Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: The Best Classic Rock Holiday Hits That Never Get Old
When December rolls around, even the most leather-jacketed, amp-cranking rockers trade their Marshall stacks for sleigh bells. Over the decades, classic rock artists have given us some of the most enduring Christmas songs in popular music. These are tracks that get blasted right alongside “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” every year. Here are the heavy hitters that turned the holiday season into a full-blown rock spectacle.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono – “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (1971)
Easily the most socially conscious Christmas song ever to crack the Top 10, Lennon’s anthem layers children’s choirs from the Harlem Community Choir over Phil Spector’s signature “Wall of Sound,” complete with glockenspiel and chiming guitars. Released during the Vietnam War with the iconic billboard campaign “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It,” it remains a bittersweet staple that is hopeful, haunting, and impossible to ignore when it comes on in the grocery store.
Paul McCartney – “Wonderful Christmastime” (1979)
Love it or loathe it, Sir Paul’s DIY synth-pop carol (he played every instrument himself in his Scottish farmhouse) is inescapable. Recorded during the McCartney II sessions, its cheap keyboards and “ding-dong, ding-dong” hook have been memed to death, yet it still earns millions in royalties every year. Fun fact: the backing vocals are rumored to include members of Wings slightly tipsy on holiday cheer.
The Kinks – “Father Christmas” (1977)
Ray Davies delivers one of the most gloriously cynical Christmas songs ever written. Over a punky, fist-pumping riff, a department-store Santa gets mugged by working-class kids who demand cash instead of toys: “Give all the toys to the little rich boys.” It’s a perfect slice of British class warfare wrapped in three minutes of pure pub-rock joy.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (recorded 1975, widely released 1981)
The definitive rock version of the 1934 standard. Bruce’s live take from C.W. Post College in New York and is delivered complete with Clarence Clemons’ booming sax solo, laughing, shouting “You been good?” and that hoarse “It’s all cold down along the beach!” intro has been a radio mainstay for over 40 years.
The Eagles – “Please Come Home for Christmas” (1978)
Originally a 1960 blues hit for Charles Brown, Don Henley and the boys turned it into a soaring, bells-and-piano rock-soul ballad. It hit No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is still one of the most-played rock Christmas songs in the U.S. This one is probably in heavy rotation on every classic rock station in the country every holiday season.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “Christmas All Over Again” (1992)
An original Petty rocker with sleigh bells and a guest appearance by Jeff Lynne. Sounds like it could have been on Full Moon Fever; it’s upbeat, nostalgic, and gets steady airplay every year.
Bryan Adams – “Run Rudolph Run” (1987)
Bryan’s high-energy take on the Chuck Berry classic (also from A Very Special Christmas) became the go-to rock ‘n’ roll Rudolph song for a whole generation. Fast guitars, raspy vocals—pure bar-band holiday fun.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – “The Little Drummer Boy” (1987)
Also from A Very Special Christmas. Seger gives the traditional carol a heartfelt, roots-rock treatment with piano, organ, and that unmistakable gravelly voice. A sleeper hit that still turns up on classic-rock holiday rotations.
Elton John – “Step Into Christmas” (1973)
Pure bubblegum glam with sleigh bells on top. Elton and Bernie Taupin wrote and recorded it in a single day, aiming straight for the holiday charts. It only reached No. 23 in the UK at the time, but decades of shopping-mall airplay have cemented its status.
I’ve saved my favorite for last and that is “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders. (released in November 1983). Written by Chrissie Hynde as a tribute to original Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who had died of a drug overdose the previous year, “2000 Miles” is a bittersweet, jangly ballad about being separated from a loved one at Christmas. The funny thing is that I cannot even say why it is my favorite Christmas song by a classic rock artist. I was never much of a Pretenders fan but I really love this song. There’s just something about it that perfectly encapsulates the holiday season for me. It wasn’t originally marketed as a Christmas single in the US, but in the UK it became a radio and TV staple every December. Over the years it has grown into one of the most-played and most-loved alternative Christmas songs and I am reminded every Christmas how much I love it.
These songs prove that when classic rockers hang tinsel on their Les Pauls, magic happens—whether they’re spreading peace, throwing punches at Santa, or just getting gloriously drunk under the mistletoe. Turn them up loud because even Scrooge would approve!
