smith and Lady Antebellum
"White Christmas"

20) Johnny and June Carter Cash
"Christmas With You"

Thanks again for listening, and sharing the beginning of the season with us! If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them my way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[The Sounds of Christmas Top 100 For 2014]]>Sat, 17 Jan 2015 00:24:25 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/the-sounds-of-christmas-top-100-for-2014Whew! The number-crunching is finally done, and out of the thousands of songs we played this year, we finally have this year's top one hundred!

Darlene Love and the Empty Pockets appear the most times (three each). Four other artists appear two times.

"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Please Come Home For Christmas" were the most popular songs, with each making three different appearances on this final chart.

So here they are - the most-requested and highest-rated songs from the Sounds of Christmas 2014!

By the way, you can click on each one and go to Amazon or the artist's website to hear at least some of the song (and then buy it if you'd like)!

1) Marilyn Scott
"Christmas Time Is Here"

2) Pomplamoose
"Deck The Halls"

3) Daryl Hall and Jose Feliciano
"Christmas Must Be Tonight"

4) Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"Nutrocker"

5) Mickey Thomas
"Step Into Christmas"

6) John Schneider and Tom Wopat
"Sleigh Ride"

7) Tommy James and the Shondells
"It's Christmas Again"

8) Kat Tingey
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"

9) Sleeping At Last
"Christmas All Around Us"

10) Tina Lambert
"O Christmas Tree"

11) Brian Courtney Wilson and Gene Moore
"This Christmas"

12) Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore
"When Christmas Comes To Town"

13) Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
"Christmas Everyday"

14) Dean Martin
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"

15) Bette Midler
"Cool Yule"

16) She & Him
"Christmas Wish"

17) Darlene Love
"All Alone On Christmas"

18) Dean Martin
"A Marshmallow World"

19) Sidewalk Prophets
"Because It's Christmas"

20) Natalie Cole
"A Song For Christmas"

21) Chuck Berry
"Run Rudolph Run"

22) Zoe Bentley with Canadian Brass
"Very Merry Christmas"

23) Judy Pancoast
"The House On Christmas Street"

24) Kelly Clarkson
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

25) Eddie Floyd
"I Wish To All (A Merry Christmas)"

26) Jon Anderson
"Three Ships"

27) Mannheim Steamroller
"We Three Kings"

28) Nancy Wilson
"That's What I Want For Christmas"

29) B. E. Taylor
"Feel The Love Of Christmas"

30) Michael Keaton
"Frosty the Snowman"

31) Sheryl Crow
"The Christmas Song"

32) Les Brown and His Band of Renown
"The Nutcracker Suite"

33) Sheena Easton
"Christmas All Over The World"

34) Carly Jamison
"It Feels Like Christmas Every Single Day"

35) Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello
"Together We Can Make A Merry Christmas"

36) Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"2000 Miles"

37) No Doubt
"Oi To The World"

38) Wonder Girls
"Best Christmas Ever"

39) David Young
"A Christmas I'll Remember"

40) Jamestown Story (featuring Michelle Rene)
"Wherever You Are"

41) Larry Carlton
"The First Noel"

42) REO Speedwagon
"I Believe In Santa Claus"

43) A Great Big World
"I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"

44) Chris Rea
"Driving Home For Christmas"

45) The Gold Coral
"Ode To Joy/O Come All Ye Faithful"

46) Darius Rucker
"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

47) Gary "U.S." Bonds
"White Christmas"

48) Luanne Hunt
"Christmas Without You"

49) The Yule Logs
"North Pole 45789"

50) Funky Jenn
"Just Me And The Mistletoe"

51) Huey Piano Smith and the Clowns
"White Christmas Blues"

52) Mari Jones and Johnny Moore Orchestra
"Merry Christmas, Baby'

53) Sand Dollar Rodeo
"Island Holiday"

54) Susan Boyle
"I Believe In Father Christmas"

55) Doug Ferony
"In A Christmas Mood"

56) The Empty Pockets
"Baby It's Cold Outside"

57) Perry Como
"That Christmas Feeling"

58) Roger McGuinn
"The Twelve Days Of Christmas"

59) Aretha Franklin
"Winter Wonderland"

60) Davy Jones
"It's Christmas"

61) Lisa Kessler
"The Christmas Song"

62) Paul Revere and the Raiders
:Christmas Spirit"

63) Sammy Davis Jr.
"Christmas Time All Over The World"

64) Elvis Presley
"Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)"

65) The Empty Pockets
"What Christmas Means To Me"

66) Harry Connick Jr.
"When My Heart Finds Christmas"

67) James Brown
"Signs Of Christmas"

68) Kathy Sledge
"Christmas Waltz"

69) Barry Manilow
"Because It's Christmas"

70) Bob and Doug McKenzie
"The Twelve Days Of Christmas"

71) Darlene Love with the Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Deep In The Heart Of Xmas"

72) Hayseed Dixie
"Misty Wonderland Hop"

73) Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
"Christmas With You"

74) My Morning Jacket
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

75) Anthony Hamilton
"Tis The Season"

76) Cheech and Chong
"Santa Claus and His Old Lady"

77) Air Supply
"Sleigh Ride"

78) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
"Christmas Is Starting Now"

79) Carole King
"Love For Christmas"

80) Darlene Love
"Thanks For Christmas"

81) John Lennon
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

82) Queen
"Thank God It's Christmas"

83) Brian Wilson
"On Christmas Day"

84) Elton John
"Step Into Christmas"

85) The Empty Pockets
"Run Run Rudolph"

86) Huey Lewis and the News
"Winter Wonderland"

87) Mariah Carey
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/Oh Santa"

88) Polyphonic Spree
"Happy Xmas (War is Over"

89) Richard Marx
"Christmas Spirit"

90) Stephen Colbert
"Another Christmas Song"

91) Eagles
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

92) Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"Little Drummer Boy"

93) Joel Kopischke
"Ground Control To Santa Claus"

94) Ramsey Lewis Trio
"The Sound Of Christmas"

95) Andrew Gold
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

96) The Beach Boys
"Christmas Time Is Here Again"

97) Bryan Adams
"Christmas Time"

98) Elizabeth Chan
"Tis The Season"

99) Michael Dulin
"Deck The Halls"

100) Tim Rushlow and His Big Band
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

Since we play so many thousands of songs, and since all our top ten lists were really top twenty lists, it's hard to stop with just one hundred, so here's an extra fifteen...

101) Bing Crosby
"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"

102) Cyndi Lauper
"Feels Like Christmas"

103) Lunch At Allen's
"Zuzu's Petals"

104) Rod Stewart
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

105) Donny Hathaway
"This Christmas"

106) Elvis Presley
"It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)"

107) Lisa Kessler
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

108) Stevie Wonder
"Silver Bells"

109) Vanessa Williams
"Christmas Time Is Here"

110) Killers with Elton John and Neil Tennant
"Joseph, Better You Than Me"

111) Otis Redding
"Merry Christmas, Baby"

112) Pomplamoose
"Jingle Bells"

113) Whitney Houston
"Joy To The World"

114) The Payolas
"Christmas Is Coming"

115) The Refreshments
"I'm The Real Santa"

Thanks again for listening! And we're looking forward to spending next Christmas with you, as we plan to be back on the air again on November 1!

All our best for you and yours for all of 2015!

May you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[The Last Top Ten Of The Season]]>Thu, 08 Jan 2015 01:54:45 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/the-last-top-ten-of-the-season1Hi All!

Not much in the way of news this week. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone, and the Sounds of Christmas has been put to bed, following the Feast of the Epiphany.

Thanks so much for stopping by and listening this season, spending at least a little of your Christmas celebration with us! I hope you've enjoyed the music this year, and I'm already looking forward to Christmas 2015 (and hoping that this is the year we really do get that Christmas album from Pat Benatar, but I'm not holding my breath)!

I'd also, one more time, like to thank the singers and bands who helped make this season possible (many of which you've heard on the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas)! A giant THANK YOU to Cimorelli, Shayna Leigh, Michael Dulin, Jean Watson, Rick Lang, Debi Smith and Larry Carlton for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Sarah Pierce, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright and Shelby Lynne for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

That's about it, i think. I hope this new year brings you much happiness and joy!

While this is the last Top Ten list, I will have a Top 100 for the whole season, coming up in another week or so (once I finish crunching all the numbers)!

In the meantime, here's this week's list of the highest-rated songs on the Sounds of Christmas....

1) Sheryl Crow
"The Christmas Song"

2) The Jackson 5
"Give Love On Christmas Day" (A Cappella)

3) Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello "Together We Can Make A Merry Christmas"

4) David Young
"A Christmas I'll Remember"

5) The Gold Coral
"Ode to Joy/O Come All Ye Faithful'

6) Darius Rucker
"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

7) Funky Jenn
"Just Me And The Mistletoe"

8) The Empty Pockets
"Baby It's Cold Outside"

9) Davy Jones
"It's Christmas"

10) James Brown
"Signs Of Christmas"

11) Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
"Christmas With You"

12) Judy Pancoast
"The House On Christmas Street"

13) Air Supply
"Sleigh Ride"

14) Brian Wilson
"On Christmas Day"

15) Joel Kopischke
"Ground Control To Santa Claus"

16) The Beach Boys
"Christmas Time Is Here Again"

17) Cyndi Lauper
"Feels Like Christmas"

18) Donny Hathaway
"This Christmas"

19) Otis Redding
"Merry Christmas, Baby"

20) Queen
"Thank God It's Christmas"

Thanks again for listening and sharing your holiday celebration with us!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

]]><![CDATA[Happy New Year]]>Sun, 28 Dec 2014 23:14:29 GMThttps://www.soundsofchristmas.com/top-ten/happy-new-year Hi All!

Wow! That was fast. But here we are again at the weekend between Christmas and New Year's!

And of course we're still on! The 12 Days of Christmas come AFTER Christmas, so we'll be on through Epiphany (January 6)!

We're still adding new music! In fact, we came across this cool new song from the Jive Aces! Check out the video and, if you like it, there are instructions on YouTube on how to get a free download!

Thank you so much for spending part of your Christmas celebration with us!

The All Request Hour and the New Music Hour will continue to roll along for a few more days, right on up through New Year's Eve. The All Request Hour airs weekdays from noon to 1:00pm Eastern, and you can make your requests HERE. The New Music Hour airs weeknights from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Eastern), and you can get an idea of some of the new music we're playing on our new NEW FOR 2014 page.

And at 1:00am and 7:00am, and 1:00pm and 7:00pm, you'll get an hour's worth of Christmas music from the Stars of the Sounds of Christmas - spotlighting the singers and bands who have supported us in the past, and continue to support us, with their time, talent and treasure!

Special thanks to Cimorelli, Shayna Leigh, Michael Dulin, Jean Watson, Rick Lang, Debi Smith and Larry Carlton for sponsoring this year's broadcast and joining the Sounds of Christmas family! And extra special thanks to Luanne Hunt, Sarah Pierce, Kenny Davies, Danny Wright and Shelby Lynne for returning for another season to help get us running, and keep us running! Without them, there wouldn't be a Sounds of Christmas! You can click on each of their names and visit their homes on the web, check out their music, and, if so moved, buy their stuff! Or look them up on Amazon, iTunes, etc. Or just visit them on Facebook or Twitter and show them some love!

Continuing this Tuesday, as we've done on every Tuesday in December, it's Two For Tuesdays! All day long you'll get two songs in a row from all your favorite Christmas music artists!

I think that's all the news, so here is this week's new top ten list (it's actually a top twenty list, since we play thousands of Christmas songs, it's hard to limit it to just ten)!

1) Bette Midler
"Cool Yule"

2) Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore
"When Christmas Comes To Town"

3) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"2000 Miles"

4) Kat Tingey
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"

5) Pomplamoose
"Deck The Halls"

6) Gary U.S. Bonds
"White Christmas"

7) Mari Jones and Johnny Moore Orchestra
"Merry Christmas Baby"

8) Roger McGuinn
"The Twelve Days Of Christmas"

9) Sammy Davis Jr.
"Christmas Time All Over The World"

10) She & Him
"Christmas Wish"

11) My Morning Jacket
"Please Come Home For Christmas"

12) Zoe Bentley and Canadian Brass
"Very Merry Christmas"

13) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
"Christmas Is Starting Now"

14) The Empty Pockets
"What Christmas Means To Me"

15) Sidewalk Prophets
"Because It's Christmas"

16) Andrew Gold
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

17) Bing Crosby
"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"

18) Carly Jamison
"It Feels Like Christmas Every Single Day"

19) Dean Martin
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"

20) The Payolas
"Christmas Is Coming"

Thank you so much for spending part of your Christmas celebration with us!

If you know someone who loves Christmas music, please send them our way!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

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