#8 - Top 25 Christmas Songs (According To Me!)

Only one week left until Christmas!!!!!!!

It is Day #18 of the POP CULTURE ADDICT'S ADVENT CALENDAR, and I will be officially posting Song #8 on the Top 25 Christmas Songs of All Time - well, according to yours truly, that is.

Before we get to that though, how about a quick recap of the list so far?  You know, just in case some of you are just joining us.

25.  Here We Come A-wassailing Medley
24.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
23.  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
22.  Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
21.  Merry Christmas Everyone
20.  Step Into Christmas
19.  Same Old Lang Syne
18.  O Christmas Tree
17.  The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
16.  Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
15.  Frosty the Snowman
14.  Merry Christmas Darling
13.  Santa Claus is Coming To Town
12.  Silver and Gold
11.  Sleigh Ride
10.  It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas
09.  Christmas Wrapping

And for song #8 - a classic tale of peace among men and beagles that has a personal story attached to it.

Yes, at #8, I have Snoopy vs. The Red Baron.  Not the most Christmasy of titles, but the song itself brings as much happiness as a warm puppy.  And don't think this is the last time you'll see Snoopy referenced in this countdown.

The song itself was performed by The Royal Guardsmen - who were never guardsmen for the Queen.  In fact, they weren't even British.  They hailed from Ocala, Florida!  And when they first released this song, they ended up getting in a lot of trouble from Snoopy's creator, Charles Schulz.

You see, the idea of the song came from Schulz's famous comic strip "Peanuts".  About a year before this song was released, the first of many comic strip arcs featuring Snoopy as a World War I flying ace attempting to bring down the Red Baron, and the Royal Guardsmen decided to record the song from that idea.  They turned it into a Christmas tune where Snoopy tames the Red Baron and they celebrate Christmas together.

The problem was that the Royal Guardsmen didn't have the clearance to actually use Snoopy as a character in the song since they didn't exactly own him.  This prompted Schulz and United Features Syndicate to file a lawsuit against the group.

Fortunately, this story has a somewhat happy ending.  Although the group lost the suit and were ordered to pay UFS any money that was raised from publishing revenues, Schulz did agree to let the band use Snoopy in any future songs - of which at least two more were released:  "Snoopy's Christmas" and "Snoopy for President".

An updated version of the song was later released in 2006 entitled "Snoopy vs. Osama". 

Now why do I love this song so much?  Well, aside from the fact that it was a favourite in my home (whenever it came on the radio, it was always cranked up loud), it reminds me of an ornament I bought a couple of years ago to commemorate the very first Christmas that I would spend in my new home.

Buying a first home is always a huge deal, and I really wanted to mark the occasion with a special ornament to mark the first holiday spent in the house.  So, I chose this one.  Snoopy on his doghouse fighting the Red Baron along with the year I became a homeowner!  That was one Christmas I will never forget.

Seriously, it was almost 70 degrees that Christmas Eve - which was highly unusual for Canada!

Anyway, have fun listening to "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron"!

Tomorrow at #7 - a classic instrumental Christmas tune - with a heavy rock twist!