ASCAP BRINGS THE TINSEL

ASCAP has released its Top 25 Holiday Songs of 2022.

The yuletide singalong begins with Meghan Trainor's take on "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," penned by Broadway composer Meredith Willson (who also wrote a little thing called The Music Man). Released in 1951, it was originally a hit for Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters but has since been covered by nearly one gazillion other artists. Settling in at #2 is the 1954 classic "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (performed by Tori Kelly), while Michael Bublé wraps his velvety pipes around #3, "A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Johnny Marks.

Of course, no contemporary Christmas playlist would be complete without a dash of Mariah Carey, whose "All I Want for Christmas Is You" continues to reverberate throughout America's retail centers. Other inclusions span Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (here assayed by Reba McEntire), "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney and the Frank Sinatra version of "Jingle Bells."

ASCAP has gifted us with a Spotify playlist containing all 25 songs that salutes no fewer than 16 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees. Scroll on to check out the rest, and take it easy on that mulled wine.

1. “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Meredith Willson (1951)
2. “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (1948)
3. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Johnny Marks (1962)
4. “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)
5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks (1949)
6. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1958)
7. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1963)
8. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (1934)
9. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey (1994)
10. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks (1958)
11. “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin (1941)
12. “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (1946)
13. “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano (1970)
14. “Winter Wonderland” by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith (1934)
15. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin (1944)
16. “Frosty the Snowman” by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)
17. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)
18. “Jingle Bells” (Frank Sinatra version), arranged by Gordon Jenkins (1958)
19. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague (1966)
20. “Deck the Halls” (Nat King Cole version), arranged by Nat King Cole and Leland Gillette (1960)
21. “Santa Baby” by Joan Javits, Anthony Springer and Philip Springer (1953)
22. “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin (2013)
23. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney (1979)
24. “Blue Christmas” by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson (1949)
25. “Silver Bells” by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston (1950)