25 Different Versions of "Silver Bells"

There are many, many ways in which a classic Christmas tune can be ruined by a bad arrangement or a dreadful singer. But these are not those. These are 25 great renditions of an iconic tune. Feel free to pick and choose as you please. I hope you will...enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Meaghan Smith  (This young woman has an "old soul" and makes adorable music.)

2)  Twisted Sister  (Let's go ahead and get the weirdest one out of the way early. Actually, the song itself isn't that weird, but boy-oh-boy is this video a piece of work!)

3)  A Few Good Men  (I miss the '90s!)

4)  Bob Hope & Marilyn Maxwell  (Apparently, this is "the original" version...at least according to the YouTube poster.)

5)  Tony Bennett  (*Almost* nobody does it better than Tony!)

6)  The Polyphonic Spree  (This is a truly unique arrangement. It's great!)

7)  Clay Aiken & Megan Mullally  (Nice duet by an Idol and a comedienne.)

8)  The Temptations  (What makes this version different than all the rest? It's all about that bass!)

9)  Bing Crosby  (Of course, Bing is a part of this collection. I mean, how could he not be?)

10)  Amy Grant & Marc Martel  (The Queen of Christian Contemporary pairs up with the Man Who Would Be Queen in this apt duet. There's a bonus song at the end that you're sure to either love or detest.)  

11)  John Legend  (The Sexiest Man Alive – LOL! – takes on a Christmas classic – and KILLS it!)

12)  Elvis Presley  (This post would be incomplete without The King!)

13)  The Supremes  (I've never heard this version before, but they more than do it justice.)

14)  Don Ho  (Let's add a little tropical flavor to the mix!)

15)  Jim Nabors  (Gomer Pyle shore could sang purdy! Shazam!)

16)  She & Him  (If you don't recognize her from the album cover, the "She" in She & Him is Zooey Deschanel from the movie Elf, another Christmas classic.)

17)  Harry Connick, Jr.  (Classy, swinging version. I would expect no less from Harry.)

18)  William Shatner  (If you ever wanted to hear a dramatic reading of a Christmas song, you're about to. This isn't a great version, but it's certainly one-of-a-kind!)

19)  Brenda Lee  (Can't go wrong with Brenda Lee at Christmastime!)

20)  Andy Williams & The Osmonds  (This is the kind of treacly crap that quickly becomes irksome during the holiday season. But dang, that Andy can sing!)

21)  Love And Theft  (I'm mostly unfamiliar with this band, but I like them a lot!)

22)  Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors  (Gorgeous harmonies and instrumentation!)

23)  Stevie Wonder  (Good stuff!)

24)  Johnny Mathis  (The man's voice is like honey! So smooth!)

25)  Gloria Estefan  (Let's spice it up a bit for the grand finale!)

"Fun" & "Games" Songs, Vol. 1

Are you ready for some "Fun" and "Games"? Well, I sure am. This is the first in a three-part series of songs featuring one or both of these words in their titles. And there are some really, really good ones here. Check 'em out! And enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Kacey Musgraves  ~  "Die Fun"

2)  Peter Gabriel  ~  "Games Without Frontiers"

3)  Paramore  ~  "Ain't It Fun"

4)  Cassie Steele  ~  "Games"

5)  Arctic Monkeys  ~  "She Looks Like Fun"

6)  Ryan Adams & The Cardinals  ~  "Games"

7)  Cyndi Lauper  ~  "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"

8)  Emiliana Torrini  ~  "Animal Games"

9)  The Allman Brothers Band  ~  "Good Clean Fun"

10)  Crosby, Stills, & Nash  ~  "War Games"

11)  Mara Connor  ~  "No Fun"

12)  Ray Charles & Andy Williams  ~  "Games People Play"

13)  P!nk  ~  "Funhouse"

14)  The Cardigans  ~  "My Favourite Game"

15)  Rend Co. Kids  ~  "Fun"

16)  Desiree  ~  "The Game"

17)  Barenaked Ladies  ~  "Fun And Games"

18)  Claire  ~  "Games"

19)  Wang Chung  ~  "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"

20)  Dan Fogelberg  ~  "Beggar's Game"

21)  Natalie Imbruglia  ~  "Fun"

22)  The Gamebenders  ~  "Game Of Love"

23)  Blondie  ~  "Fun"

24)  Daryl Hall & Patrick Stump  ~  "Guessing Games"  (If you want to skip all the pre-song stuff, jump ahead to about the 3:30 mark and you'll be all set.)

25)  The Beach Boys  ~  "Fun, Fun, Fun"

Still More Songs About Rainbows

I told you there'd be one more of these "Songs About Rainbows" posts eventually. I guess "eventually" has arrived, 'cuz here we go. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Todrick Hall  ~  “Over The Rainbow”

2)  Wax Tailor ft. Charlotte Savary  ~  “Dusty Rainbow”

3)  Unisonic  ~  “Over The Rainbow”

4)  Jewel  ~  “Give Me The Rainbow”

5)  Robben Ford  ~  “Rainbow Cover”

6)  CocoRosie  ~  “Black Rainbow”

7)  The Rolling Stones  ~  “Blinded By Rainbows”

8)  Ex Hex  ~  “Rainbow Shiner”

9)  The Charlie Daniels Band  ~  “Rainbow Ride”

10)  Kimié Miner  ~  “Bottom Of A Rainbow”

11)  Miss Lava  ~  “Black Rainbow”

12)  Angus & Julia Stone  ~  “Living On A Rainbow”

13)  Louis Baker  ~  “Rainbow”

14)  Mariah Carey  ~  “Rainbow (Interlude)”

15)  Andy Williams  ~  “Sunshine, Lollipops, & Rainbows”

16)  Vinylshakerz  ~  “Rainbow”

17)  The Lagoons  ~  “Rainbows”

18)  Jumper Keellu  ~  “Rainbow”

19)  HammerFall  ~  “At The End Of The Rainbow”

20)  Katy Perry  ~  “Double Rainbow”

21)  Bob Sinclar ft. Ben Onono  ~  “Rainbow Of Love”

22)  Colbie Caillat  ~  “Rainbow”

23)  Merle Haggard  ~  “Rainbow Stew”

24)  Tanya Tucker  ~  “Rainbow Rider”

25)  David Archuleta  ~  “Rainbow”

26)  Barbra Streisand  ~  “Where’s That Rainbow?”

27)  Modestep & The Partysquad  ~  “Rainbow”

28)  Marty Robbins  ~  “Rainbows”

29)  Amplifier  ~  “Black Rainbow”

30)  Martin O’Neill  ~  “Just Like A Rainbow”

"New" & "Used" Songs, Vol. 3

With Christmas behind us and New Year's fast approaching, here's a final set of "New" & "Used" Songs for you to listen to. But let's face it -- I was going to post Vol. 3 whether there was a good reason to or not. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Madonna  ~  “This Used To Be My Playground”

2)  Paul McCartney  ~  “New”

3)  Fun.  ~  “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”

4)  Jennifer Knapp  ~  “New Day”

5)  Mutemath  ~  “Used To”

6)  Jody Watley  ~  “Looking For A New Love”

7)  Mat Kearney & AFSHeeN  ~  “Better Than I Used To Be”

8)  Gin Wigmore  ~  “New Rush”

9)  Brooks & Dunn  ~  “She Used To Be Mine”

10)  Dua Lipa  ~  “New Rules”

11)  Andy Williams  ~  “Can’t Get Used To Losing You”

12)  Oklahoma! Cast ft. Shirley Jones  ~  “Many A New Day”

13)  Keith Urban  ~  “Used To The Pain”

14)  Them Crooked Vultures  ~  “New Fang”

15)  Yael Meyer  ~  “Used To Be”

16)  Wolfmother  ~  “New Moon Rising”

17)  Fleetwood Mac  ~  “Get Like You Used To Be”

18)  Eels  ~  “New Alphabet”

19)  Gotye ft. Kimbra  ~  “Somebody That I Used To Know”

20)  The Shins  ~  “New Slang”

21)  Duke Ellington   ~  “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”

22)  Elvis Costello & The New Attractions  ~  “New Lace Sleeves”

23)  Tanya Tucker  ~  “Love Me Like You Used To”

24)  Howard Jones  ~  “New Song”

25)  The Dandy Warhols  ~  “We Used To Be Friends”