Never has there been a more mundane and less-deserving Christmas “classic.” Not only are there multiple contemporary Christmas songs based upon the exact (or at least almost exact) same refrain, (the Eagles have one with the same hook, if I recall correctly) the composition offers not a single original or creative lyrical phrase or any fresh melodic content.

Consider the vivid lyrical imagery of “Winter Wonderland” or Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” or even “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” (secular seasonal songs, not necessarily Christmas songs per se.)

Mariah Carey is a great artist with an impressive catalog. “All I Want For Christmas is You” is not the composition she should be remembered for. And, yet, it is.

This injustice is almost as bad as rock n roll’s greatest wordsmith Chuck Berry having his biggest hit with the puerile, sophomoric “My Dingaling.” There’s no explaining the taste of the public at large.