| "Feliz Navidad" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by José Feliciano | ||||||||
| from the album Feliz Navidad | ||||||||
| Released | 1970 | |||||||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||||||
| Genre | Pop music, Christmas | |||||||
| Label | RCA | |||||||
| Writer(s) | José Feliciano | |||||||
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"Feliz Navidad" is a Christmas song written in 1970 by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano.[1] With its simple Spanish chorus (the traditional Christmas/New Year greeting, "Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad" meaning "Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness") and equally simple English verse "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart", it has become a classic Christmas pop song in the United States, throughout the Spanish-speaking world and internationally.
Feliciano's version of "Feliz Navidad" (in which he plays both an acoustic guitar and a Puerto Rican cuatro) is one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs in the United States and Canada. The addition of the horns as a final touch was the idea of producer Rick Jarrard. It was also recognized by ASCAP as one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs around the world.
"Feliz Navidad" has been covered by many other artists including Feliciano's live version with a children's choir, Celine Dion (with the word "I" replaced with "we"), David Hasselhoff, Moby (on his album Moby Presents: Alien Sex Party), El Vez, Jon Secada, Fenix TX, Home Grown, the ska-punk band Voodoo Glow Skulls, the Von Trapp Children, Anca Parghel, The Wiggles, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Elijah King and Michael Bublé. The best known version in the UK and Europe is the cover by the disco group Boney M on their Christmas Album released in 1981.
In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, the orchestral music was played in a special style.