Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From The Morning Rat Race!
Here are (from left to right) Dave, Gotts, and Carl with Santa Claus! Gotts asked Santa for some Miller Lite, Carl requested a bottle of bourbon, and Davey petitioned St….
Dave, Santa, Gotts, and Carl of The Morning Rat Race
Jaclyn FaragoHere are (from left to right) Dave, Gotts, and Carl with Santa Claus!
Gotts asked Santa for some Miller Lite, Carl requested a bottle of bourbon, and Davey petitioned St. Nick for some sweet green leaf!
Needless to say...this may be the last photograph that Santa takes with the Morning Rat Race. Oh, well!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! From Davey Mac, the Gotts, Carl Craft, and 95.9 The Rat!
Now that it's finally December, it's time to fully embrace Christmas songs. (Sure, some may have started long ago, but many like to wait until Thanksgiving is in the rearview.)
There are a surprising number of rock and roll Christmas songs. Many rockin' holiday tunes tend to be covers, but many artists have tried to pen the next Christmas classic. If they don't end up classics, they are often at least a lot of fun.
One of those songs is "The Magic of Christmas Day." The song was written by Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider, but it was made famous when it was recorded by Celine Dion. Snider wrote the song at the request of his wife, Suzette. The song got into the hands of producer Ric Wake, a friend of Snider's, who thought the song had massive potential.
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Snider said in a Dec. 2020 interview in Ultimate Classic Rock that about five years after writing the song for his wife, he got a fateful call from Wake. The producer let him know that Celine Dion wanted to record the song.
It was perfect timing for Snider. He said was "broke and struggling" at the time he learned the pop icon decided to record his song. Considering Dion's star power, Snider was thrilled she wanted to record the song at all. His big concern was making sure she didn't know he was the one to write the song.
"I said, 'Do not tell her that Satan wrote her Christmas song. Just put it on the f---in’ album,'" said Snider. (Fun fact: Due to the song's success and the revenue it produced, Snider refers to her as "Saint Celine."
To help fully get into the holiday spirit, consider adding these 25 songs to your Christmas playlist. They vary in subgenre from hard rock to metal to punk. Enjoy!
25. Iggy Pop - "White Christmas"
Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesSpoiler: Iggy Pop's cover of "White Christmas" sounds exactly like you think it would.
24. Alice Cooper - "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
Cole Bennetts/Getty ImagesOnly Alice Cooper could make "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" sound sinister AF.
23. Cheech & Chong - "Santa Claus and His Old Lady"
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesMore of a piece of spoken-word magic than a song, but it's just not Christmas without Cheech & Chong.
22. Rob Halford - "We Three Kings"
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesIt's the metal version of "We Three Kings" we both needed and deserved. Thanks, Metal God!
21. Korn - "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesKorn covered "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" for 'Nightmare Revisited,' a covers album in honor of the 15th anniversary of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.'
20. My Chemical Romance - "All I Want For Christmas is You"
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesSimilar to Iggy Pop and "White Christmas," MCR's cover of the Mariah Carey classic sounds exactly like you think it would, and it pretty brilliant.
19. The Black Crowes - "Back Door Santa"
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty ImagesOriginally recorded by Clarence Carter in 1968, The Black Crowes covered this sexy Christmas blues tune in 2005. The tune is all the more fun since the Robinson brothers have made up.
18. The Killers - "A Great Big Sled"
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesThe Killers recorded this energetic tune in 2006 as a stand-alone single for iTunes. Proceeds from the downloads benefited the RED Campaign. A fun holiday song that helps raise money for HIV/AIDS prevention programs in third-world countries? Who couldn't get behind that?
17. King Diamond - "No Presents for Christmas"
RoadrunnerIf you don't wail, "Tom and Jerry, Drinking Sherry/They don't give a damn," who even *are* you?
16. Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo & Simon Wright - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesThis epic cover was part of 2008's compilation 'We Wish You a Metal XMas...and a Headbanging New Year!' In fact, it's not the only track from this album on the list. (BTW: The next one is number four.)
15. GWAR - "Stripper Christmas Summer Weekend"
Roger Kisby/Getty ImagesIt's a GWAR Christmas song. That's all you *really* need to know.
14. Twisted Sister - "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesA Twisted Christmas' was Twisted Sister's final studio album, and they sure went out with a yuletide bang. Any track is a winner and will surely get any metalhead in the Christmas spirit, but "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" is a standout thanks to its very "Twisted" flare.
13. Gary Hoey - "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
Surfdog RecordsFew have made a musical mark on Christmas like Gary Hoey, and there's just something special about his take on a classic like "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
12. The Darkness - "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)"
Steve Finn/Getty ImagesAfter The Darkness falsettoed onto the scene in 2003 with "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," they followed that single up with the equally over-the-top "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)." If you loved "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," then you'll never want the bells to end.
11. Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJoey Ramone was one of punk's biggest icons, but he sure could write one sweet make-up song.
10. blink-182 - "I Won't Be Home For Christmas"
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesA Christmas song about losing your s--- and getting arrested? Totally not relatable, right. (Wrong!)
9. Spinal Tap - "Christmas With The Devil"
Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesA Spinal Tap Christmas song means taking the piss out of metal *and* the holidays. Who couldn't love that kind of cheeky fun?!
8. Adam Sandler - "The Chanukah Song"
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesOkay, so this is technically a Christmas song list, but few would take issue with making an exception for this Adam Sandler song, which he performed on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1994. The track would even crack the Billboard Hot 100, which shouldn't be too shocking since Sandler brilliantly rhymed Carnegie Deli with Arthur Fonzerelli.
7. Pearl Jam - "Let Me Sleep (It's Christmas Time)"
Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesPart of Pearl Jam's lore is there annual fan club singles they released from 1991-2018. "Let Me Sleep (It's Christmas Time)" was the first one, so considering its history, it had to make the list.
6. AC/DC - "Mistress for Christmas"
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images"Jingle bells, jingle bells/Jingle all the day/I just can't wait till christmas time/When I can grope you in the hay." Finally! A Christmas song about infidelity that isn't "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Thanks, AC/DC!
5. Trans-Siberian Orchestra - "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24"
Anna Webber/Getty ImagesIt's truly not Christmas without Trans-Siberian Orchestra. While the hard rock outfit has a number of popular tunes in their catalog, "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" is their most popular and their best.
4. Lemmy Kilmister, Billy F Gibbons & Dave Grohl - "Run Rudolph Run"
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesFeatured on 2008's compilation 'We Wish You a Metal XMas...and a Headbanging New Year!' , hearing Lemmy's trademark growl covering this Chuck Berry classic makes you feel as warm and fuzzy as slamming a few Jack and Cokes.
3. Dropkick Murphys - "The Season's Upon Us"
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesDropkick Murphys tell a tale of one of the most dysfunctional families ever, and if it doesn't make you feel better about your own family, then just start drinking now to get through the holidays.
2. Dee Snider & Lzzy Hale - "The Magic of Christmas Day"
BMGDee Snider wrote this beautiful songs as a Christmas gift for his wife. Four years later in 1998, Celine Dion would record the song and make it famous. Finally, in 2020, Snider would record and release the song as a duet with Lzzy Hale. It's still amazing that the frontman for Twisted Sister wrote one of the most angelic Christmas songs of all time.
1. Corey Taylor - "X-M@$"
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesObviously, this Corey Taylor song is very tongue-in-cheek, but there is certainly a bit of truth here. Who among us hasn't wanted to say, "Fa la la la la go f--- yourself"? (Perhaps you were one of the brave few that actually has.) Either way, this "anti" Christmas song is just really fun.
