Acton COA: Holiday Music Presentation with Music Historian John Clark

Get into the spirit of the season with this presentation featuring classic holiday songs from the 50s and 60s! You’ll hear the stories behind It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Broadway composer Meredith Willson (of Music Man fame) and country star Willie Nelson’s Pretty Paper. Did you know that songwriter Johnny Marks had written three big hits during these years? Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee), A Holly Jolly Christmas (Burl Ives) and Run Rudolph Run (Chuck Berry)? And in the 1950s there were novelty songs galore like The Chipmunk Song, I’m Getting’ Nuttin’ for Christmas and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (which was used for a Saks Fifth Avenue advertising campaign). You’ll also see performance clips for This Time of the Year (Brook Benton), There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays (Perry Como), The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Andy Williams) and Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano).

Open to out-of-towners 60+ for $5