Merry Christmas, everybody! Today’s classic song of the day is a Christmas classic from singer/guitarist José Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad.” Released in November of 1970, just in time for the holidays, this one made it all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a top forty hit in countries all around the world.
“Feliz Navidad” (that’s “Merry Christmas” in Spanish) is a little cheesy and poppy, but it’s good hearted and has an appealing melody. Mr. Feliciano’s guitar work moves this one along at a good pace and gives it an exuberant holiday feel. I’m sure you heard this one a lot during the run-up to Christmas—I attended four holiday concerts last week and “Feliz Navidad” was played or sung at three of them.
Despite that ubiquity, “Feliz Navidad,” which José Feliciano both wrote and performed, is still one of my holiday favorites. It kind of has to be.
Here’s what Mr. Feliciano remembers about writing the song, when he was in L.A. and his family members were either in New York City or his native Puerto Rico:
“It was expressing the joy that I felt on Christmas and the fact that I felt very lonely. I missed my family, I missed Christmas carols with them. I missed the whole Christmas scene.”
And just in case you want to know what Mr. Feliciano is singing during the Spanish-language sections, here’s a translation:
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year and happiness
Simple but heartfelt.
Even though I’ll always prefer Mr. Feliciano’s original, I also like country singer Kacey Musgraves’ 2016 cover, which has a pretty cool mariachi vibe. That one’s your daily bonus video of this Christmas day. Feliz Navidad, everybody!
