Good Question: Why Are There No New Holiday Songs?
Do you hear what I hear? Radio stations have played Christmas songs nearly 350,000 times this holiday season, according to ASCAP. But how many of those songs played have been part of the same core group of Christmas "classics?" Why is it so hard for a new Christmas song to break through?
According to ASCAP, the No. 1 song this year is "Sleigh Ride." "Winter Wonderland" came in second, bumping "Jingle Bell Rock" down to third from 2009. Not exactly a fresh hit: "Sleigh Ride" was finished in 1948.
"Most of them are covers of well-known songs that we've played since the dawn of time," joked Paul Geiger, afternoon host at 102.9 Lite FM. "By far and away what the listeners want is the tried and true Christmas music songs."
Dozens of Christmas music CDs are released every year, but it's rare that an original song breaks through to become popular. "Christmas Shoes" is by a Christian group NewSong, and that popped in 2000, nearly 10 years ago.
Mariah Carey had huge success with "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in 1996 and her Christmas album sold 5 million copies.
Individual artists can have a hit, but it's rare.
"I think if our LITE FM listeners heard 'Christmas Blues' by Bob Dylan they'd drive straight into a snow bank," Geiger said.
He points out that creating an original classic song isn't easy in any genre of music. Plus, the Christmas music season only lasts six weeks. From a business perspective, it's safer for an artist to crank out an album with songs we already love. Low cost, with high reward.
"Those albums are purchased by the hard core fans," he said.
So why do we love the old songs and resist accepting new ones? The classics "take you back to that time or maybe that feeling," Geiger said, "of a special Christmas, or being around the tree as a child."
WCCO-TV's Jason DeRusha Reports
