Christmas Is The Time To Say "I Love You"

You don't hear many Christmas songs with rowdy gang vocals, a sizzling guitar solo, and a bit of honky-tonk piano, but that's what Billy Squier delivered in 1981 with "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You." At first the song was merely a B-side, issued as the flip side of his single "My Kinda Lover," issued that November just in time for the holidays. There weren't many modern rock-and-roll Christmas songs back then, especially by American artists like Squier (he's from the Boston area), so many rock radio stations put it in their playlists for some festive flavor. Squier's label responded by releasing it as an A-side single with a kazoo-cover of "White Christmas" on the B-side. The song never charted but holds a place as one of the best-loved rock Christmas songs.

Looking at the title, you would peg this as a sappy song Celine Dion would put on one of her Christmas albums, but it's low on sentimentality and high on festivity, with a party vibe throughout the song. It also branches out from a lot of the Christmas clichés, so no mistletoe or sleigh bells. There are carolers, but also some musical stocking stuffers like "moonlight and brandy, sweet talk and candy."

1981 was a good year for Billy Squier. His album Don't Say No landed hits with "The Stroke," "In the Dark," "Lonely Is The Night" and "My Kinda Lover." He had plenty to celebrate when he put out "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" at the end of the year.