The Top Christmas Songs of All-Time, December 4

We serve up eight holiday delights for you in Day Four!

 

 "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

by Bing Crosby

Bing took this Christmas song written in 1943 to honor members of the military who were overseas and achieved a Top 10 hit with it.  

"12 Days Of Christmas"

by John Denver & the Muppets

The song, generally thought to be of French in origin, could have began as a Twelfth Night game, in which a leader cited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader then added a verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake. That person would then pay a penalty, such as offering a kiss or a sweet, or simply dropping out of the game. "The 12 Days of Christmas" was first published in 1780 in England. 

It has been performed by hundreds of different artists and often is annoying because of the repetitive nature.  But when John Denver hosted The Muppets Show in 1976 and did this song with Jim Henson's characters, that version gave it enough of a twist to become one of the favorite versions (if not the favorite).

"Santa Tell Me"

by Ariana Grande

This modern-day classic, co-written by Grande, reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

 "Joy To The World"

by Pentatonix

This amazing group began when Kirstin Maldonado, Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying were classmates at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas.  The three began performing before going their separate ways--Hoying pursued a degree in Popular Music Performance at the University of Southern California while Maldonado majored in Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma.

Hoying was encouraged to audition for the NBC show, The Sing-Off, and persuaded Maldonado and Grassi to join him.  Through a mutual friend, Hoying met Avi Kaplan, a talented bass singer and, wanting a "beatboxer", they discovered Kevin Olusoloa on YouTube. 

   

 

 ^{"Step Into Christmas"}

by Elton John

This was written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in 1973.  Billboard's policy at the time was not to include Christmas songs on its "Hot 100" chart, but the song did reach #1 on a special Christmas chart.  It is one of a select few new songs in the last 40 years to be included in this feature.

"Carol Of The Bells"

by John Williams

The song originated in the Ukraine as a pagan chant performed during the celebration of the New Year, which was in April.  When Christianity came to the Ukraine, the New Year's celebration was moved to January.   Composer Mykola Leontovych used the words of this chant in his song, which was adapted to English by Peter J. Wilhousky.

However, most versions of the song we now hear are instrumental, oddly enough.  One of the best is this one from John Williams.

 

 "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

by Band Aid

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure wrote this song in reaction to reports of the famine in Ethiopia from 1983-1985.  This song was recorded in one day at Sarm West Studios in London on November 25, 1984 by Band Aid, a group assembled by Geldof and Ure and consisting primarily of top British and Irish stars at the time.

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" rocketed to #1 for five weeks, sold a million copies the first week, and reached three million by the end of the year, on the way to becoming the top-selling single in U.K. history.

"White Christmas"

by the Drifters

The great Irving Berlin wrote this masterpiece, although there are differing accounts as to the time of the composition.  After writing it, Berlin told his secretary, "Grab your pen and take down this song.  I just wrote the best song I've ever written.  Heck, I've just written the best song anyone's ever written."  

Although Bing Crosby dominates the song on the airwaves today, this version is good enough to also make The Top 150 Christmas Songs*.  The Drifters hit #2 with it in 1954 and it made seven appearances on the chart through 1962.

Join us tomorrow for more of the greatest Christmas songs ever recorded!