Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

This year there’ll be only one Any Major Christmas mix, simply because this one took so much time to put together — a compilation of Christmas pop standards covered in different languages: French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Finnish, Icelandic, Greek, Czech, Hungarian, Korean… and one dialect, Kölsch, which is spoken in the German city of Cologne.

Apologies if your language didn’t make it. I hope you will enjoy hearing the Christmas songs we know in different languages anyway. Of course, I cannot vouch for it that the artists performing these songs have any kind of cool factor in their country, because most of them I know nothing about.

I do know that Heintje does not meet the definition of cool in Germany or the Netherlands. The Dutch-born boy singer was a superstar in Germany in the late 1960s and early ’70s, as the model-grandson singer of sentimental songs and as an actor in those compellingly bad German Schlager “comedies” (Schatzi haut den Pauker auf die Schnauze). In the 1970s, practically every West German family had Heintje’s first Christmas album rom 1968. The present track was released in 1971, just before poor Heintje’s voice broke. As Hein Simon, he tried to revive his career, but nobody wanted a grown-up Heintje.

Two acts here are superstar-famous, though one of them didn’t know her fame-filled future yet when the featured track was recorded. Céline Dion was a 13-year-old singer in Québec when she recorded her Christmas album, on which the producer must have had a yen for reggae.

The other superstar closes this set: In 1980 Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA recorded an album of Christmas songs in Swedish with her little daughter Linda, whose father was (and still is) Björn Ulvaeus. The album, released in 1981, featured no other ABBA members, but some of the usual studio gang were playing on it.

Next week I’ll help you out with a last-minute Christmas present for family or friends over 80: a mix of hits from 1947 (seeing as it’s 75 years ago). I think people under 80 will enjoy it, too.

I think all Any Major Christmas mixes are still up on Zippy. If you need one that isn’t, post your request in the comments.

As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and features joyeux-noëled covers. PW in comments.

1. Guy Cloutier – Voici le Père Noël (Here Comes Santa Claus, French) (1964)
2. Gerhard Wendland – Weißer Winderwald (Winter Wonderland, German) (1954)
3. Aldo Donà – Bianco Natale (White Christmas, Italian) (1948)
4. Michèle Richard – Joyeux Noël (The Christmas Song, French) (1966)
5. Fernand Gignac – C’est Noël (Silver Bells, French) (1961)
6. Gals & Pals – Jingeling-tingeling (Sleigh Ride, Swedish) (1963)
7. Castel et Casti – Monsieur la Neige (Frosty The Snowman, French) (1958)
8. Celly Campello – Jingle Bell Rock (Portuguese) (1960)
9. Cho Young Nam – Blue Christmas (Korean) (1971)
10. Vera Špinarová – Až za modrou horou (Merry X-Mas [War Is Over], Czech) (1974)
11. Katy Garbi – Ώρα Χριστουγέννων (I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Greek) (1998)
12. Szandi – Rock a karácsonyfa körül (Rock Around The Christmas Tree, Hungarian) (1993)
13. Willeke Alberti – Ik wil niet alleen zijn met Kerst (Lonely This Christmas, Dutch) (1991)
14. Nada Urbánková – Dlouhá zima (It’s Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas, Czech) (1982)
15. Lasse Lindbom Band – Om jag bara fick en elgitarr till jul (I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, Swedish) (1979)
16. Erna Gunnarsdóttir – Enn Jólin (Last Christmas, Icelandic) (1986)
17. Menneisyyden Vangit – Hyvää Joulua Kaikille (Merry Xmas Everybody, Finnish) (2005)
18. Zoe Kluss – El Mejor Regalo Eres Tú (All I Want For Christmas, Spanish) (2017)
19. Köster & Hocker – Weihnachtsmärche us Kölle (Fairytale Of New York, Kölsch) (2017)
20. Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea – Santa Baby (Spanish) (2007)
21. Götz Alsmann  – Der Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, German) (2006)
22. Jaci Velasquez – Hoy que es Navidad (…Merry Little Christmas, Spanish) (2001)
23. Céline Dion – J’ai Vu Maman Embrasser Le Père Noël (I Saw Mommy…, French) (1981)
24. Eiríkur Hauksson – Jólaþankar (I Believe In Father Christmas, Icelandic) (1986)
25. Heintje – Der kleine Trommler (The Little Drummer Boy, German) (1971)
26. Agnetha & Linda – Bjallerklang (Jingle Bells, Swedish) (1981)

GET IT! or HERE!

More Christmas Mixes
Any Major Christmas Favourites
Any Major 1980s Christmas
Any Major 1970s Christmas
Any Major 1960s Christmas
Any Major 1950s Christmas
Any Major 1940s Christmas
Christmas Mix, Not For Mother
Any Major X-Mas Mix
Any Major Christmas Pop Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Pop Vol. 2
The Originals: Christmas Edition
Any Major Christmas Carols (in pop)
Any Major Christmas Bells
Any Major Smooth Christmas Vol. 1
Any Major Smooth Christmas Vol. 2
Any Major Smooth Christmas Vol. 3
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 1
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 2
Any Major Christmas Soul Vol. 3
Any Major Doo Wop Christmas
Any Major Rhythm & Blues Christmas
Any Major X-Mas Blues
Any Major Country Christmas Vol. 1
Any Major Country Christmas Vol. 2
Any Major Acoustic Christmas
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 1
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 2
Christmas In Black & White Vol. 3
Any Major Christmas ABC
Any Major Gals’ Christmas
Any Major Santa Claus Vol. 1
Song Swarm: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Or all in one place