Initial recordings and major versions The song was originally recorded by American
country singer, musician and actor Doye O'Dell in 1948 and was popularized the following year in three separate recordings: one by country artist
Ernest Tubb, one by musical conductor and arranger
Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra and chorus, and one by bandleader
Russ Morgan and his orchestra (the latter featuring lead vocals by Morgan and backing vocals by singers credited as the Morganaires). Tubb's version spent the first week of January 1950 at No. 1 on
Billboard magazine's
Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records chart, while Winterhalter's version peaked at No. 9 on
Billboard's Records Most Played by Disk Jockeys chart, and Morgan's version reached No. 11 on
Billboard's Best-Selling Pop Singles chart. Both Morgan's and Winterhalter's versions featured a shorter pop edit of the original lyrics. Also in 1950,
crooner Billy Eckstine recorded his rendition, backed by the orchestra of
Russ Case, with these shortened lyrics in a variation close to what is now the common standard for this song; the orchestral backing of this recording has often been wrongly accredited to Winterhalter.
Elvis Presley cemented the status of "Blue Christmas" as a
rock-and-roll holiday classic by recording it for his 1957 LP ''
Elvis' Christmas Album''. Presley's version is notable musicologically as well as culturally in that the backing vocal group,
the Jordanaires (especially in the soprano line, sung by Millie Kirkham), replace many
major and
just minor thirds with
neutral and
septimal minor thirds, respectively. In addition to contributing to the overall tone of the song, the resulting "
blue notes" constitute a musical
play on words that provides an "
inside joke" or "
Easter egg" to trained ears. "Blue Christmas" was also included on a 1957 45 EP (Extended Play) entitled
Elvis Sings Christmas Songs (EPA-4108), which also included "
Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" on side one, with "
Santa Claus Is Back in Town" and "
I'll Be Home for Christmas" on side two. Presley's original 1957 version was released as a commercially available single for the first time in 1964. This single was also a hit in the
United Kingdom, reaching No. 11 on the
British singles chart during the week of December 26, 1964. In December 2023, the
British Phonographic Industry certified the single with a platinum award, reflecting sales and streams in the UK in excess of 600,000 units since its release in 2004. On
Billboard magazine's January 5, 2019, edition, the song reached the number 40 position on the
Billboard Hot 100, the latter for the first time since its release in 1964. == Personnel ==