By Scott Westerman
In many markets, at least one station flips to all Christmas music on Thanksgiving. And every streaming service from Spotify to Amazon has deep playlists that feature both classic chestnuts and newer compositions by artists hoping to jump on the annual Christmas income bandwagon.
Christmas Music = Big Bucks
There’s no doubt that Christmas music is multi-billion dollar industry. Prezzybox has a royalty calculator that estimates the up-to-the-minute money song writers have taken home.
And the stories behind the greatest Christmas hits are often fascinating and serendipitous. The late David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian) created a sensation when he slowed down the tape recorder, recorded his voice and sped the tape up again. Alvin and the Chipmunks Greatest Christmas Hits charted in 1999, 41 years after The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) became a holiday smash and 27 years after Alvin’s creator passed away.
What’s on your Christmas List?
What are your favorite Christmas tunes? When my wife was putting together her list on Amazon Prime Unlimited, we got to talking about our all time Christmas faves. Casey Kasem recorded an All Time Christmas Countdown for his American Top 40 program in 1971. It’s vastly different than the latest Billboard iteration. How do they compare with your own calculations of the greatest Christmas hits? Let’s look at them both.
BTW.. The top selling single of all time is still Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”.
Here’s Billboard Magazine’s Take:
Look and Listen to the entire list
1 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU-Mariah Carey
2 IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR-Andy Williams
3 JINGLE BELL ROCK-Bobby Helms
4 ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Brenda Lee
5 A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS-Burl Ives
6 Nat King Cole – THE CHRISTMAS SONG-Nat King Cole
7 RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER-Gene Autry
8 LAST CHRISTMAS-Wham!
9 LET IT SNOW-Dean Martin
10 HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS-Gene Autry
11 SLEIGH RIDE-The Ronettes
12 FELIZ NAVIDAD-Jose Feliciano
13 (THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE) HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-Perry Como
14 WHITE CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
15 IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS-Perry Como
16 BLUE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley
17 IT’S COLD OUTSIDE-Dean Martin Baby
18 IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS-Michael Buble
19 WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME-Paul McCartney
20 UNDERNEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Kelly Clarkson
American Top 40 All Time Christmas Countdown December 25, 1971
01. WHITE CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
02. RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER-Gene Autry
03. LITTLE DRUMMER BOY-Harry Simeone Chorale
04. THE CHRISTMAS SONG-Nat King Cole
05. JINGLE BELL ROCK-Bobby Helms
06. SILVER BELLS-Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely
07. WINTER WONDERLAND-Ray Conniff Orchestra & Chorus
08. SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN-Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
09. BLUE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley
10. THE CHIPMUNK SONG-Chipmunks
11. JINGLE BELLS-Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
12. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN-Gene Autry
13. SLEIGH RIDE-Leroy Anderson
14. HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS-Gene Autry
15. I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS-Jimmy Boyd
16. PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS-Charles Brown
17. ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE-Brenda Lee
18. NUTTIN’ FOR CHRISTMAS-Ricky Zahnd
19. YOU’RE ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS-Frankie Laine* (Not played on countdown)
20. I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS-Bing Crosby
21. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH-Spike Jones
22. MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY-Charles Brown
23. CHRISTMAS IN KILARNEY-Bing Crosby
24. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-Perry Como
25. IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS-Chipmunks
26. I YUST GO NUTS AT CHRISTMAS-Yogi Yorgesson
27. SANTA BABY-Eartha Kitt
28. MARY’S BOY CHILD-Harry Belafonte
29. CHRISTMAS DRAGNET-Stan Freberg
30. PRETTY PAPER-Roy Orbison
31. SNOOPY’S CHRISTMAS-Royal Guardsmen* (Not played on countdown)
32. LITTLE SAINT NICK-Beach Boys
33. BABY’S FIRST CHRISTMAS-Connie Francis
34. SANTO NATALE-David Whitfield
35. SANTA & THE SATELLITE-Dickie Goodman
36. LITTLE ALTAR BOY-Andy Williams
37. THE HAPPY REINDEER-Dancer, Prancer & Nervous
38. SANTA CLAUS IS WATCHING YOU-Ray Stevens
39. MERRY CHRISTMAS POLKA-Andrews Sisters* (Not played on countdown)
40. IF EVERY DAY WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS-Elvis Presley
Here’s Bing singing “White Christmas” in the 1954 film of the same name.
Thanks for listening!
Scott Westerman
Host and Producer – Rock and Roll Revisited
Author: Motor City Music – Keener 13 and the Soundtrack of Detroit
