Home for the Holidays (song)

"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" is a popular song, commonly associated with the Christmas season although the lyrics are more applicable to the Thanksgiving holidays.

The music was written by Robert Allen, the lyrics by Al Stillman[1]. The song was published in 1954.

The best-known recordings were made by Perry Como, who recorded the song twice. The first recording, done on November 16, 1954, was released as a single for Christmas, 1954, by RCA (catalog number 20-5950-B on 78rpm and 47-5950-B on 45rpm). The flip side was "Silk Stockings" (which appeared in the Cash Box magazine top 50). "Home for the Holidays" reached #8 on the Billboard magazine chart in the United States. The next Christmas it was released again, with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" as the flip side, as RCA 20-6321-A and 47-6321-A. The same recorded version was released in the United Kingdom by HMV with the catalog number POP-103, with the flip side "Tina Marie". This recording has appeared on many compilation albums over the years and remains a Christmas radio staple.

Como's second recording of the song, in stereo and with a different musical arrangement, was made on July 15, 1959. It was released as a 33rpm single (RCA catalog # VP-2066), with flip side "Winter Wonderland" in the US, and as a 45rpm single by HMV in the UK (catalog number RCA-1215). This 1959 version was also included on the album Season's Greetings from Perry Como and has appeared on many compilations.

The Carpenters recorded a popular cover version that was eventually released on their 1984 album An Old-Fashioned Christmas.

In 2002, Barry Manilow covered the song for his second Christmas-themed album, A Christmas Gift of Love.

On November 30, 2011, T-Mobile announced a surprise event at the Woodfield Mall.[2] On December 1, 2011, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directed about six surprise singing and dancing mall performances of "Home for the Holidays" by Carly Foulkes and 100 Chicago-area women in magenta dresses. The performances were later edited into a music video with the hope that it would go viral.[3][4] The full video that was posted on YouTube has a run time of 3:48 and it was presented in a 60-second national television commercial starting on December 12. The video was produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott's RSA Films.[5] The musical director was Paul Mirkovich.[6]

The song was also remade as a duet between Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones in 2011 for an exclusive iTunes release. The 1-track single was available to download on November 1st and did well on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at #12 and at #22 on the Adult Contemporary Radio Airplay Chart in the US.

References

  1. ^ http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858594093/
  2. ^ T-Mobile USA (2011-11-30). "@TMobile status". Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/TMobile/status/141988669841096704. Retrieved 2011-12-10. 
  3. ^ Bishop, Todd (2011-12-07). "Video: T-Mobile stages holiday musical in middle of a mall". Geekwire. http://www.geekwire.com/2011/video-tmobile-stages-holiday-musical-middle-mall. Retrieved 2011-12-10. 
  4. ^ Baar, Aaron (2011-12-08). "Magenta Meets New Directions For T-Mobile". Media Post News. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/163696/magenta-meets-new-directions-for-t-mobile.html. Retrieved 2011-12-10. 
  5. ^ McGlynn, Tim (2011-12-09). "Schaumburg High School students in T-Mobile ad". Daily Herald. https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111209/submitted/712099766/. Retrieved 2011-12-10. 
  6. ^ "T-Mobile's Home For The Holidays Surprise". CastTV. 2011-12-05. http://www.casttv.com/video/ofatawl/t-mobile-s-home-for-the-holidays-surprise-video. Retrieved 2011-12-10.