[kestrelx]

Suprised no one's mentioned Greg Lake died of cancer on 7th December and left us with at least one song (though he didn't write the lyrics) that will be remembered universally as classic Christmas record, that probably would have been Christmas number 1 but for Queen and "Bohemian Rhapsodomy!"...



Lake wrote the song at his West London home, after tuning the bottom string of his guitar from E down to D.[3] The song is often misinterpreted as an anti-religious song and, because of this, Lake was surprised at its success. He explained in a Mojo magazine interview:

"I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season'. Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance. And I do believe in Father Christmas."

The instrumental riff between verses comes from the "Troika" portion of Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé Suite, written for the 1934 Soviet film Lieutenant Kijé;[4] this was added at the suggestion of Keith Emerson(an adaptation of the same song was used on Emerson's later Christmas album). Sinfield described the song as "a picture-postcard Christmas, with morbid edges."[5]