Christmas is a joyous season when we all come together, laugh, and share gifts. It's also a season of happiness, good vibes, and cheerful tunes that most of us enjoy. However, some of the classics, like tunes from Mariah Carey and Bing Crosby, have become incredibly overplayed.

While these are great songs that undoubtedly capture the spirit of Christmas, they're certainly not the only cheerful tunes you can listen to this Christmas season.

Today, we'll explore alternatives to these overused songs, dive deeper into some of the best classic rock Christmas songs, and examine their lyrics.

In this article
    1. 🎁Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry
    2. 🎉Little Saint Nick – The Beach Boys
    3. 🎄Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon
    4. 🎈Last Christmas – Wham!
    5. 🎅Thank God It's Christmas – Queen
    6. 🎄Christmas (Baby Come Home Please) – U2
    7. 🎅Santa Claws Is Coming to Town – Alice Cooper
    8. ❄White Christmas – Iggy Pop
    9. 🎀Linus and Lucy – Foo Fighters
    10. 🎄White Christmas – Eric Clapton
    11. 🎊We All Need Christmas – Def Leppard
    12. 🎁 Merry Christmas – Bryan Adams

Why Are Christmas Rock Songs So Iconic & Powerful?

Trust us, we know! Hearing Mariah Carey's “All I Want For Christmas Is You” can get tiresome after all these years. It might even feel like every store, commercial, and radio station has been playing this classic Christmas tune non-stop for the last 30 years. Fortunately, there's plenty of diversity in the Christmas music section.

Believe it or not, rock and roll and Christmas make a great pair, and many rock legends have made Christmas rock songs or adapted their existing music to fit the spirit of Christmas. With some marketing, loyal fans, and rock spirit, a few Christmas tunes have become as iconic and influential as Bing Crosby's Christmas song.

Our List of Top Christmas Rock Songs

Instead of wasting any more of your time, we'll jump straight to the point – Christmas rock music. Below is a list of some of the best-ever Christmas rock songs.

🎁Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry

Christmas miracles would be impossible without Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, which is the central theme of this song. Here, Chuck Berry encourages the hard-working reindeer to deliver all the appointed presents in time, so this hit from the late 1950s is still one of the most popular Christmas rock songs.

"Run, run, Rudolph, Santa has to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run, Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round "

🎉Little Saint Nick – The Beach Boys

This song by The Beach Boys will effortlessly elevate your Christmas euphoria, making it a must-have on every holiday rock playlist. Little Saint Nick has constantly made top lists during the holiday season and continues to deliver the same thrill even 60 years later.

"Run, run, reindeer
Run, run, reindeer (Woah, woah-oh)
Run, run, reindeer
Run, run, reindeer
He don't miss no one "

🎄Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon

While advocating for world peace, John Lennon and Yoko Ono created a Christmas hit that brought joy into every rocker's home. During the harshest times of war, these two lovebirds made a potent Christmas tune called Happy Xmas (War Is Over), whose power you'll feel upon your first listen.

"A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear"

🎈Last Christmas – Wham!

Although Last Christmas' lyrics may not be very festive, the vibes are undoubtedly there. This song by Wham! constantly makes the top of every Christmas season chart. Whether you're going through heartbreak or want to elevate your Christmas mood, Last Christmas is an excellent choice.

"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special "

🎅Thank God It's Christmas – Queen

Thank God It's Christmas is one of those songs that will make you forget all your problems. Here, Queen encourages you to enjoy the holidays with your loved ones and leave the bad days behind. If you need an escape from reality, add this to your playlist.

"Thank God it's Christmas, yeah
Thank God it's Christmas
Thank God it's Christmas
Can it be Christmas?
Let it be Christmas
Every day"

🎄Christmas (Baby Come Home Please) – U2

Christmas is the time of year when you gather all of your loved ones and share joy. However, if you're missing someone this holiday season, U2 undoubtedly understands. This song is about celebrating Christmas without the one you love and will hit you hard but also make you feel joy as you're understood.

"(Christmas) The snow's coming down
(Christmas) I'm watching it fall
(Christmas) Watching the people around
(Christmas) Baby, please come home"

🎅Santa Claws Is Coming to Town – Alice Cooper

With this play on words, Alice Cooper wanted to remind people that although Santa rewards the good kids, he punishes the naughty ones. You should give this Christmas hit a listen if you want a festive rock holiday, but remember to be good unless you want to feel Santa's claws.

"So you better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claws is coming to town
To town!"

❄White Christmas – Iggy Pop

When you think of Christmas, you probably imagine snow, ornaments, and lights. If that's what you're after and you like the idea of a traditional, white Christmas, this song by Iggy Pop will undoubtedly contribute to the atmosphere.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And children listen"

🎀Linus and Lucy – Foo Fighters

If you don't need lyrics to have fun and want to rock on with Christmas rock music, Foo Fighters have something for you. “Linus and Lucy” is filled with Christmas motifs like bells, making it the perfect holiday hit.

🎄White Christmas – Eric Clapton

Another traditional, popular tune that'll take you a couple of years back is White Christmas by Eric Clapton. The melody and vocals feel nostalgic, elevating the song's central theme and message. You'll undoubtedly feel as if you aren't living in this era.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow "

🎊We All Need Christmas – Def Leppard

Christmas is one of the happiest times of the year, and Def Leppard knows that everyone needs a happy place. Find something that makes you jolly, and find your happy place while listening to this catchy Christmas rock song.

"They may be gone but, for those we've lost along the way
They may be gone but, they still remain, in our hearts in our name "

🎁 Merry Christmas – Bryan Adams

If you're looking for a Christmas rock song with all of the holiday's central motifs, Merry Christmas by Bryan Adams is a must-listen. It combines traditional and modern Christmas traditions, making it ideal for all generations.

"Oh it's snowin' and it's blowin'
So let's stay here by the fire
I'm sending lots of Christmas cheer
This season and throughout the year "

Bonus: How to Recover Your Favorite Songs if You Accidentally Delete Them

Although music is now easily accessible online, most of us store our favorite songs and playlists on our computers and phones for convenience and offline access. Many of us also forget to back up our music folders, thinking that nothing can go wrong – but things do go wrong.

Accidental file deletion, system crashes, interrupted transfers, and failing disk drives are all common issues that can lead to data loss. That's why regular backups of your vital files are crucial. However, you're not helpless, even if you've forgotten to back up your data, as you can use dedicated data recovery tools like Wondershare Recoverit.

Wondershare Recoverit
  • Manages over 500 data loss situations, such as audio deletion, formatting, and disk corruption.
  • The user-friendly interface allows you to recover data in just a few clicks.
recoverit boxrecoverit logo

Whether you've encountered a virus that scrambled your favorite Christmas rock music, experienced a fatal disk drive error or a system crash, or accidentally deleted your songs, it can retrieve your files.

While we're positive you can find your way around the intuitive interface, below are detailed step-by-step instructions for using Wondershare Recoverit to quickly and efficiently retrieve your favorite Christmas rock songs. Here's how you can do it:

  1. Open Wondershare Recoverit, choose the Hard Drives and Locations option and click the disk drive with your Christmas rock songs.
    open wondershare recoverit
  2. Wondershare Recoverit automatically begins scanning for lost data on the selected disk drive.
    scan for lost christmas rock music
  3. You can add filters to help Wondershare Recoverit scan for specific files.
    modify the scan filters
  4. Users can also add keywords, which help look for specific data.
    add keywords for a quicker scan
  5. Wondershare Recoverit allows users to preview the discovered files before recovering them.
    preview the found music files
  6. If satisfied with the data it found or the files you've previewed, you can pause or stop the scan and save the files to your PC. Alternatively, you can let Wondershare Recoverit complete the scan operation.
    save recovered christmas rock songs

In addition to Christmas rock music and other songs, Wondershare Recoverit can retrieve documents, photos, and videos of all sizes and types, as the app supports over 1,000 file types. It also works wonders with over 2,000 storage devices, including internal disk drives, USBs, external storage devices, NAS, etc.

Conclusion

The Christmas season is often filled with cheerful tunes that capture the holiday spirit and elevate your joy. However, hearing the same songs every Christmas can quickly become maddening, so we've created a list of alternatives, focusing primarily on Christmas rock songs.

From Chuck Berry's iconic Run Rudolph Run from the 1950s to Def Leppard's powerful We All Need Christmas and Bryan Adams' Merry Christmas, these songs are worth adding to your playlist or saving to your computer if you're a fan of rock and roll.

Remember to back these songs up so you can keep the playlist forever. Otherwise, you'll have to use a data recovery tool like Wondershare Recoverit to retrieve your tunes and get into the Christmas spirit with your favorite music.

Wondershare Recoverit
  • Manages over 500 data loss situations, such as audio deletion, formatting, and disk corruption.
  • The user-friendly interface allows you to recover data in just a few clicks.
recoverit boxrecoverit logo
Alex Nappi
Alex Nappi Sep 23, 24
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