AC/DC: Mistress for Christmas

One of the funniest rock Christmas songs ever written? When AC/DC guitarists Malcolm Young and his younger brother Angus saw the tabloid headlines about businessman Donald Trump cheating on his wife Ivana with a beauty queen called Marla Maples (the daughter of an Elvis impersonator) they penned the song “Mistress For Christmas,” which appeared on their 1990 album The Razor’s Edge. Angus Young described the risqué lyrics (“I wanna ride on your reindeer honey/And ring the bells”) as a bit of “the ol’ fool-around” and told Guitar World that “I think the funniest song on Razor’s Edge is “Mistress For Christmas.” That song’s about Donald Trump. He was big news at the time, so we thought we’d have a bit of fun and humor with it.”

Band Aid: Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Solos by such stars as George Michael, Bono, Paul Young, and Boy George are the instantly recognizable highlights of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” one of the most momentous charity songs in the history of music. The track, recorded in London on November 25, 1984, and featuring an entire studio full of British pop stars, entered the UK chart at No.1 a few weeks later and stayed there for five weeks, well into January 1985. This Bob Geldof and Midge Ure composition, which sold 3.75 million copies in the UK alone, was written to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia. The song, which features the iconic lines “feed the world/let them know it’s Christmas time,” has been re-released several times and still makes the streaming charts every Christmas.

Def Leppard: We All Need Christmas

Beautifully crafted acoustic rock ballad kissed with strings, and fueled by hope and optimism – and a final coda which goes up to 11. A seasonal classic-in-waiting wherein Joe Elliott and the boys raise a glass to “all that’s past – and to the future, long may it last!” ’Nuff said.

Bryan Adams: Merry Christmas

Canadian rock icon Bryan Adams recorded an enduring festive song, “Christmas Time,” in 1985. He delivered a second in 2011, in the shape of this yearningly soulful, sleigh-bell-enhanced rock ballad.

Eric Clapton: White Christmas

The iconic guitarist’s new Happy Xmas album got off to a blistering start when it topped Billboard’s seasonal Holiday Albums Chart on release in October 2018. More than capable of warming the cockles is the record’s lead cut: an imperious, Chicago blues-style version of Bing Crosby’s enduring “White Christmas.”