Woodbridge Singer-Songwriter Tommy Byrne Is Getting Coal For Christmas

Written By Mike Greenblatt
tommy byrne

There’s a new rock’n’roll Christmas song out there that rivals Chuck Berry’s great “Run Run Rudolph.” Tommy Byrne is a singer-songwriter from Woodbridge in Middlesex County and his “Coal For Christmas” rocks bigtime. Somewhere in the backup vocals towards the end of the tune, you can (barely) hear the legendary Gary “U.S.” Bonds, 84, who took “Quarter To Three” to the top of the charts in 1961. Byrne’s video for the song (watch below) does not include Bonds but is quite Jersey-centric. Byrne is donating part of the song’s proceeds to Stevie Van Zandt’s TeachRock organization.   

Byrne previously wrote and released “Christmas Means More This Year” during the pandemic (“after all that we’ve gone through, let’s thank God we’re here/It just feels like Christmas means a little more this year.” That benefitted, in part, Holiday Express in Eatontown. Before that, he wrote the autism anthem “Unstoppable.”

(Advertisement)

Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

Previous

Dean and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots To Participate at High Voltage Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp
Next

New Bon Jovi Song: Jon Puts Out First New Music in Almost Four Years