What I'm listening to: Sarah Taylor

“The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” - Nat King Cole

It’s officially the holiday season. Thanksgiving has passed and we’re in the wintery December weeks leading up to Christmas, which means that all the holiday songs, including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” are going to be on repeat every hour of every day until the new year.

As I was listening to my sister’s “Christmas Hits” playlist on Spotify, I think I heard eight different versions of “Jingle Bells”. It got me thinking that the best Christmas songs are the classic oldies. That’s why I chose Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” for this week’s playlist.

It is classy, cozy and still captures all the warmth of the holiday season. Nat King Cole’s homey descriptions go past the typical lyrics that you hear during the weeks leading up to Christmas. While Nat King Cole first recorded and released it back in 1946, he re-recorded it numerous times. His 1961 recording featuring more of an orchestra is the most widely played today.

It’s no wonder that there have been over 1,709 “popular” versions of this song recorded by artists like Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion and Meghan Trainor. Why try to reinvent the wheel when the classics like this are so timeless? - Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email smt6314@psu.edu.