Christmas Music Revisited Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley is often incorrectly credited with penning this traditional holiday favourite but it was actually written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson and first recorded by Doye O'Dell in 1948. It has been covered by many artists over the years. In fact, it was a number one country hit for Ernest Tubbs in 1950. Elvis Presley's version was not an immediate hit when it was released in 1957 on his "Elvis' Christmas Album", or again as a single in 1964.

However, it has remained a staple on radio stations around the holidays ever since.

Answer: Chuck Berry

Originally written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie, the song "Run, Rudolph, Run" bore a striking resemblance to the Chuck Berry hit "Johnny B. Goode". The song was released in 1958 on the Chess record label and reached number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. It then became popular in the UK in 1963 when it reached number 36 on the UK Singles chart.

Chuck Berry's song has lived on through several cover versions, including Luke Bryan and Justin Moore doing country versions of the song. The song has also been featured in hit movies such as "Cast Away", "Home Alone" and "The Santa Clause 2".

Answer: Darlene Love

Darlene Love is known as one of the most popular back-up singers ever but she was also a great solo artist, possibly best known for her hit "He's a Rebel", written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector. This song sparked a very public controversy when it was released in 1962 and was credited to The Crystals, a group that Darlene Love had never performed with.

She performed her Christmas hit "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on David Letterman's Christmas show in 1986, which has featured this timeless classic as a regular feature ever since.

In 1987, she sang backup for U2's cover version.

Answer: The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys released several Christmas singles over the years. "Little Saint Nick" (which bears a striking resemblance to their song "Little Deuce Coupe") was originally released as a single in 1963 and later appeared on their 1964 album "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album".

If you want to hear an interesting cover of the song, you could check out the world's best band of Muppets, Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band, performing the song with the late, great John Denver from 1979.

Answer: John Lennon

Each member of The Beatles has released an original Christmas song. John Lennon was the first with "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in December 1971 in the USA. George Harrison followed with "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" in 1974. Not wanting to be the last Beatle to contribute a holiday song, Paul McCartney released "Wonderful Christmastime" in 1979. Rounding out the Fab Four's Christmas classics is Ringo Starr's "I Wanna be Santa Claus", eventually released in 1999.

John Lennon's song brought in the enigmatic Phil Spector to produce the single. The song features a counter-melody throughout the chorus that was performed by The Harlem Community Choir, a group of thirty or so children aged between 4 and 12 years old.

Answer: The Kinks

One of the darker, more disturbing Christmas songs you'll probably hear, "Father Christmas" was written by Ray Davies (the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for The Kinks) and released in November of 1977. The song basically describes the ordeal of a shopping mall Santa who gets beaten up by a bunch of children demanding money instead of toys.

The song was the B-side to "Prince of the Punks" and can also be found on the compilation "Come Dancing with The Kinks".

Answer: Run DMC

"Christmas in Hollis" (a middle-class neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens) is the rap inclusion to this quiz. The premise of the song is that Run DMC stumbles across a certain bearded fellow on Christmas Eve. When he drops his wallet, the guys open it to check for an ID, which announces that the wallet belongs to one Santa Claus. Ordinarily, the Run DMC fellows might have decided to keep the money, but even they knew it would be bad to steal from Santa. So they rush home to mail back the cash.

Instead they find a letter under the tree from Santa saying that the money was theirs to keep.

Answer: Madonna

In 1987, a charity compilation album was released featuring Christmas music performed by popular artists of the era. It was titled "A Very Special Christmas" and one of the more popular songs to emerge from that album was Madonna's "Santa Baby". Sales of this album, and subsequent albums in this series, benefit the Special Olympics.

As well as Madonna, other artists on this album included Bruce Springsteen, The Pretenders, Sting, Run DMC, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks and Bob Seger - all of whom are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Band Aid

"Do They Know It's Christmas" was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. It was recorded by a large ensemble of primarily popular UK performers, including Bono, Boy George, Phil Collins, George Michael, and Sting, as well as Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. The group was dubbed Band Aid and the song was recorded in an effort to raise funds to help feed the hungry people of Ethiopia, and it did quite a lot to help.

It has become one of the greatest selling Christmas songs recorded by rock artists of all time.

Answer: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Before releasing it as a single in 1985, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band routinely played the song "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" for a number of years as part of their set during the weeks leading up to Christmas. It was released as the B-side to "My Hometown".

This old Christmas standard was written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. It was first recorded by Harry Reser and His Band in 1934 and was subsequently performed by Eddie Cantor on his radio show that same year. Cantor's popularity stimulated demand for the sheet music, creating an instant hit. Since then, the song has been covered by dozens of artists, including The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, and Frank Sinatra.