“Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” - Bruce Springsteen (1981) #1 (1985 Christmas chart re-issue; 1 week)

It was written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1932, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and over 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. George Happle and the Hotel Taft Orchestra (featuring Sonny Schuyler on vocals) performed the earliest known recorded version of the song in 1934. It was mostly an instrumental except for a 35-second vocal by Schuyler. The version shown in the Variety charts of December 1934 was Harry Reser featuring Tom Stacks on vocal. The song was an obvious sheet music hit, reaching #1. Surprisingly, no 1934-recorded version achieved exceptional record sales. Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra also recorded the song on September 26, 1935. The Jackson 5’s 1970 version hit #1 on the Billboard Christmas chart in December of 1970 and again in December of 1971 (it also charted in 1973.) Springsteen’s “live” version was actually recorded on December 12, 1975 at C.W. Post College in Greenvale, New York; Columbia Records first released this version as a promotional single in 1981. It was re-released as the B-side of “My Hometown” in 1985, and it went to #1 on the Christmas chart. (more…)

“Jingle Bells” - The Singing Dogs (1955) #1 (1972 Christmas chart re-issue; 1 week)

“Jingle Bells” is probably one of the most performed and most recognizable Christmas songs every year. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and copyrighted under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” on September 16, 1857. The said song was meant for a Thanksgiving program at a church in Savannah, Georgia where Pierpont was organist. The song was so well accepted that it was again sung on Christmas day and since then became one of the most popular Christmas carols. In 1935, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra reached #18 with it on the Billboard Pop Singles chart; Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Ernie Caceres, and the Modernaires on vocals had a #5 hit with it in 1941; it charted at #19 by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1943; Les Paul had a #10 hit with a multi-tracked version on guitar in 1951; it charted at #74 by Perry Como in 1957; went to #21 by Ramsey Lewis in 1965 on the Christmas chart; at #20 by Booker T. & The MG’s in 1966 on the Christmas Chart; and in 2006, “American Idol 2” third-place finalist Kimberley Locke had a #1 hit with it on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (Santo & Johnny also went to #49 on the Hot 100 with it in 1960, but it was called “Twistin’ Bells.”) The most unusual (and most successful) version to chart though was this goofy tune by Don Charles, from Copenhagen, Denmark, who recorded a novelty version with four hound dogs barking to the melody of “Jingle Bells,” which sold a million copies as “The Singing Dogs.” (more…)

“Step Into Christmas” - Elton John (1973) #1 (Christmas chart; 1 week)

Elton John wrote the music for this song, while his long-time writing partner Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics, and it was released in 1973. It was originally released as a stand-alone single in 1973 with the B-Side “Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who’d Be a Turkey at Christmas),” and it peaked at #23 in the UK. Due to Billboard magazine editorial policy it was held off the Billboard Hot 100. It did, however, make #1 on the specially designated Christmas chart, and it appeared in the Cashbox Top 100 charts. It was later included as a bonus track on the 1995 remastered reissue of the 1974 album Caribou, even though it was released in the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road days (released in 1973.) It also appears on the albums Elton John’s Christmas Party, Rare Masters, To Be Continued, and The Best Christmas Album In The World…Ever! It was covered by the band The Wedding Present on their 1992 album Hit Parade II, Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers for their 2000 album Spectacular Christmas Party, Andrea McArdle on her 2003 album Family Christmas, and The Business for the 2007 MP3 various artists EP Bollocks to Christmas. (more…)

“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24″ - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1996) #1 (Christmas chart; 1 week)

What has become an instant Christmas classic is this hard rock song (one of only two hard rock songs on this list, the other one being the #34 song, “Christmas is the Time to Say ‘I Love You’” by Billy Squier) that fans of all musical genres and of all ages have accepted. It has an interesting background though. The progressive hard rock group Savatage formed in 1978 as Avatar, but were forced to change their name in 1983 to Savatage due to copyright issues with another band. In 1987, they started changing their style from a speed metal style to a symphonic metal style, largely influenced by their lead singer/keyboardist Jon Oliva and their new producer Paul O’Neill. (more…)

“Do You Hear What I Hear?” - Bing Crosby (1963) #2 (Christmas chart)

Noel Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Gloria Shayne Baker composed the Christmas carol’s music in October 1962. This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually Baker wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did on their classic children’s song “Rain Rain Go Away.” Regney was inspired to write the lyrics “Said the night wind to the little lamb, ‘Do you see what I see?’” and “Pray for peace, people everywhere,” after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New York City. Baker stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. “Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war at the time.” (more…)

“The Little Drummer Boy” - Lou Rawls (1967) #2 (Christmas chart)

Rawls’ version came off his 1967 album Merry Christmas Ho! Ho! Ho!, but the version that most people remember is the 1958 Harry Simeone Chorale version. Their version made it as high as #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart originally, but it re-charted on that chart every Christmas season between 1958 to 1962, until Billboard instituted the separate Christmas chart. (more…)

“Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy” - Buck Owens & His Buckaroos (1965) #2 (Christmas chart)

Owens wrote this song with his songwriting guitarist partner Don Rich in 1965 for his Christmas album Christmas with Buck Owens and His Buckaroos (it was re-issued on CD in 1999 on the Sundazed label.) Aside from a Del Reeves cover in 1966, it became an obscure hit until Garth Brooks revived it in 1992 for his Christmas album Beyond the Season. His version was re-released in 1998 and went to #56 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Since then, it has been become somewhat of a (mostly) country standard, having been covered by artists like Travis Tritt, The Tractors, The Shut-Ins, Reverend Horton Heat, Brad Paisley, Kelly Willis, The Refreshments, and more. (more…)

“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” - John and Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir (1971) #3 (Christmas chart)

The lyrics are based on a campaign in late 1969 by John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: “WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko.” The cities included New York, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Toronto, and some others. At the time the US was deeply entrenched in the unpopular Vietnam War. The line “War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!,” as sung by the background vocals, was taken directly from the billboards. The song’s melody has been compared to that of the folk standard known as “Stewball.” (more…)

“Little Saint Nick” - The Beach Boys (1963) #3 (Christmas chart)

Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote and originally performed the song as The Beach Boys. It was first released as a single in December 1963, reaching #3 on the Billboard Christmas charts, and then re-recorded for their 1964 album The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album. The song borrows its rhythm, structure, and car theme (”candy apple red with a 4-speed stick”) from the group’s 1963 hit “Little Deuce Coupe.” (An early alternate version of the song, utilizing the melody from their song “Drive-In,” was recorded for the album, but remained unreleased until a 1992 CD reissue.) (more…)

“Santa Claus and His Old Lady” - Cheech & Chong (1971) #3 (1972 Christmas chart re-issue)

As the only comedy routine on this Christmas Blog Countdown (as opposed to novelty songs, of which there are a few), this single was released independently in December of 1971. The B-side of the single was the comedy routine “Dave,” which appeared on their 1971 self-titled debut album. “Santa” itself never appeared on any Cheech & Chong album until 2002’s compilation album Where There’s Smoke, There’s Cheech & Chong. The routine made the Christmas chart at #4 in 1971, but it was re-released in 1972 and went to #3 (it went to #3 as well in 1973.) When the routine was released in 1994 on the Billboard Rock ‘N’ Roll Christmas compilation album, it made the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1998 at #38. Cheeh Marin sings the opening lines of the 1958 Christmas hit “¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? (Where is Santa Claus?)” by Spanish-born child actor Augie Rios at the beginning of the routine. (more…)