Jingle Bell Pop

By: John Seabrook

Narrated by: Erin Moon

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

It seems like every year, the holiday season arrives earlier and earlier. Before Halloween’s ghosts and ghouls have even had their chance to come out of the shadows, sleigh bells and ribbons begin to materialize at the mall and towering tinsel-tinged trees appear in our living rooms. But the most telltale sign of the arrival of yuletide festivities is the unceasingly merry melody of the seasonal songbook, from "Silent Night" to "Santa Baby." Love them or loathe them, these holiday earworms are here to stay. But how do these songs endure for decades? And why are there so few contemporary Christmas carols?

In this holly jolly Audible Original, New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker columnist John Seabrook uncovers the mysteries of the holiday music machine, exploring how these hits were made and why they’ve dominated the soundwaves each and every winter. From the mid-century reign of songwriter Johnny Marks ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") to the manufactured musical nostalgia of modern holiday hits like "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Seabrook, alongside a cast of singers, songwriters, and producers, reveals the untold stories behind the songs that have us rockin’ around the Christmas tree year after year.

©2018 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC.

Fun

Interesting, puts some meat and potatoes behind some of the Christmas songs. You will be hard pressed to not want to stop and listen to the song the audible book is referencing .

Quick and interesting

Short, entertaining and interesting look at the evolution of the holiday songs, from Silent Night to modern pop with input from modern era writers.

Perfect insight into the niche music category!

A fantastic listen!
Enough facts to keep a trained musician entertained but plenty of historical tidbits and stories for anyone to enjoy! Extremely well balanced with "testimonies" from actual participants of Christmas song genre past and not so past.
The narrator is pleasant, direct and easy, as opposed to "over the top" and fake, if that makes any sense.
If this were a series, I would subscribe.
Highly recommended!

great book, very informative.

the history of music is amazing when you hear the real story. worth the listen

pretty good but a little disjointed

I appreciated the effort. Would have loved more 40s background. kind of treated as a sidebar here.

OK, but not enough music

This was OK, but it didn't play snippets of most the songs discussed. Some anecdotes about the songs were interesting.

Nice Christmas choice

I very much liked this walk through Christmas songs and stories behind their creation. The only thing that I missed is hearing all the actual songs mentioned - there are couple of those played partially or in the background - but I would have enjoyed hearing all the actuall songs in full. That is the only reason for my overall rating.

Interesting history behind our fave xmas songs

Fun & entertaining account of how songs get into the Christmas canon. My only complaint is the narrator's voice is too soft compared to other speakers - I had to keep adjusting the volume.

A Holiday Hit

Cute and quick read and listen. This is like a podcast...wish it was! Are there more like this?

Great for Christmas Time

It was interesting to find out how all of our Christmas favorites can about. This presentation is well-read and includes people behind the music. I’ll probably listen to it again.