Eye of the Storm
Peace on earth, good will toward men
Robbis Storm

Heard any good Christmas carols lately? I mean new ones?

Miriam and I have several stacks of CDs by everyone from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Elvis Presley. As we listen, one thing that strikes me is this fact: almost all of the Christmas music we love was written before 1970 -- almost 40 years ago.

Now you expect religious music to be older -- many of our traditional church carols have been handed down for ages. But it seems strange that much of our best secular Christmas music was written way back in the 1940s and '50s.

For example -- just two entertainers, one a crooner and the other a cowboy, have done as much as anyone I know to put their stamp on today's non-religious holiday music.

When you think of Gene Autry (b. 1907) you probably think of country-western classics like "Back in the Saddle Again," or "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine." But a different Gene Autry comes across in his children's songs.

Even though he didn't actually write "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949) or "Frosty the Snowman" (1950) his warm, drawling baritone introduced both to the public.

He did write "Here Comes Santa Claus" in 1947. These three, plus his recording of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," still set the standard for children's Christmas music.

If Autry's Christmas music is cheerful and upbeat, the other singer who did so much to shape our image of the Yule season is the opposite -- sad and soulful.

Bing Crosby (b. 1903) sang for adults, not children. When you consider the time frame it makes sense that his two most popular holiday songs evoke a longing for hearth and home.

Crosby first sang "White Christmas" in 1942 -- one of the bleakest years in our country's history. The tide of war had yet to turn as the U.S. fought desperately against fascists, Nazis and Japanese Imperialists.

A year later he introduced his second big holiday hit, "I'll be Home for Christmas."

As we listen to those songs today, we can only imagine their impact on the 16 million American men and women who were locked in a life-or-death struggle, far from home.

No doubt it was easier to sweat it out in a South Pacific jungle when you could hear Crosby's velvet voice and the words, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas -- just like the ones I used to know."

And I'd guess a dirty foxhole seemed a little less grungy if you could hum along with, "I'll be home for Christmas -- if only in my dreams."

You have to think that Mel Torme's 1944 "The Christmas Song," with the opening words, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ..." must also have given comfort to many a lonely soldier.

Not all the music from World War II was somber or sad.

It was also in 1944 that school teacher Donald Gardner asked the children in his music class what they wanted from Santa. Their answers were varied, of course, but Gardner noticed that when most of the kids replied they spoke with a lisp. They were of an age when virtually every one of them was missing a tooth or two.

You can guess what happened. It took Gardner all of 30 minutes to pen what's become another seasonal classic: "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."

Years later he would say, "I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country."

Unfortunately, my age group -- the rock 'n' roll generation -- hasn't contributed much to Christmas music. But at least one rockabilly song has. Bobby Helms couldn't have guessed his "Jingle Bell Rock" would sell over 100 million copies.

Brenda Lee's "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" is still played today, and of course Elvis Presley's version of "Blue Christmas" may well live forever. Then there's Jose' Feliciano's 1970 "Feliz Navidad."

All in all, the music we listen to this time of year is not the music of today. As I said, most of it is at least 60 years old.

Our religious music harks back to the birth of Jesus and the beginning of the Christian era. And maybe we want our secular tunes to also take us back to a different time.

Maybe it makes sense that so much of our bestloved Christmas music came either out of World War II or its immediate aftermath. After all, that was a time when, more than ever, our planet needed love. We were desperate for hope. We were in dire need of that first Christmas message.

It's a message we need to hear again -- right now: "Peace on Earth and good will toward men." All men.

A former Lampasan, Robbis Storm is a world traveler and restaurateur. He can be contacted via e-mail at RStorm453@aol.com.