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Christmas Hit Songs
Christmas Hits
RED: "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"
WHITE: "White Christmas"
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Christmas Hit Songs
by
A Classic Christmas Trio
Gene , Bing and Elvis...all three known by their first name,
and all legends in their own time.Each of them had Christmas hit songs that continue to sell today.
It's mostly because of them, and also the songwriters who wrote them,
that Christmas songs from the 1940s and '50s have remained popular today.When else would you hear such vintage songs on the radio today?
Like retailers who depend so much on big consumer spending, the record companies have tried to use their top selling artists on Christmas albums.
It's the time of year when every singer can share in Christmas cheer and add extra royalty cash. That isn't exactly a new idea.
Three of the most popular Chrustmas records of the 1940s and '50s have the colors of...
RED, WHITE and BLUE
in their titles....
"RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER" (1949)
Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus
Gene Autry was one of themost popular singing cowboys from movies and television. Besides his many popular western hits, like "Back in the Saddle Again" and "You Are My Sunshine," Gene also recorded several perennial Christmas song classics.
The most popular one was " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," written by songwriter Johnny Marks in 1949. The lyrics were based on a story by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Millions of copies of May's story were given away as gifts during the 1940's by Montgomery Ward department stores.
The original story draft was given to Dartmouth College in 1958.
Just one year after Gene's classic recording of " Rudolph", it became a million-seller. By 1970, this recording had sold over 60 million copies, making it the second best-selling Christmas song after "White Christmas."
Another song recorded by Gene was one he co-wrote with Oakley Haldeman, "Here Comes Santa Claus." It had sold a million copies by 1950. Gene explained that he got the idea for the song after seeing young children shouting out as Santa Claus appraoched during a parade. You can hear Gene tell the story on this recommended CD:
The Christmas Cowboy - Gene Autry
Other recommended CDs by Gene are:
The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Classics
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (2 CDs)
The granddaddy of this singer trio was Bing Crosby, who recorded the best-selling single Christmas record of all time.
Even though he was the most popular singer of the first half of the 20th century, it wasn't until he recorded this Christmas song that he became world famous.
His classic 78 rpm Decca recording of "White Christmas" was made in May of 1942, not in season, but like most holiday records it was made months ahead of time.
This song was originally just one of the songs in the delightful and highly enjoyable movie, HOLIDAY INN (1942), starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Irving Berlin wrote all the songs for the movie, one for each holiday of the year -- an amazing achievement since they are ALL good songs. Yet none of them had the lasting appeal of his Christmas classic.
Bing Crosby first recorded "White Christmas" with the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter's Orchestra on Decca Records.
Five years later in 1947, "White Christmas" and seven other songs were released on an album of 78 RPM records. The songs were transferred to one 10-inch disc in 1954, selling a million copies by 1956.
Four more songs were added when the 12-inch LP, titled Merry Christmas, came out in 1963. This album includes such Christmas carols as "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fidelis," along with popular favorites like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (joined by The Andrews Sisters). The LP is now the largest selling Christmas album of all time and titled simply,
You can also get the original Bing Crosby version on this compilation CD:
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits: 1935-1954
Just about every singer since Bing has taken their shot with "White Christmas." These include Bing's successor, Frank Sinatra, and even the popular 50's doo-wop group, The Drifters, available on this CD:
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits: 1955-Present
Another singer who sang "White Christmas" was Elvis Presely, who recorded the song with the Jordanaires in 1957.
And that leads to the third Christmas hit...
Just ten years after the milestone 78 RPM record of "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, RCA released their first Elvis Christmas LP. Surprisingly, it wasn't an immediate million seller. It took until 1963 for it to reach that sales milestone.
One of the songs from that 1957 album did become a hit, "Blue Christmas." This wasn't a new song, having been written in 1945 by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson. Among the mixture of twelve traditional carols and songs on Elvis' Christmas Album are four recorded earlier by Bing and Gene:
"Here Comes Santa Claus," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," "Silent Night,"
and "White Christmas."This just shows how the Christmas songs made popular by Bing and Gene were continued with Elvis.
It's like the musical torch being passed along from the radio crooner and the cowboy singer to the younger kid with sideburns and acoustic guitar, who probably listened to them both on radio when he was growing up.
Most recommended Christmas CD by Elvis Presley:
If Every Day Was Like Christmas
White Christmas (sung by Bing Crosby, 1947)
A few years ago, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) published the 25 most performed holiday songs.
ASCAP President, Marilyn Bergman, said that most of these holiday songs "have been recorded in renditions by artists in every genre, yet each song retains the original stamp of its creators."
This list of Top 25 Christmas Hits includes one or two of the most popular recordings...
+ = 75th anniversary in 2009
++ = 60th anniversary in 2009
+++ = 50th anniversary in 2008
1. WHITE CHRISTMAS (1942/ 1947) -- words & music by Irving Berlin
Best known recording: Bing Crosby with Ken Darby Singers and John Scott trotter Orchestra - first recorded 29 May 1942; and the version heard today was recorded on 19 March 1947 for Decca Records/ Elvis Presley (RCA Victor)2. +SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (1934) -- words & music by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
Best known recording: Bing Crosby and The Andrew Sisters (Decca/ MCA)3. THE CHRISTMAS SONG (1946) -- words: Robert Wells/ music: Mel Torme
Best known recording: Nat King Cole (Capitol)
4. +WINTER WONDERLAND (1934) -- words: Dick Smith/ music: Felix Bernard
Best known recording: Johnny Mathia (Columbia)5. ++RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1949) --
words & music by Johnny Marks
Best known recording: Gene Autry with The Pinafores (Columbia)6. SLEIGH RIDE (1950) -- words: Mitchell Parrish/ music: Leroy Anderson
Best known recordings: Johnny Mathis (Columbia)/ The Boston Pops (RCA)7. HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (1944) -- words & music by
Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin. From musical film, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS.
Best known recordings: Judy Garland (Decca)/ Frank Sinatra (Columbia)8. SILVER BELLS (1951) -- words: Ray Evans/ music: Jay Livingston
From the comedy film, THE LEMON DROP KID with Bob Hope
Best known recording: Bing Crosby and Carole Richards (Decca)9. LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! (1945) -- words: Sammy Cahn/
music: Jule Styne
Best known recording: Vaughan Monroe (RCA Victor)10. +++THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY -- words & music: Katharine K. Davis (1940)/arranged by Henry Onerati and Harry Simeone (1958)
Best known recording: The Harry Simeone Chorale (RCA Victor)11. JINGLE BELL ROCK (1957) -- words & music by Joseph Beal & James Boothe
Best known recording: Bobby Helms (Decca)12. I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (1943) -- words & music by Kim Gannon,
Walter Kent, and Buck Ram
Best known recordings: Bing Crosby (Decca)/ Elvis Presley (RCA Victor)13. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (1950) -- words: Walter E. Rollins/
music: Steve E. Nelson
Best known recording: Gene Autry
14. BLUE CHRISTMAS (1948) --
words & music by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson
Best known recordings: Ernest Tubb and Elvis Presley (RCA Victor)15. CAROL OF THE BELLS -- music by M. Leontovich/
arranged by Peter J. Wilhousky.
Best known recording: The Harry Simeone Chorale16. IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS (1951) -- words & music by Meredith Willson.
Best known recording: Perry Como and The Fontaine Sisters (RCA Victor)17. HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS (1947) -- words & music by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman. From THE COWBOYS AND THE INDIANS (1949)
Best known recording: Gene Autry18. (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE) HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1954) --
words: Robert Allen/ music: Al Stillman
Best known recording: Perry Como (RCA Victor)19. +++ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE (1958) - words & music by
Johnny Marks
Best known recording: Brenda Lee (Decca)20. I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS (1952) -- words & music by
Tommie Connor
Best known recording: Jimmy Boyd (Columbia)21. WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS (1966) -- words & music by Jerry Herman
From Broadway show, MAME.
Best known recording: Angela Lansbury and cast22. THE CHRISTMAS WALTZ (1954) -- words: Sammy Cahn/ music: Jule Styne
Best known recordings: Franck Sinatra/ Guy Lombardo23. +++THE CHIPMUNK SONG (CHRISTMAS DON'T DELAY)(1958) --
words & music by Ross Bagdasarian (aka: David Seville]
Best known recording: The Chipmunks24. FELIZ NAVIDAD (1970) -- words & music by Jose Feliciano
Best known recording: Jose Feliciano (RCA Victor)25. A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS (1962) -- words & music by Johnny Marks
Best known recording: Burl Ives (MCA)
Other AMP Links
A Century of American Songs (1759-1859)
A Century of American Songs (1861-1961)
Christmas Music in New England
Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and The New Year
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A Century of American Songs (1759-1859)
A Century of American Songs (1861-1961)
Christmas Music in New England
Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and The New Year
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