Hospital Radio: Torbay's ultimate Christmas song countdown

Picking the best Christmas song is very subjective and relies on personal taste, or a certain memory that makes you hold it dear to your heart. 

There are no such sentiments in the run down I have prepared for you here. I have mentioned in previous articles that Hospital Radio has an extremely robust algorithm for preparing our own best of charts and this Christmas rundown is no different. I can hear you all saying, “Wow, they have an algorithm.”

In truth, it is not really an algorithm, it is actually me and a little excel spreadsheet listing the best loved Christmas songs from the copious online listings, then adding the scores together and we come up with, possibly, the most inaccurate chart of all time. But it is only for fun, and I do not expect anyone to agree with me anyway.

Number ten, “Holly Jolly Christmas,” this became popular when it featured in an animated Christmas special and was performed by singer and actor Burl Ives. 

At number nine, Bing Crosby’s, “I’ll be home for Christmas,” which is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. 

Just above that is the ever popular, “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee. This has been recorded by numerous artists however, Lee’s original version has sold over 15 million copies and is the fourth most downloaded Christmas single.

Number seven on our chart, “O Holy Night” by Mariah Carey, more from her in a moment. At six, “Last Christmas” by Wham, which has entered the UK Top 40 on 15 occasions. In January 2021, 36 years after its original 1984 release it achieved the chart record for the longest time taken for a single to peak at the top of the UK singles chart after its first release a record since surpassed by Kate Bush with "Running Up That Hill". 

And at five, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry, which was written by Johnny Marks, who specialized in writing Christmas songs , including  “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree” and, "A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Which are both in this chart.

Then we have, “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the Judy Garland song from the movie Meet Me in St Louis, I think the title says it all. 

I promised you some more Mariah and her 1985 classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” sits at number three, an uplifting love song, not her usual sort of thing at all, but brilliant all the same. 

We step back in time for our second most popular song, "White Christmas" which is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. for the 1942 musical  Holiday Inn. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the Oscars with Bing Crosby's record topping the Billboard chart for 11 weeks in 1942. The song resurfaced in the movie of the same name in 1954, helping, it become the world's best-selling single.

You will have noticed a lot of the songs are traditional standards, which have had decades of airplay and have become woven into our musical DNA. Whether you are one or 92 you will know the songs. 

Our number one has “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” and “Jack Frost nipping at your nose.” The instantly recognisable voice of Nat King Cole with the simply named, “The Christmas Song.” Whilst first recorded in by him in 1945, his 1961 recording was selected for the Library of Congress in the United States National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Could not have said it better myself.

Why not make your own chart? It is great fun, failing that ask your smart speaker to play Torbay Hospital Radio, these songs will feature during December. Remember if you have a request contact us via our website.