When “Feliz Navidad” came out in 1970, I was six. I remember thinking it was so exotic since it was partially in Spanish. This seems so ridiculous now as Spanish is so widely spoken in the US now, but it wasn’t back then. But even to this day, when I hear that song, it seems a bit more special than the others. The song’s singer and composer José Feliciano, was on Live from Daryl’s House (http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/) and honestly, I was surprised because I don’t think of him being a big star but boy, I was wrong. Eight Grammys to his name, acclaimed by critics as “The greatest living guitarist” along with many other awards and accolades, Feliciano’s career spans over 50 years. I heard on the news that “Feliz Navidad,” has become a top iTunes download and The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) named it among the 25 Greatest Holiday Songs of the Century. Guess I’m not the only one that finds it special.
The strange thing with Christmas music is that some songs, like “Feliz Navidad” are truly best when they are done by the artist that made it popular. Other songs can be good or at least respectable regardless of the singer. Some artists have made the songs and some of the songs have made the artist. It’s an interesting phenomenon. So many singers have Christmas albums. Even non-Christian artists have them. I remember hearing an interview with some singer that said that producing a Christmas album was the singing equivalent of “jumping the shark”, the term used for something that was once good but has become dragged out or ridiculous. That feels a bit harsh because people can bring new life to old songs but I guess it could apply in a few cases.
One of my holiday things is to buy new Christmas music each year. Sometimes it is truly a new piece of work and sometimes it’s just new to me. I’m really the only one that enjoys the new music. That’s ok, it’s a treat for me and who knows, I might uncover a new classic. But today, I’ll stick to a true classic done by one of the greatest living guitar players in the world.
spooningwithsmokey 