Rocking around the Christmas Tree?

JAN BROGAN - In the spirit of the season, I'm asking for your favorite holiday song. But not the traditional version and nothing that can be sung in church.

I'd like to know your favorite rock-and-roll rendition and why. I'll start:

And NOT just because I'm from New Jersey, my favorite is Bruce Springsteen singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It makes me smile every time I hear it, especially when he asks whose been good and he tells the audience: "Not many...not many."

HALLIE EPHRON: Oh, this is easy. Hands down, it's the classic comic Pogo (by Walt Kelly) version of Deck the Halls. Here's the first verse to give you the flavor:

Deck us all with Boston Charlie,

Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!

Nora's freezin' on the trolley,

Swaller dollar cauliflower alley-garoo!

We have a whole set of little Pogo figures decking our mantle for the holiday and every season.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, Hallie,I'm a big big Pogo fan! (What do you do when there's nowhere to turn? I don't turn.)

Anyway--I DO love Bruce singing Santa. But how about the Beach Boys? Singing Little Saint Nick--when the chorus is "Run-Run reindeer, Run-RUN Reindeer! He don't miss no one...")

All I want for Christmas is YOU from Love, Actually? Gotta love that one.

Oh, there must be more...last night I was singing in the kitchen: Rockin Around the Christmas Tree--is that Brenda Lee? "Jingle Bell time, its a swell time, to rock the night away". The thing that's annoying about that is that I really do NOT like that song. It just--stuck in my head. A holiday earworm.

LUCY BURDETTE: Most of the rock 'n roll renditions drive me crazy because I can't get them out of my head after I hear them. Though I love Emily Lou Harris's Christmas album--any of the songs!

RHYS BOWEN: I'm old fashioned and sentimental--Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: On sentimental side, my dad's favorite Christmas song was Silver Bells. He had a lovely voice and would always sing it to me. If we're going rock-n-roll, I think I'm with Hank on the All I Want For Christmas is You, from Love Actually. It makes me happy.

ROSEMARY HARRIS: Well, Yellowman's 12 Days of Christmas is never going to be played in church.

We're ALL geeks for All I Want for Christmas..one of my faves. My OTHER favorite holiday music (I'm working my way around to answering Jan's question)are John Fahey's Christmas Albums. Beautiful acoustic guitar - I've owned them on vinyl, cassette and cd. Love the Bing Crosby/David Bowie Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth but that's practically traditional now, so ...drum roll..Little Drummer Boy by Michigan and Smiley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOjmR5MZIk4&feature=related They're a reggae duo - "eh, drummer, drummer boy!"

JAN: Rhys, I love Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song, too. In fact, I have an arrangement I play on acoustic guitar, but it's a lot of crazy jazz chords, so I have to start practicing in November if I want to play it by Christmas - every year. and Ro, I do love John Fahey's accoustic Christmas albums, I'm going to have to find the tape (that's how old it is) I also like Jingle Bell Hop, but maybe because it's fun to play on guitar. It's definitely one of thoses earnworm songs thatt get stuck in your head.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Nipping in before heading out for last minute shopping to add a couple of our favorite off-beat Christmas songs. You'll understand what sort of thing gets played at my house when I tell you one of the presents Ross requested this year was the CD of "A Rat Pack Christmas"...

And a contemporary group that our son got us turned onto: Mannheim Steamroller. Since his favorite music is Scandinavian Folk Metal (I know, I had never heard of it either) we're grateful he has some remotely mainstream holiday favorites.