Every song has a Pa. connection on this holiday playlist

You may not know it (yet), but lots of holiday earworms have the work of a Pennsylvanian — or several — behind them.

From 19th-century religious hymns to covers of Christmas classics by some of the commonwealth’s best known musicians, PA Local’s holiday playlist spans genres and decades.

The songs in this collection are all performed by Pennsylvanians, and many are also written by people who have lived in the commonwealth. And in some cases, those songwriters drew direct inspiration from their experiences in the state.

Find the list below, along with explanations of each track’s Pennsylvania connection. You can hear each song by clicking its title — or you can listen to the full playlist on Spotify or YouTube.

🧚 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: “The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: IIb. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” – We start with this timeless symphonic classic, played by an ensemble with a history that spans well over a century. William Steinberg, who served as PSO’s music director for over two decades, conducts in this 1960s recording.

❄️ Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: “Winter Wonderland” – Not only is this rendition performed by one of the most popular Philly soul groups of its time, the original song is the work of a Pennsylvanian. Inspired by the wintry charm of his hometown Honesdale in Wayne County, songwriter Richard Smith penned the classic song while in a tuberculosis sanatorium in Scranton in 1934.

🥳 Train: “Shake Up Christmas” – Train has roots in California, but you can hear plenty of Erie’s Pat Monahan — the group’s lead singer — on this poppy 2010 track, which he co-wrote.

📖 The Philly Specials ft. Travis Kelce: “Fairytale Of Philadelphia” – Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson teamed up with area musicians to make a trio of holiday albums between 2022 and 2024, and this reinterpretation of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” makes some key if-you-know-you-know lyric changes that Philly locals can appreciate.

☃️ Mainstreet Brass: “Frosty the Snowman” – A Lehigh Valley-based brass quintet tackles a winter mainstay, which has a Pennsylvania tie of its own — writer Jack Rollins was born in Scottdale, Westmoreland County (but moved to West Virginia as a toddler).

❤️‍🔥 Billie Holiday: “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” – This isn’t explicitly a holiday song, but Philly native Billie Holiday’s cover has a wintry sound.

🥁 Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell: “Jingle Bell Rock” – I bet you can’t help but get up and dance (or at least bop a little) as you listen to this lively jam from two South Philadelphia-raised rockers.

🎶 Patti LaBelle: “Christmas Jam” – If “Jingle Bell Rock” didn’t already do it, this groovy track from the Philadelphia-born R&B icon and current Montgomery County resident will rouse you to your feet.

🎄 Taylor Swift: “Christmas Tree Farm” – One of Berks County’s most notable luminaries alludes heavily to her Pennsylvania upbringing on a Christmas tree farm in Cumru Township on this upbeat original from 2019.

🕎 The Philly Specials ft. Lil Dicky & Howie Roseman: “The Dreidel Song (Hanukkah Edition)” – Yes, this is another Philly Specials song, but they are (arguably) an institution. Eagles executive Howie Roseman and Lil Dicky, a rapper with Montgomery County roots, join the singing football players for this rockabilly rendition of “I Have a Little Dreidel.”

👑 Philadelphia Orchestra: “We Three Kings of Orient Are” – Eugene Ormandy, who worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra for over four decades, conducts in this 1960s recording of a 19th century carol written by Pittsburgh-born John Henry Hopkins, who also once served as rector at a Lycoming County church.

✝️ Marian Anderson: “Ave Maria” – Hearing Anderson’s beautiful performance of a Franz Schubert staple will help you understand why this famed South Philly contralto made it into the history books. She sang this as the closer at her historic Lincoln Memorial concert in 1939.

🥧 Perry Como: “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays” – Although the songwriters behind it were New Yorkers, this twinkly 1954 track — sung by Washington County-born Como — shouts out “Pennsylvania, and some homemade pumpkin pie.”

🎅 The Philly Specials & Mt. Joy: “Santa Drives an Astrovan” – Forgive me, they’re just that good. Here, Mt. Joy, an indie quintet with Chester County roots and a Valley Forge peak as their namesake, join Kelce on this folksy original song for the final Philly Specials album.

✨ B.E. Taylor: “Little Town of Bethlehem (Live)” – In this recording of a live performance in Pittsburgh, the Aliquippa native plays his rock-infused interpretation of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” a carol written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks, a pastor at a church overlooking Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square.

🎆 Teddy Pendergrass: “Happy Kwanzaa” – Backed by a choir, the North Philly-raised soul and R&B singer celebrates the holiday and its principles on this funky 1998 cut from his final studio album, This Christmas (I’d Rather Have Love).

💭 Boyz II Men: “Who Would Have Thought” – The vocal harmony group, formed at a Philly performing arts high school in the 1980s, gets endearingly sappy on this 1993 holiday love song, which was co-written by member Wanya Morris.

🕊️ Leslie Odom Jr.: “Heaven & Earth” – This sweet holiday ballad is both performed and co-written by the Broadway star, whose Pennsylvania bona fides include being raised in Philly and attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

🌟 The Bach Choir of Bethlehem: “Long Ago in Bethlehem” – What’s a Pennsylvania holiday playlist without an overt reference to our very own Christmas City? This hymn — which refers to the Bethlehem of the Middle East — is performed by a Bethlehem, Pa.-based ensemble that claims the title of America’s oldest Bach choir.

👶 Daryl Hall & John Oates: “No Child Should Ever Cry on Christmas” – Oates, who was raised in Montgomery County, penned this cheery song for the pop rock duo, who first met each other in 1967 when they were both students at Temple University.

🔔 Straight No Chaser: “Silver Bells” – One of the minds behind this 1951 showtune, Jay Livingston, hailed from McDonald in Washington County. Plus, on this swinging acapella version, you can hear two more Pennsylvanians: Walter Chase and Jerome Collins, who both grew up in the Lehigh Valley.

💔 Jim Croce: “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way” – Crooning about lost love (with bells in the background, of course) is a pillar of Christmas songs, and this pining original — both written and performed by Philly-born and Delco-raised Croce — beautifully upholds the tradition.

🍾 Sabrina Carpenter: “is it new years yet?” – If Carpenter, who was born and raised near Allentown, didn’t make it onto your musical radar until she put out “Espresso” last year, you might’ve missed this grinchy track from her 2023 holiday EP, Fruitcake.

🔥 Christina Aguilera: “The Christmas Song” – As the playlist draws to a close, enjoy this Christmas classic covered by Aguilera, who lived in the Pittsburgh area before she joined The Mickey Mouse Club in the ’90s.

🎁 John Coltrane: “My Favorite Things” – The Sound of Music doesn’t actually mention Christmas, but it has become associated with the holiday in part because ABC regularly airs it in December. On this instrumental rendition of the film’s iconic song, the famous Philly saxophonist and his band imbue the staple with a gentle swing. It’s a delightful cap to this festive playlist. (And there’s another Pennsylvania connection: the iconic lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein II, who lived on a farm in Bucks County.)