O Holy Night

Up until...oh...about 5 years ago, my favorite version of this song was sung by country artist, John Berry. I can still remember the first time I heard it. It was about 6:30a.m., and I was en route to Columbus, Ohio for an early morning meeting in December. (This was waaaayyyy before fate/destiny/God's incredibly wicked sense of humor dumped me in Cincinnati.) It was pitch-black dark, not a star in the sky, nor a headlight on the roadway to light my way besides my own...and then this song came on the radio. It was beautiful...almost surreal.

I was familiar with John Berry and loved his voice, but this was the first time I had heard his rendition of "O Holy Night" and it nearly brought me to tears. When it was over, the DJ came on and said, "That's Mr. John Berry, folks. The best voice in country music today." I had to agree with him...it was memorable.

Flash forward several years to Cincinnati, Ohio. Once again, I'm in my car, only this time I'm headed over to Hyde Park to pick up lunch. It's Christmastime and I'm listening to the radio when "O Holy Night" begins...only I'm not sure who the artist is. All I remember is, I was so mesmerized by the sheer power, the incredible beauty and passion of the singer's voice that I started crying. I mean I was blubbering like a fool to the point I thought I was going to have to pull over to the curb and compose myself. And that was my introduction to one Josh Groban, only I didn't know for sure that he was the one singing at the time.

A few days later, I was sitting at my desk when Abby (a former employee) walked into my office. It just so happened that the song was once again playing on the radio in the background, and I had tears streaming down my face. (I can't help it...to this day the song/his voice brings tears to my eyes.) I started laughing and told her not to worry, I was okay, I was just a big ol' sappy girl. Anyway, I explained how I had reacted when I first heard the song and that I believed it was Josh Groban, but wasn't sure because...even though I had heard of him, I wasn't certain if I had actually heard anything he'd recorded.

Abby confirmed that was indeed Josh Groban's dulcet tones wafting through the air in my office, and, as luck would have it, she owned a couple of his CDs. Well, she loaned them to me, I listened, and I was hooked. The young man has an incredible voice. In fact, three years ago last March, I saw him in concert...second row seats, center stage, mind you...and it was fantastic. Hands down...if not the BEST concert I've ever attended...it's definitely in the top three, but that's another story for another time.

So, this brings me to the last of my posts on Christmas carols/songs. I'm not saying that "O Holy Night" is my all time favorite, but it certainly is a beautifully haunting melody; especially as performed by these two artists. Oh, Celine Dion does a pretty terrific version as well. There are other carols that deserve an honorable mention, such as: "White Christmas," "Silent Night," "Away In A Manger," and I happen to enjoy one Mr. Bruce Springsteen's kick-ass rendition of "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." But then I suppose that will give me something to blog about this time next year.

"O Holy Night" by John Berry

The John Berry video was posted on YouTube by packfan1999.

"O Holy Night" by Josh Groban

YouTube vid by minmelethuireb2. Merry Christmas everyone.