Behind The Christmas Hits with Drew Savage

This week on Behind The Christmas Hits - Drew gives you a peek behind the curtain about what goes into making this podcast - and the story behind the Bryan Adams hit - Christmas Time! Bryan Joins to give the real story of the massively popular song - and Rob Thomas recalls how important the song is to him!

Pat Monahan from Train joins Behind the Christmas Hits with Drew Savage for exciting chat about the new version of ‘Christmas in Tahoe' album and all the new songs that have been added to it. Pat Monahan tells Drew the possible recipe for writing a Christmas hit. Pat chats about some of his favourite things to do during Christmas time. He shares more about the iconic album ‘Christmas in Tahoe' getting turned into a hallmark movie and how most of it was filmed in Canada. Pat uncovers his Mount Rushmore of Christmas music including some iconic hits from Donne Hathaway and Bing Crosby. Pat finally leaves us with what his plans are for end of year and hat’s next including ‘Train’ joining Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson on tour in 2026. #elfmovie #ChristmasinTahoe #ChristmasinTahoemovie #trainband #MattNathanson #BarenakedLadies

This week on Behind The Christmas Hits, Drew Savage is joined by Kevin Olusoa of Pentatonix to talk about their new holiday album Christmas in the City, working with Canadian Producer Dave Pierce - and how they managed to cover Frank Sinatra! Kevin Olusoa of Pentatonix tells Drew what songs Pentatonix has tried to cover with little success - and the different ways they approach different genres. Kevin Olusoa tells drew about how the plot of Netflix' Meet Me Next Christmas being centred around a Pentatonix concert. Pentatonix' Kevin Olusoa tells drew about how special it is to perform at Christmas time, and what Christmas is like in his family!

Taylor Momsen joins Drew Savage for a special edition of behind the Christmas Hits to talk about her new EP Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Christmas - including her all-new recording of Where Are You Christmas - Which features a duet with her 6 year old self! Taylor Momsen talks about 25 years of the 2000 Classic live action Grinch movie, and how many fond memories she has on set from those days as a child. Taylor Momsen talks about the tongue in cheek themes of 'Pretty Reckless Christmas' and reuniting with Jim Carrey at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame!

Some of the most popular animated characters of the last 60 years actually debuted in a Christmas song! This is the story of The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

The unauthorized use of one of the most famous characters in pop culture led to a future #1 Christmas Hit. This is the story behind Snoopy's Christmas by the Royal Guardsmen.

After getting kicked out of the studio during the sessions for one of the most revered Christmas albums ever, Brian Wilson would create a Christmas classic of his own. This is the story behind the Christmas hit 'Little Saint Nick' by The Beach Boys.

Pack Your Bags - We're going to the South Pacific to explore the sunniest Christmas Standard ever. This is the story of Mele Kalikimaka.

How did the melody to a 300 year old New Years Dance become one of the most famous Christmas Carols of all!? This is the story of Deck The Halls

This is a complicated one... and to complicate things even further - it began as a song that wasn't intended for anyone to hear!

Brought to you by Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone - Visit Planet Fitness at https://www.planetfitness.ca/ Mariah Carey is celebrating a milestone in 2024, but in this episode - we're going back to when Mariah was just becoming the Queen of Christmas! This is The Story of 'All I Want For Christmas is You'

Brought to you by Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone - Visit Planet Fitness at https://www.planetfitness.ca/ The boyband era of the late 90s gave us a bunch of original Christmas hits from groups like NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and the group that joins us for this episode, 98 Degrees! Nick, Drew, Justin, and Jeff are all here to talk about their Christmas hit, 'This Gift'! They join Drew Savage to talk about their Christmas album & their My2K Tour! They also share times when they hear their own song 'This Gift' in public!

Brought to you by Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone - Visit Planet Fitness at https://www.planetfitness.ca/ Ron Payne joins Drew Savage to talk about working with John Hughes on movies such as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and of course Home Alone. Ron Payne worked alongside Hughes as either his music supervisor or post production supervisor on those films. How shares how he came to work with John Hughs, the musical production & clips cut from the films!

Brought to you by Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone - Visit Planet Fitness at https://www.planetfitness.ca/ One of the most popular and unexpected new Christmas hits of 2024 is sung by a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and a future NFL Hall of Famer, but it was written by a Canadian. This is the story of Ron Sexsmith's 'Maybe This Christmas.' Drew Savage chats with Ron Sexsmith about the lyrics and meaning behind the song, what his childhood Christmas looked like & his favourite Christmas songs! He also shares the story about how Jason Kelce and Stevie Nicks discovered his song 'Maybe This Christmas'!

In the fall of 2000, Britney Spears was arguably the most famous person on the planet. Her first two albums sold a combined 47 million copies worldwide. Her second album, "Oops!... I Did It Again" was released in May of that year and by the fall, she was preparing to release her third single from that album. But she took a slight detour to record a Christmas song. This is the story of 'My Only Wish (This Year)'.

The Canadian legend Michael Bublé joins Drew Savage for a feature interview for Behind The Christmas Hits! They chat about Michael's personal inspiration behind the song, 'Maybe This Christmas' and the emotions he wants his fans to feel. Drew shows a clip of Phil Springer, the co-writer of 'Santa Baby' as Michael tells us the backstory of writing his interpretation of the song. Michael also talks all about what Christmas morning looks like in his home!

Before becoming a household name, one of the biggest artists of 2024 dropped a Christmas album. This is the story of Sabrina Carpenter's 'Fruitcake'.

The iconic Andrew Ridgeley sits down with Drew Savage for a feature interview for Behind The Christmas Hits! Andrew and Drew chat about writing the iconic Christmas hit at the late George Michael's House, which modern day covers he prefers, and going Christmas caroling as Wham!

If it wasn't for a broken organ in an Austrian Church, we never would have heard what would become the most recorded Christmas hit ever. This is the story of 'Silent Night'.

Johnny Mathis says its his favourite Holiday song to sing! It's time to learn the story behind the Christmas hit 'Sleigh Ride'.