Santa Claus, singing cowboys, love, hymns, satire, snow, Bing and Dean and Frank, fictional reindeer and warbling chipmunks: American Christmas music! Ronald Lankford has the rare ability to reconcile the sacred and the profane in an easy narrative that manages both to cherish and illuminate the vast contradictions that adhere to December 25th in the U.S.A.! Karal Ann Marling, author of Merry Christmas! Celebrating Americas Greatest Holiday
?
Thorough and well documented. Spins interesting and novel insights into songs with which we are already familiar. Paul Mullins, author of The Archaeology of Consumer Culture
When Bing Crosbys White Christmas debuted in 1942, no one imagined that a holiday song would top the charts year after year. One of the best-selling singles ever released, it remains on rotation at tree lighting ceremonies across the country, in crowded shopping malls on Black Friday, and at warm diners on lonely Christmas Eve nights. Over the years, other favorites have been added to Americas annual playlist, including Elvis Presleys Blue Christmas, the King Cole Trios The Christmas Song, ? Gene Autrys Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Willie Nelsons Pretty Paper, and, of course, Elmo & Patsys Grandma Got Run Over by a Reinde
![Sleigh Rides, Jingle Bells, And Silent Nights: A Cultural History Of American Christmas Songs [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/7/3/7/2_6986339.jpg "Sleigh Rides, Jingle Bells, And Silent Nights: A Cultural History Of American Christmas Songs [Hardcover]")