Not all Christmas songs are created equal. Here are some that may pair especially well as you enjoy a holiday road trip with your favorite people in the world. We know the Mariah Carey song is the most played, so we left that one off of our list, which combines a bit of jazz, rock, soul, and even a dash of Green Day.
Holiday Road Trip Playlist
Some of our favorites holiday road trip playlists (in no particular order):
- Please Come Home for Christmas – The Eagles. The band covered Charles Brown’s original version in 1978, and it quickly hit #18 on the Billboard charts.
- Last Christmas – Wham. A guilty pleasure and a lovable song by the late, amazing George Michael. Christmas Lights – Coldplay. This was released in 2010. The haunting and beautiful music video was rumored to be filmed by one camera as one continuous shot.
- Do They Know It’s Christmas – Band Aid. One of the most famous Christmas melodies, it also features everyone who was anyone in the eighties — including Bono, George Michael, Boy George, Sting, Simon LeBon, and Phil Collins, among others.
- Christmastime – The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in 1997, Billy Corgan does the holiday justice.
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Harry Connick Jr. Connick’s jazz-infused version is a must-listen, and who doesn’t love the handsome crooner?
- Merry Christmas Baby – Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Many artists have covered the 1947 R&B classic by Johnny Moore and Lou Baxter, including Elvis Presley, Christina Aguilera, and Tina Turner. But we love Springsteen’s version.
- Holiday – Green Day. Soooo it’s not a traditional holiday tune (at all), but you can’t deny this one is perfect for waking you up a bit as you’re cruising down that lonely stretch of road. It took Billie Joe Armstrong two months to write it, the perfectionist that he is.
- Little Saint Nick – Beach Boys. Released way back in 1963, it was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Consequently, this song immediately rose to #3 on Billboard. And the rest is holiday history.
A Dash of Controversy for your Holiday Road Trip Playlist
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – The Jackson Five. Michael and his brothers recorded the famous song as part of their 1970 Christmas album. The original version by Jimmy Boyd in 1952 was actually condemned by the Catholic church in Boston. This was because it dared to mix kissing with a religious holiday.
We hope you enjoy the holiday road trip playlist as much as we enjoyed creating it! And there’s more where that came from:
