If you’re looking for a snuggly, old-fashioned, ’40s-’50s-style “girl singer” Christmas album to drink hot toddies or eggnog to, “Happy Holidays/ I Love The Winter Weather” by Jo Stafford (with the Starlighters) is it. It’s actually a mix of two LPs Stafford released, one of Christmas songs (Sleigh Ride, The Christmas Song, Silent Night) and one of “winter” songs (Moonlight in Vermont, It Happened In Sun Valley, Winter Weather), but they all flow. The harmonies are lush, and Stafford herself is a gorgeous crooner.
My favorite cuts on this album are:
It Happened In Sun Valley (the version on the album is a bit slower and more lush than that clip, but you get the idea). Could you write a better song about two white people falling in love on the ski slopes? I don’t think so. And the harmonies!
Winter Weather (ignore the dancers on the video–it was the only version of this song I could find). Swingy, a little sexy, peppy, and snuggly, and I love the idea of “collecting all the kisses that are due me.” There’s also a great balance of Jo singing by herself and harmonizing with the Starlighters, her backup guys.
Sleigh Ride This is my second-favorite version of this song (the first being the Andre Kostelanitz instrumental with the whip snaps and horse whinnying). There’s nothing more you could ever want from this song than the smooth, perky, gliding-along-behind-a-horse-snuggled-under-a-blanket-with-some-dreamy-guy performance Stafford gives.
The Nearness of You “It’s not the pale moon that excites me, that thrills and delights me, oh no. It’s just the nearness of you.” Longing, encapsulated.
I feel like other singers from this era get more press and radio rotation at Christmas time, but Jo Stafford really brings it in a way not all of them could. Have you heard of Jo Stafford? Do you enjoy this era?
Well this is perfect timing: Meggin McIntosh (“The Ph.D. of Productivity”) is offering a free teleseminar this coming Friday, October 7, called “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Completing Your Projects.” If you can call in live, it’s going to be from 10-11:15 am Pacific (11-12:15 am Mountain, 12-1:15 pm Central, 1-2:15 pm Eastern), but she’ll record it and send out the link to listen later (or if you register after it happens).