By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
For all of us music lovers who are tired of hearing the same songs over and over on the radio all year long, it’s time to take a breather and listen to songs that have been on hiatus the entire year. It’s time for a barrage of Christmas tunes that every station has begun playing, some already airing continuous holiday music. It’s radio’s way to cleanse the palate, to set the stage for the holidays. Granted, the songs we’ll hear from now through the holidays have more than likely been overplayed in the past, but odds are, you haven’t heard a single Christmas song since December 25th of last year. The switch gets thrown at some point on Christmas Day and all those holiday songs go on their own long restful holiday.
Christmas songs in a sense are timeless. No matter how old you are, the songs you will hear can date back to the 1940’s. However, that’s fine since many of the classic tunes we associate with the holiday have been around for the past 80 years or so. It’s tradition, the songs our parents and grandparents listened to have been passed down to us and have become a part of our lives as we pass them down to our children, as the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree, leaving cookies and milk for Santa, carefully wrapped presents under the tree and holiday liturgical services. What fun would trimming the tree be without some holiday tunes in the background.
And what about those holiday movies and specials where some of the best Christmas songs have come from. The Hallmark Channel and the Great American Family station, along with others have been playing their new movies with that holiday theme and of course, plenty of Christmas music. Granted, by the time we get to Christmas Day, we may start to tire of hearing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” however, that’s fine because in the blink of an eye that switch will flip and the 26th of December will be here. It will be normal radio once again. Sure, the outdoor Christmas lights will still glow for a week or two and some outdoor decorations may remain until spring, but we’ll all feel a loss as the music has disappeared for yet another year. But, have no fear, there’s always Christmas in July on the Hallmark Channel and Great American Family. Mark your calendar!
