A Holly Jolly Christmas
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Burl Ives | ||||
B-side | "Snow for Johnny" | |||
Released | November 1964 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Genre | Christmas music | |||
Label | Decca | |||
Writer(s) | Johnny Marks | |||
Burl Ives singles chronology | ||||
|
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the Top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASCAP members, for the first five years of the 21st century.[1]
Background
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" was written by Marks in the early 1960s and featured in the 1964 Rankin-Bass Christmas special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, in which Burl Ives portrayed the narrator, Sam the Snowman. Originally to be sung by Larry D. Mann as Yukon Cornelius, the song, as well as "Silver and Gold," were given to Ives due to his singing fame.[2] This version was also included on the soundtrack album for the special and later released as a single.
The song was re-recorded by Ives for his 1965 holiday album, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. This version of the song has a somewhat slower arrangement than the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer version, and has since become the most commonly-heard rendition on radio. The song's enduring popularity is evidenced by its reaching #30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1998, as well as #21 on the US Country Digital Songs chart and #5 on the Holiday 100 chart in 2011.[3][4]
Other recordings
- 1964 – Quinto Sisters – Holly Jolly Christmas
- 1973 – Harry Simeone Chorale – It's Christmas Once Again
- 1993 – Alan Jackson – Honky Tonk Christmas
- 1995 – Old 97's – Honkey-Tonk Holidays: Christmas in Deep Noellum
- 1998 – Bon Voyage – Happy Christmas (vol. 1)
- 2002 – Kidz Bop Kidz – Kidz Bop Christmas
- 2002 – Johnny Mathis – The Christmas Album
- 2005 – Martin Sexton – Camp Holiday
- 2007 – Kimberley Locke – Christmas
- 2008 – Harry Connick, Jr. – What a Night! A Christmas Album
- 2008 – Faith Hill – Joy to the World
- 2009 – Andrea Bocelli with Kenny Loggins and Olivia Newton-John – My Christmas
- 2009 – Matt Brouwer – Sea to Sea: Christmas
- 2009 – Sufjan Stevens – Let It Snow: Songs for Christmas, Vol. IX
- 2009 – Sugarland – Gold and Green
- 2010 – Mandy Barnett – Winter Wonderland
- 2010 – Point of Grace – Home for the Holidays
- 2011 – Michael Bublé – Christmas
- 2012 – Lady Antebellum – On This Winter's Night
- 2012 – Scotty McCreery – Christmas with Scotty McCreery
- 2013 – Gretchen Wilson – Christmas in My Heart
- 2014 – Idina Menzel – Holiday Wishes
Chart performance
Burl Ives version
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[3] | 30 |
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Country Digital Songs (Billboard)[5] | 21 |
Chart (2011–14) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[4] | 5 |
Alan Jackson version
Chart (1997–98) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] | 51 |
Lady Antebellum version
Chart (2012–13) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[7] | 2 |
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[8] | 37 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 35 |
Jerrod Niemann version
Chart (2014–15) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 53 |
References
- ↑ "ASCAP Announces Top 25 Holiday Songs – "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)" Tops List". Ascap.com. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Holly Jolly Christmas". songfacts.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Burl Ives Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Burl Ives.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Burl Ives Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Billboard Holiday 100 for Burl Ives.
- ↑ "Burl Ives Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Billboard Country Digital Songs for Burl Ives.
- ↑ "Alan Jackson Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Alan Jackson.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Airplay for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "Lady Antebellum Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Lady Antebellum.
- ↑ "Jerrod Niemann Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Airplay for Jerrod Niemann.
External links
|