Tag Archives: christmas song

“On Christmas Day” (Brian Wilson Christmas Cover)

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Welcome everyone to a special holiday edition of the Laptop Sessions cover songs music video blog with me, Jim Fusco!  It’s become a Laptop Sessions music blog tradition to do at least one Christmas song every year.  This is my fourth Christmas doing the blog and I’ve amassed a great collection of my favorite Christmas songs in acoustic guitar and piano cover video form.    In fact, if you go to my YouTube page at http://youtube.com/jimfusco, you’ll see I’ve made a video playlist of all my Christmas song videos.  So, if you’re in the holiday spirit (in December, or any other time you need some Christmas cheer), you can click on that playlist and go through every cover song video I’ve done for Christmastime!

Before I get started with tonight’s music blog post, allow me to wish you a great Christmas (or any other holiday you may be celebrating this time of year).  It’s been a crazy year for me and I’m glad I’m back doing the Laptop Sessions videos on a regular basis.  I really do get a lot of joy doing these cover song videos.  Getting to a million views was a big deal for me, as it seemed to reinvigorate my efforts to make the Laptop Sessions the best music blog on the internet.  Next year promises to be another banner year, as my new album, “Those Around Us” is released in January.  For more details on “Those Around Us”, please visit my website at http://jimfusco.com.

Onto tonight’s cover song video.  You know, it’s rare to find a new Christmas song that isn’t overly cheesy and especially over-produced.  The problem with Christmas songs is that there’s only a finite amount of things to write about.  And, believe me, every single one of those things has been written about.  So, after a while, every new Christmas song starts to sound the same with very, very similar lyrics.   Every artist these days has to have a Christmas album.  I guess I can’t blame them- it’s a built-in excuse to have people play your music at least once a year.  Look at the older artists like Bing Crosby.  I honestly don’t know one Bing Crosby song that isn’t Christmas-related.  To me, in pop music, Christmas songs make you somewhat immortal.  I mean, who listens to Perry Como anymore?  But, come the day after Christmas, “Home for the Holidays” plays on every radio station across the country.  Even Elvis Presley’s music is now considered too “old” for even our local “oldies” station, as they only play music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  But, they break their own rule and play “Blue Christmas” about ten times a day.  Christmas songs, if they’re popular enough, are the great musical equalizer.

Maybe that’s why I love Christmas music so much- my favorite artists, like the Beach Boys, are brought back into the public’s consciousness every Christmas with song like “The Little Saint Nick”.  Speaking of the Beach Boys, I was given an early Christmas present this year with the announcement of the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary reunion tour and album.  I cannot even begin to express how excited I am about this.  It’s a dream come true.

Tonight’s video also has to do with the Beach Boys because it’s one of Brian Wilson’s original Christmas songs!  I’ve loved this song ever since I first got a semi-bootleg copy off of his website a few years ago.  Brian used to come out with a Christmas song each year and put it on his site for his fans.  So, I recorded it off of the site.  Thankfully, though, it came out as a bonus track on his recent Christmas album, “What I Really Want For Christmas”.  “On Christmas Day” is a great tune and has a nice chord progression to it.  I’m not sure if I’m the only one who notices this, but to me, it sounds an awful lot like “Belles of Paris” from the Beach Boys’ “MIU Album” in 1978.  Anyway, “On Christmas Day” is a better arrangement and is in a better key- Brian sounds great on his recording.

I chose to do this song on piano because I thought it would translate better than on acoustic guitar.  Plus, it felt more Christmasey (to quote another Brian Wilson Christmas song) to sit at the piano and sing a Christmas song.  I hope you enjoy my rendition!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year, too.  I’ll be back after the first of the year with an original song from my forthcoming album, “Those Around Us”.  Then, we’ll all celebrate the release of this new album on January 13th!  Take care and see you in 2012!

“Step Into Christmas” (Elton John Christmas Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to your Christmas 2010 edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  I couldn’t let the Christmas Season go by without presenting a cover song music video for you, so I present Elton John’s Christmas classic “Step Into Christmas”.

You know, growing up, I never loved this song.  I think my father wasn’t a huge fan of it, so that tainted my view.  But, as time went on (and I became a bigger Elton John fan) I realized that this is a pretty great tune.  In it, Elton says, “I’d like to thank you for the year.”  Obviously, he’s talking to his many fans and I’d like to do the same: THANK YOU for another great year here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!  In the past year, I’ve seen the term “Laptop Sessions” come up as a search suggestion in Google.  That’s pretty cool and means that plenty of people have been searching for this site!  Also, I’m only a few days away from reaching 800,000 YouTube views- 80% of the way towards my ultimate goal of a million!  I have had renewed ambition lately to promote the Laptop Sessions blog and my YouTube videos, so I hope I keep it going- my goal is to reach a million YouTube views sometime in 2011- hopefully the first half!

A funny note about “Step Into Christmas” by Elton John: the chorus always seemed odd to me.  I, for the first 26 years of my life, always thought he said, “Eat in the evening, come along with me.”  I thought that was such a stupid line!  I mean, Bernie Taupin couldn’t think of anything else you could do at Christmas other than eating in the evening??  Well, I decided that I should find out for sure if that was the line- turns out I was wrong.  He really says, “Eat, drink, and be merry; come along with me.”  Wow- I was WAY off!  Well, to be fair, I don’t think I ever would’ve guessed that- how did they fit those words into that short of a time-span?  Well, I figured it out and included it in my song.  I’m glad I did- there’s been a few Laptop Sessions cover songs videos where I sang incorrect words because I thought I knew them.  They’ve always haunted me.  For instance, on Brian Wilson’s “Live Let Live” video, I sang, “Pure Pacific, just as sure as the sky.”  I had no idea what that meant, but since Van Dyke Parks wrote the lyrics, I figured I shouldn’t ask questions.  Well, I did decide to ask questions, and it turns out the line is, “Blue Pacific, as azure as the sky.”  Ohhhhh, THAT’S what he said!  Brian has gotten a tad bit of a slur in his later years, and “as azure as” is hard enough to say anyway!  So, I botched that line.  I’ve never been proud of that video as a result.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Christmas!!  I’ll be back right before New Year’s with another video, but I happy I got in this Christmas cover song today.  This year, I’m hoping to have one of the most memorable Christmases ever and I’ll be sure to tell you all about it after the big day comes.  I can’t believe it’s just a week away!  Until then- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

“Blue Christmas” (Elvis Presley acoustic Christmas cover song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions in high definition!  Tonight, I bring you the second video from last week’s recording session.  This one is truly a classic off of one of my favorite all-time albums: Elvis Presley’s 1957 Christmas Album.

“Blue Christmas” is a song everyone knows.  And, I’m pretty sure that with tonight’s recording, that every single musician in the last 50 years has recorded a version of it.  I happen to do mine in Elvis’ style, but I love Brian Wilson’s version on the Beach Boys Christmas Album, too.  But, while Brian’s version is sad and melancholy, Elvis gives this song so much raw soul.  It’s his “uh-huh” singing at its best and is on my list of “perfect recordings”.  Those are the songs (like, for instance, the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”) that couldn’t be any better- just the perfect blend of instrumentation, songwriting style, vocals, etc.

Of course, “Blue Christmas” was even recorded earlier than Elvis’s version- as early as 1948!  But, Elvis made it a rock song and that’s the version that everyone knows.

I got to use my colleague Noreen’s 12-string Gibson acoustic from 1967 on this one- what a great sound!  It was so much fun to play.  When you’re using that guitar in a room with good acoustics, you feel like you’re a one man band.  I’m loving this new setup.  And, this week’s video was much easier to edit- literally took just a minute until it was rendering.  It’s such a nice feeling to get something done right the first time.

On a personal note, things have never been busier.  Whether it’s decorating the house, going shopping, cooking, working, etc. I’m never just sitting and relaxing.  I have a feeling it’s going to be like this until after the New Year, but I tell ya- I need some more sleep!  I’m looking forward to a couple of work parties, a couple of get-togethers at the new house, and general Christmas cheer.

If you haven’t done it yet, head on over to WCJM Free Internet Radio at wcjm.com and click on the Moore Hits in the Morning radio in the center of the screen.  You’ll then be taken to all of our radio shows that you can listen to absolutely free- click on any of the numerous Christmas shows and get ready to laugh!  They’re really entertaining and I listen to each of them at least twice each Christmas season to get me in that yuletide mood.

Okay, off to bed now- make sure to keep checking back this week for more great articles and videos from the Only Music Blog- The Laptop Sessions!

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (John Lennon cover)

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I’m sooooo tired.  No, I’m not quoting a classic Beatles tune- I’m really freakin’ exhausted!  Something about driving an hour to the Buckland Hills mall, shopping, eating a TON at Red Robin, and driving an hour back just makes me so tired.  Then, I realized it was my night for a cover song music video.  It always works that way.  My way of dealing with it?  Honk the horn while driving down I-84.

As we gear up for yet another winter storm here in CT, I find myself really ready for Christmas, and just in time.  Today, we dug ourselves out of the snow and I went to my parents’ house for a party with my father’s cousins- a yearly tradition.  It was so nice, especially because Mike was there.  Felt like old times.  Mike and I would attempt to fit in with the older crowd, but eventually would just run downstairs and play with our Hess trucks, which we would get each year.  Today, we got pizza from Fratelli’s in Wallingford.  My parents had never eaten there before, but I tried it at work and loved it.  So, I put my recommendation out there, and thankfully, everyone loved it.

I then went to do a video job (maybe THAT’S why I’m so tired) at the New Haven Lawn Club.  It was a nice Jewish wedding.  I only had to do the ceremony, but got paid for a whole job.  And a few days before Christmas, that’s always a welcome thing.  Chris, Dana, and I went on our trek (see above) after I got home, and that brings us to my cover song music video for tonight.

I’ve known “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” my whole life.  I always found it interesting that my father said this song wasn’t really a big Christmas “hit” until after John Lennon died.  Just like George Harrison’s music- the man’s albums went on being obscure and not available on CD until AFTER he died.  Hey, at least they’re out now.  Dennis Wilson is the perfect example of this phenomenon, except it took everyone about 25 years to re-release something after his death.  And he was the most talented of them all.

I dedicate this song to my boss, Steve Mirabella, who suggested I do this for the Laptop Sessions.  It’s so rewarding to find someone who cares about and loves music as much as I do and is actually interested in these cover songs music videos we do on a daily basis here.  And yes, Steve, I found a much less annoying way of handling the Yoko Ono parts, so the song sounds much less….well, you know…than the original.

I hope you all enjoy this great Christmas song and heed its words- Christmas is a time for EVERYONE and it will come no matter the wars, hardships, unreasonable hatred, etc.  It’s good to know that there’s an anchor in our lives like that.  It allows me to keep traditions going and that makes me incredibly happy.  I’ll see you back here again on Tuesday for another great Laptop Session!  Oh, and tonight is my 150th music video, and here’s to 150 more!