United States In 2018,
NORC at the University of Chicago found that Americans have a preference for traditional Christmas carols over contemporary songs. According to the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2016, "
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", written by
Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934, is the most played holiday song of the last 50 years. It was first performed by
Eddie Cantor, live, on his radio show in November 1934.
Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded their version in 1935, followed later by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra in 1948,
The Supremes,
The Jackson 5,
The Beach Boys, and
Glenn Campbell.
Bruce Springsteen recorded a rock rendition in December 1975. Long-time Christmas classics from prior to the "rock era" still dominate the holiday charts – such as "
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "
Winter Wonderland", "
Sleigh Ride" and "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Songs from the rock era to enter the top tier of the season's canon include "
Wonderful Christmastime" by
Paul McCartney, "
All I Want for Christmas Is You" by
Mariah Carey and
Walter Afanasieff and "
Last Christmas" by
Wham! Radio industry writer Sean Ross noted after the 2004 holiday season that it usually takes about ten years for a song to become a Christmas standard, noting in 2024 that this rule of thumb was still true based on early-to-mid-2010s songs such as "
Santa Tell Me" by
Ariana Grande and "
Underneath the Tree" by
Kelly Clarkson gaining perennial relevance. In 2025, Ross commented that the
Elton John/
Ed Sheeran collaboration "
Merry Christmas," released in 2021, was the first record from the 2020s to begin gaining perennial traction. The most popular set of these titles—heard over airwaves, on the Internet, in shopping malls, in elevators and lobbies, even on the street during the Christmas season—have been composed and performed from the 1930s onward. (Songs published before are all out of copyright, are no longer subject to ASCAP royalties and thus do not appear on their list.) In addition to Bing Crosby, major acts that have popularized and successfully covered a number of the titles in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 include Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, and the Jackson 5. Since the mid-1950s, much of the Christmas music produced for popular audiences has explicitly romantic overtones, only using Christmas as a setting. The 1950s also featured the introduction of
novelty songs that used the holiday as a target for satire and source for comedy. Exceptions such as "
The Christmas Shoes" (2000) have re-introduced Christian themes as complementary to the secular Western themes, and myriad traditional carol
cover versions by various artists have explored virtually all
music genres. The 1980s and 1990s saw a revival of interest in instrumental Christmas music, including the
New Age synthpop of
Mannheim Steamroller and the
symphonic metal of
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, particularly among older listeners.
Most-performed Christmas songs {{Quote box The top thirty most-played holiday songs for the 2015 holiday season are ranked here, all titles written or co-written by ASCAP songwriters and composers. Most of these songs in some way describe or are reminiscent of Christmas traditions, how
Western Christian countries tend to celebrate the holiday, i.e., with caroling,
mistletoe, exchanging of presents, a Christmas tree, feasting, jingle bells, etc. Celebratory or sentimental, and nostalgic in tone, they hearken back to simpler times with memorable holiday practices—expressing the desire either to be with someone or at home for Christmas. The winter-related songs celebrate the climatic season, with all its snow, dressing up for the cold, sleighing, etc. Many titles help define the mythical aspects of modern Christmas celebration:
Santa Claus bringing presents, coming down the chimney, being pulled by
reindeer, etc. New mythical characters are created, defined, and popularized by these songs; "
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", adapted from a major retailer's promotional poem, was introduced to radio audiences by
Gene Autry in 1949. His follow-up a year later introduced "
Frosty the Snowman", the central character of his song. Though overtly religious, and authored (at least partly) by a writer of many church hymns, no drumming child appears in any biblical account of the Christian nativity scene. This character was introduced to the tradition by Katherine K. Davis in her "
The Little Drummer Boy" (written in 1941, with a popular version being released in 1958). The list does not include songs written before nor songs written solely by songwriters from other guilds such as
BMI and
SESAC.
The above-ranking results from an aggregation of performances of all different artist versions of each cited holiday song, across all forms of media, from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015. and was named "the UK's favourite Christmas song" the same year by
The Independent. Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song
with the same title and theme, which Stone's band
Vince Vance & the Valiants recorded in 1989 and independently became popular the year before Carey's song. Stone has made multiple attempts to sue Carey over the similarity in name, which have to date been unsuccessful. • Johnny Marks wrote three songs that appear in these most-performed Christmas songs in 2015: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Holly Jolly Christmas", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Irving Berlin wrote two: "White Christmas" and "Happy Holiday". These are the only songwriters to appear on the list more than once – and both are non-Christian. • Gene Autry was the first to sing three songs on the list of top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 – "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" – co-writing the latter song. • Two of the songs, "Carol of the Bells" and "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", rely on the same melody,
Mykola Leontovych's "
Shchedryk", which was published in 1918 and is thus out of copyright, no longer subject to ASCAP royalties. The lyrics to "Carol of the Bells" are still under copyright. The copyright on "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" extends only to the
arrangement. • "Tony Springer" was a pseudonym for
Philip Springer. As Springer was a member of BMI at the time, he used the first name Tony as a
legal fiction to allow himself to collaborate with ASCAP members Javits and Ebb.
Christmas song surveys In 2007 surveys of United States radio listeners by two different research groups, the most liked songs were standards such as
Bing Crosby's "
White Christmas" (1942),
Nat King Cole's "
The Christmas Song" (1946), and
Burl Ives' "
A Holly Jolly Christmas" (1965). Other favorites like "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (
Brenda Lee, 1958), "
Jingle Bell Rock" (
Bobby Helms, 1957) and
John Lennon and
Yoko Ono's "
Happy Xmas" (1971), scored well in one study. Also "loved" were
Johnny Mathis's "
Do You Hear What I Hear?" and
Harry Simeone Chorale's "
Little Drummer Boy" (1958). Among the most-hated Christmas songs, according to Edison Media Research's 2007 survey, are
Barbra Streisand's "
Jingle Bells?", the
Jackson 5's "
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town",
Elmo & Patsy's "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", and "
O Holy Night" as performed by cartoon characters from
Comedy Central's
South Park. The "most-hated Christmastime recording" is a rendition of "Jingle Bells" by
Carl Weissmann's Singing Dogs, a revolutionary novelty song originally released in 1955, and re-released as an edited version in 1970. Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, was No. 1 on
Billboard's Holiday Digital Songs chart in December 2013. "
Fairytale of New York" by
The Pogues is cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the United Kingdom and Ireland. A 2021
YouGov survey of 1,000 adults ranked the most hated Christmas songs, counting only those songs that a majority of those polls recognized and listing the songs independent of any artist who may have recorded them. "
Santa Baby" ranked atop the list; a side note from a news article covering the list noted that much of that hatred came from the
Madonna cover version from
A Very Special Christmas, which gets more airplay than
Eartha Kitt's original. Other songs that ranked high in terms of listener revulsion included "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "
Wonderful Christmastime".
Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music-type categories: • "Adult contemporary" listeners rated
Brenda Lee's "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" best. • "Adult Top 40" fans liked
Bobby Helms' "
Jingle Bell Rock". • "Hip-hop/R&B" fans liked the
Jackson 5's "
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town". • "Country" listeners ranked
Burl Ives' "
A Holly Jolly Christmas" No. 1. • "Smooth jazz" fans liked "
The Christmas Song" as sung by
Nat King Cole.
United Kingdom and Ireland Most played songs A collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK
Christmas No. 1 single during the 1970s and 1980s have become some of the most popular holiday tunes in the United Kingdom.
Band Aid's 1984 song "
Do They Know It's Christmas?" is the
second-best-selling single in UK Chart history. "
Fairytale of New York", released by
The Pogues in 1987, is regularly voted the British public's favourite-ever Christmas song. It is also the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK. British
glam rock bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s. "
Merry Xmas Everybody" by
Slade, "
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" by
Wizzard, and "
Lonely This Christmas" by
Mud all remain hugely popular. In four out of the five years between 2008 and 2012,
PRS for Music (who collect and pay royalties to its 75,000 song-writing and composing members) conducted a survey of the top ten most played Christmas songs in the UK over the past year, and published a top-ten list for each year except 2011 (the 2008 list was for the previous five years, and the 2009 measured the entire previous decade): } || || 5 The best Christmas song "to get adults and children in the festive spirit for the party season in 2016" was judged by the
Daily Mirror to be "Fairytale of New York". Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" was declared "the UK's favourite Christmas song", narrowly beating out "Fairytale of New York" according to a "points system" created by
The Independent in 2017. Both score well ahead of all others on the list of top twenty Christmas songs in the UK. These songs develop an association with Christmas or the holiday season from their chart performance, but the association tends to be shorter-lived than for the more traditionally themed Christmas songs. Notable longer-lasting examples include
Band Aid's "
Do They Know It's Christmas?" (No. 1, 1984, the second-biggest selling single in UK Chart history; two re-recordings also hit No. 1 in 1989 and 2004),
Slade's "
Merry Xmas Everybody" (No. 1, 1973), and
Wham!'s "
Last Christmas" (No. 2, 1984).
Last Christmas would go on to hold the UK record for highest-selling single not to reach No. 1, until it finally topped the chart on January 1, 2021, helped by extensive streaming in the final week of December 2020; it eventually reached Christmas number one in 2023.
The Beatles,
Spice Girls, and
LadBaby are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number-one hits on the
UK Singles Chart, with LadBaby having the longest
winning streak at five years. The Beatles won annually between 1963 and 1965 (with a fourth in 1967), the Spice Girls between 1996 and 1998, and LadBaby between 2018 and 2022 (all five of LadBaby's Christmas number-ones were
parodies of other popular songs that included a
running gag mentioning
sausage rolls). "
Bohemian Rhapsody" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991. Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of "
Do They Know It's Christmas?" have been number one in Christmas week. At the turn of the 21st century, songs associated with
reality shows became a frequent source of Christmas number ones in the UK. In 2002,
Popstars: The Rivals produced the top three singles on the British Christmas charts. The "rival" groups produced by the series—the
girl group Girls Aloud and the
boy band One True Voice—finished first and second respectively on the charts. Failed contestants
The Cheeky Girls charted with a novelty hit, "
Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)", at third. Briton
Will Young, winner of the first
Pop Idol, charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003.
The X Factor also typically concluded in December during its run; the winner's debut single earned the Christmas number one in at least one of the two countries every year from 2005 to 2014, and in both countries in five of those ten years. Each year since 2008 has seen protest campaigns to outsell the
X Factor single (which benefits from precisely timed release and corresponding media buzz) and prevent it from reaching number one. In 2009, as the result of a campaign intended to counter the phenomenon,
Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "
Killing in the Name" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's
X Factor winner,
Joe McElderry. In 2011, "
Wherever You Are", the single from a choir of military wives assembled by the TV series
The Choir, earned the Christmas number-one single in Britain—upsetting
X Factor winners
Little Mix. With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.
Australia Situated in the
Southern Hemisphere, where seasons are reversed from the northern, the heat of early summer in Australia affects the way Christmas is celebrated and how
Northern Hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.
Australians generally spend Christmas outdoors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to campgrounds for a vacation. International visitors to Sydney at
Christmastime often go to
Bondi Beach where tens of thousands gather on Christmas Day. The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles, started in 1937 by Victorian radio announcer
Norman Banks, has taken place in
Melbourne annually since then. Some homegrown Christmas songs have become popular.
William G. James' six sets of
Australian Christmas Carols, with words by John Wheeler, include "The Three Drovers", "The Silver Stars are in the Sky", "Christmas Day", "Carol of the Birds" and others.
Rolf Harris' "Six White Boomers",
Colin Buchanan's "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas", proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under. A verse from "Aussie Jingle Bells" makes the point: Engine's getting hot Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggie climbs aboard He is welcome too All the family is there Sitting by the pool Christmas Day, the Aussie way By the barbecue! "The
Twelve Days of Christmas" has been revised to fit the Australian context, as an example: "On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: 12 parrots prattling, 11
numbats nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9
wombats working, 8
dingoes digging, 7 possums playing, 6
brolgas dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3
kookaburras laughing, 2 pink
galahs, and an
emu up a gum tree." Other popular Australian Christmas songs include: 'White Wine in the Sun" by
Tim Minchin, "Aussie Jingle Bells" by Bucko & Champs, "Christmas Photo" by
John Williamson, "Go Santa, Go" by
The Wiggles, and "Six White Boomers" by
Russel Coight. "My Little Christmas Belle" (1909) composed by Joe Slater (1872–1926) to words by Ward McAlister (1872–1928) celebrates eastern Australian
flora coming into bloom during the heat of Christmas.
Blandfordia nobilis, also known as Christmas Bells, are the specific subject of the song—with the original
sheet music bearing a depiction of the blossom. Whereas "The Holly and The Ivy" (1937) by Australian Louis Lavater (1867–1953) mentions northern hemisphere foliage. Australian singer-songwriter
Paul Kelly first released "
How to Make Gravy" as part of a four-track EP November 4, 1996, through
White Label Records. The title track, written by Kelly, tells the story in a letter to his brother from a newly imprisoned man who laments how he will be missing the family Christmas. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 1998
Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Music Awards. Kelly's theme reflects a national experience with Christmas:
Philippines The Philippines, a tropical country, has a long tradition of Christmas music influenced by its climate and cultural traditions. Originally building from Spanish and American influences, Filipinos has developed its own Christmas music traditions. These began as far back as 1933, with carols written by Vicente D. Rubil and
Levi Celerio. Most Filipino Christmas music is written in the
Tagalog language, and some in English and other
Philippine languages. Most Filipino Christmas songs describe the local Christmas traditions and traditions such as caroling,
parol,
Simbang Gabi/
Misa de Gallo, returning to one's hometown for the holidays and the
Nochebuena. Songs can be celebratory or sentimental, with the sentimental songs aimed toward
overseas Filipinos who long for the Christmas season in the Philippines. Other songs describe the Biblical narrative of Christmas or call to love and charity. The most popular Filipino Christmas song is
Jose Mari Chan's "
Christmas in Our Hearts". The success of that song led to a Christmas album from Chan with the same name, which went on to become the best-selling album in
Original Pilipino Music (OPM) music with more than 800,000 albums sold. Radio stations in the Philippines usually play Christmas music, both local and foreign, as early as September up to Christmas Day or New Year's Eve, but Philippine radio stations usually do not switch to an all-Christmas format, instead interspersing Christmas music onto their regular music programming. Major television networks in the Philippines also have a tradition of producing Christmas-themed
station IDs, which take the form of promotional music videos, some of which became popular such as "
Star ng Pasko" and "Thank You, Thank You, Ang Babait Ninyo" produced for
ABS-CBN. released as a single on
Chess Records. • 1958 "
The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", written by Ross Bagdasarian; who sang the Christmas carol, varying the tape speeds to produce high-pitched "chipmunk" voices, with the vocals credited to Alvin and the Chipmunks, Seville's cartoon virtual band[1] and later media franchise. • 1959: . • 1959: "
The Secret of Christmas", written by Sammy Cahn and
Jimmy Van Heusen for Bing Crosby, first performed in the film
Say One for Me; Crosby recorded the song with an arrangement by
Frank DeVol for a single that year released by
Columbia Records.
1960s • 1960: . • 1960: "
Please Come Home for Christmas", written by
Charles Brown and Gene Redd; released by Brown on
Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs (since becoming associated with
the Eagles' 1978 cover). • 1960: "
Must Be Santa", written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks; first released by
Mitch Miller;
Tommy Steele's cover of the song reaching No. 40 on the
UK Singles Chart the same year. • 1960: "
Dominick the Donkey" written by Ray Allen, Wandra Merrell, and Sam Saltzberg; recorded by
Lou Monte on
Roulette Records. The song describes a donkey who helps
Santa Claus bring presents ("made in
Brooklyn") to children in Italy "because
the reindeer cannot climb" Italy's hills. • 1961: "Blue Holiday", recorded by
The Shirelles. The song was featured in
The Santa Clause 2. • 1961: "The Merriest", "Christmas Heart", "Ring a Merry Bell" and "Seven Shades of Snow", all written of original compositions by Connie Pearce and Arnold Miller; recorded by
June Christy on an unusual album
This Time of Year. • 1961: "We Wish You the Merriest", written and recorded by
Les Brown; released by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and
Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians on
12 Songs of Christmas in 1964. • 1963: "
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", written by
Ellie Greenwich,
Jeff Barry with
Phil Spector; released by
Darlene Love on
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. • 1963: "
Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season" medley by
Andy Williams of Irving Berlin's 1942 classic with
Kay Thompson's "The Holiday Season" from 1945. • 1963: "
Little Saint Nick", written by
Brian Wilson and
Mike Love; released by the
Beach Boys as a single and included on ''
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' in 1964. • 1963: "
Pretty Paper" by
Willie Nelson; sung by
Roy Orbison. Nelson had a hit with his own song in 1978. • 1964: "
Silver and Gold", written by Johnny Marks; sung by
Burl Ives on the Rankin-Bass Christmas special
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. • 1964: "
Toyland" written by
Victor Herbert and
Glen McDonough for the
operetta Babes in Toyland (originally produced in 1903); released by
Doris Day on
The Doris Day Christmas Album. • 1964: "
Snowfall", written by
Claude Thornhill in 1941, with lyrics later added by his wife, Ruth Thornhill; covered by
Doris Day on
The Doris Day Christmas Album. • 1965: "
Christmas Time Is Here", written for
A Charlie Brown Christmas animated TV special; harmonized by the choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in
San Rafael, California. • 1965: "
My Favorite Things", written by
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein for the 1959 musical,
The Sound of Music; recorded by
Diana Ross and the Supremes on
Merry Christmas. • 1965: "
Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy", written by
Buck Owens and
Don Rich; released by Owens as single with "All I Want for Christmas, Dear, Is You" on the
B-side. • 1966: "
We Need a Little Christmas" written by
Jerry Herman for the Broadway musical
Mame, and first performed by
Angela Lansbury in that 1966 production; popularly covered by
Percy Faith & His Orchestra on
Christmas Is... Percy Faith. • 1966: "The Happiest Christmas Tree", written by Cathy Lynn; recorded by Nat King Cole. • 1967: "
Snoopy's Christmas", written by
George David Weiss and
Hugo & Luigi; released by
the Royal Guardsmen on
Snoopy and His Friends. • 1967: "
What Christmas Means to Me" written by Allen Story,
Anna Gordy Gaye, and George Gordy; recorded by
Stevie Wonder on
Someday at Christmas.
1970s • 1970: "
Give Love on Christmas Day", written by
The Corporation (
Berry Gordy,
Alphonzo Mizell, Christine Perren,
Freddie Perren, and
Deke Richards); recorded by the
Jackson 5 for
The Jackson 5 Christmas Album. • 1970: "
Merry Christmas Darling", written by
Richard Carpenter with lyrics by
Frank Pooler; released by
the Carpenters as a single (re-released 1974 & 1977); remixed on
Christmas Portrait in 1978 with new vocal by
Karen Carpenter. • 1970: "
This Christmas", written by
Donny Hathaway (as "Donny Pitts") and Nadine Theresa McKinnor; recorded by Hathaway and released as a single (with "Be There" on the B-side). • 1971: "My Christmas Card To You" released by
the Partridge Family on
A Partridge Family Christmas Card. • 1971: "
River" written by
Joni Mitchell; released by her on
Blue. • 1973: "
Step into Christmas", written by
Elton John and
Bernie Taupin; released by John as a stand-alone single (with "Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas" on B-side). • 1974: "
I Believe in Father Christmas" written by
Greg Lake with lyrics by
Peter Sinfield; released by Lake as a single (with "Humbug" on B-side). Instrumental riff between verses interpolated from "Troika" portion of
Sergei Prokofiev's
Lieutenant Kijé Suite, written for 1934
Soviet film,
Lieutenant Kijé • 1975: "
A Spaceman Came Travelling", written by Christopher Davison; released under Davison's stage name
Chris de Burgh as a single, taken from his album
Spanish Train and Other Stories. • 1976: "
When a Child is Born" (original melody titled "
Soleado"), written by
Ciro Dammicco (alias "Zacar") and
Dario Baldan Bembo in 1973 (
English language lyrics written later by Fred Jay); released by
Johnny Mathis as single entitled "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" with "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" on the B-side. • 1977: "
Celebrate Me Home", written by
Kenny Loggins and
Bob James; recorded by Loggins as title track of his debut solo album
Celebrate Me Home. • 1977: "
Father Christmas", written by
Ray Davies; released by
the Kinks as a single (with "Prince of the Punks" on B-side). • 1977: "
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy", "The Little Drummer Boy" written in 1941 by
Katherine Kennicott Davis; "Peace on Earth" written by
Ian Fraser,
Larry Grossman, and
Alan Kohan; medley recorded by
David Bowie and
Bing Crosby for the television special, ''
Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas''. (Bowie single released 1982.) • 1978: "
Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord", written by Jester Hairston in 1956 with new song by
Frank Farian, Fred Jay, and Hela Lorin; medley released by
Boney M as a single. • 1978: "
Please Come Home for Christmas", written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd in 1960; cover released by
the Eagles as a single (with "Funky New Year" on B-side) • 1979: "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"; written by Randy Brooks; released by
Elmo & Patsy as a single (with "Christmas" on B-side).
1980s • 1980: "It Must Have Been The Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)", written by Doug Konecky and Justin Wilde; released by
Barbara Mandrell on
Christmas at Our House. • 1980: "
Same Old Lang Syne", written by
Dan Fogelberg; released as a single by Folgelberg in 1980 (with "Hearts and Crafts" on B-side). It was included on his 1981 album
The Innocent Age. • 1980: "
Stop The Cavalry" written by
Jona Lewie; released by Lewie as a single (with "Laughing Tonight" on B-side). • 1980: "
Israel" written by
Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a single. • 1981: "
Christmas is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" written by
Billy Squier; released by him by as the B-side of his hit, "
My Kinda Lover". • 1981: "
Christmas Wrapping", written by
Chris Butler; released by
The Waitresses as a single (with "Christmas Fever" by
Charlelie Couture on B-side). Also included in a Christmas compilation album. • 1982: "
Hard Candy Christmas"; written by
Carol Hall for the
musical,
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; released by
Dolly Parton as a single (with "Act Like a Fool" on B-side). • 1984: "
Another Rock and Roll Christmas"; written by
Gary Glitter,
Mike Leander and Edward Seago; released by Gary Glitter as a single, with the instrumental version as the B-side. The song had appeared earlier in the year on his 1984 album
Boys Will Be Boys. • 1984: "
Thank God It's Christmas", written by
Brian May and
Roger Taylor; released by
Queen as a single (with "
Man on the Prowl" and "
Keep Passing the Open Windows" on B-side). • 1984: "Another Lonely Christmas", written by
Prince; released by
Prince and the Revolution as a single. • 1984: "
The Power of Love", written by
Holly Johnson,
Peter Gill,
Mark O'Toole, and
Brian Nash; released by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a single (with "The World Is My Oyster" on B-side). • 1985: "
Merry Christmas Everyone"; written by
Bob Heatlie; released by
Shakin' Stevens as a single (with "With My Heart" and "Blue Christmas" on B-side). • 1985: "There's a New Kid in Town", written by
Don Cook,
Curly Putman, and
Keith Whitley. • 1987: "
Christmas in Hollis", written by
Joseph Simmons,
Darryl McDaniels, and
Jason Mizell; released by
Run D.M.C. on two Christmas compilation albums:
A Very Special Christmas and
Christmas Rap, and as a single (with "Peter Piper" on B-side). • 1988: "
Driving Home for Christmas"; written by
Chris Rea; originally released as one of two new songs on Rea's first compilation album
New Light Through Old Windows in October, then issued as the fourth single from the album in December. • 1988: "
Mistletoe and Wine", written by
Jeremy Paul,
Leslie Stewart and
Keith Strachan for the 1976 musical,
Scraps (an adaptation of
Hans Christian Andersen's "
The Little Match Girl"); released by
Cliff Richard as a single (with "Marmaduke" on B-side), and on his album
Private Collection: 1979–1988. • 1989: "
All I Want for Christmas Is You", written by Troy Powers and Andy Stone; released by
Vince Vance & The Valiants as a single. • 1989: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" by
The Ramones on their
Brain Drain album.
1990s • 1990: "
Saviour's Day", written by
Chris Eaton; released by
Cliff Richard as a single (with "Where You Are" on B-side). • 1990: "
Grown-Up Christmas List", written by
David Foster,
Linda Thompson-Jenner, and
Amy Grant; released by
David Foster with
Natalie Cole for his album
River of Love (with a 1992 version by
Amy Grant). • 1991: "
Mary, Did You Know?", with lyrics written by
Mark Lowry (in 1984) and music by
Buddy Greene; originally recorded by
Michael English on a self-titled album (with a 1996 version by
Kenny Rogers and
Wynona Judd). • 1992: "
All Alone on Christmas", written and arranged by
Steve Van Zandt; recorded by
Darlene Love as a single with members of
The E Street Band and
The Miami Horns. Originally featured on
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York soundtrack. • 1992: "
Christmas All Over Again" by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the album box set
Playback • 1993: "
Hey Santa!", written (with the help of Jack Kugell) and sung by
Carnie and
Wendy Wilson on the album of the same name. • 1994: "
The Chanukah Song"; written by
Adam Sandler,
Lewis Morton, and
Ian Maxtone-Graham; originally performed by Sandler on
Saturday Night Live's
Weekend Update segment on December 3, 1994. Released as a single by Sandler in 1995 from
What the Hell Happened to Me?. • 1996: "
How to Make Gravy" written and performed by
Paul Kelly in Australia. • 1998: "
Christmas Canon" by the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their album
The Christmas Attic • 1998: "
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by
NSYNC from the albums
Home for Christmas and
The Winter Album 2000s • 2000: "
My Only Wish (This Year)" by
Britney Spears off the compilation album,
Platinum Christmas • 2000: "
Where Are You, Christmas?" co-written by
Mariah Carey,
James Horner, and
Will Jennings, but recorded by
Faith Hill. The song was originally recorded by Carey, but because of a
legal case with her ex-husband
Tommy Mottola, it could not be released, so it was re-recorded and released by Faith Hill. • 2002: "Maybe This Christmas" by Ron Sexsmith from the compilation album of the same name. • 2003: "
Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" by
The Darkness • 2004: "
Believe" written by
Glen Ballard and
Alan Silvestri for
Josh Groban • 2004: "
Joseph's Lullaby" by
MercyMe from the album
The Christmas Sessions • 2004: "
Wizards in Winter", an instrumental written and composed by
Paul O'Neill and
Robert Kinkel, performed by the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra • 2007: "
Mistletoe" written by Stacy Blue and
Colbie Caillat, and performed by Caillat. • 2008: "
White Is in the Winter Night" by
Enya on the album,
And Winter Came... • 2009: "
It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" by
Pet Shop Boys (UK No. 40 hit)
2010s • 2010: "
Oh Santa!" by
Mariah Carey from her album
Merry Christmas II You. A new version, featuring
Ariana Grande and
Jennifer Hudson, was released in 2020 for the ''
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special's'' soundtrack. • 2010: "
Christmas Lights" by
Coldplay • 2010: "
Christmas in Harlem" by
Kanye West from the
GOOD Fridays series of releases under the
GOOD Music label • 2011: "
Mistletoe" by
Justin Bieber from his album
Under the Mistletoe • 2012: "
Christmas in the Sand" by
Colbie Caillat from her album of the
same name; meant to conjure up (humorously) what Christmas might be like in Hawaii • 2013: "
Underneath the Tree" by
Kelly Clarkson on her album
Wrapped in Red • 2013: "
One More Sleep" by
Leona Lewis on her album
Christmas, with Love • 2013: "
Wrapped in Red" written by
Kelly Clarkson,
Ashley Arrison,
Aben Eubanks, and
Shane McAnally and recorded by Clarkson as the opening track on her sixth studio album,
Wrapped in Red • 2014: "
That's Christmas to Me" by a cappella group
Pentatonix (No. 2
Billboard 200, double platinum by
RIAA) • 2014: "
Santa Tell Me" by
Ariana Grande on her EP
Christmas Kisses • 2015: "
Every Day's Like Christmas" by
Kylie Minogue on her album
Kylie Christmas • 2017: "
Santa's Coming for Us" written by
Sia and
Greg Kurstin and released by Sia on
Everyday Is Christmas • 2017: "
Snowman" written by
Sia and
Greg Kurstin and released by Sia on
Everyday Is Christmas • 2019: "
Christmas Tree Farm" by
Taylor Swift 2020s • 2020 "
Holiday" by
Lil Nas X • 2020: "
Christmas Saves the Year" a single written and recorded by
Twenty One Pilots; released after a
Twitch stream where lead singer
Tyler Joseph played in a
Fortnite tournament sponsored by
Chipotle in hopes to raise money for
Make-A-Wish Foundation. • 2021: "
Merry Christmas" by
Ed Sheeran and
Elton John • 2023: "
DJ Play a Christmas Song" by
Cher • 2023: "
Dear Santa" by
OneRepublic • 2024: "
Christmas Magic" a single written and recorded by
Laufey; created and released for the film
Red One • 2025: "The Apple White Carol (Christmas Be The Fairest)" a single written and produced by David Lawrence; inspired by
Ever After High, a fashion doll line by
Mattel. It centers on the character Apple White, the daughter of
Snow White, and her mission to make Christmas "the fairest of them all".
Christmas songs from musicals "
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", written by Irving Berlin, was introduced in the musical film
On the Avenue by
Dick Powell and
Alice Faye in 1937. "
White Christmas" was introduced in the film
Holiday Inn (1942), while "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was from
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and "
Silver Bells"
The Lemon Drop Kid (1950). The operetta
Babes in Toyland (1903) featured the song "Toyland". The 1934 film adaptation, a
Laurel and Hardy musical film known by alternative titles, opened with the song. Introducing Christmas-themed songs that have yet to achieve popularity,
Scrooge (1970) included "Father Christmas", "December the 25th", and the Academy Award-nominated "Thank You Very Much". "Mistletoe and Wine" was written for a 1976 musical entitled
Scraps, which was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl;" it underwent substantial revision for Cliff Richard's 1988 version. "
Hard Candy Christmas" was written by Carol Hall for the 1982 musical,
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and later released by
Dolly Parton (who starred in the
film version) as a single. ''
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993) features Christmas-themed songs like "Making Christmas", "What's This?", "Town Meeting Song", and "Jack's Obsession".
Christmas novelty songs Musical parodies of the season – comical or nonsensical songs performed principally for their comical effect – are often heard around Christmas. Many novelty songs employ unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be particularly musical. The term arose in the
Tin Pan Alley world of popular songwriting, with novelty songs achieving great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. The Christmas novelty song genre, which got its start with "
I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" written by
Yogi Yorgesson and sung by him with the Johnny Duffy Trio in 1949, includes such notable titles as: • "
Jingle Bells" by
the Singing Dogs was recorded in 1955 by Don Charles from
Copenhagen; considered the work of Carl Weismann, it was revolutionary in its use of the latest recording technology. • "
Green Chri$tma$", a
radio play parody by
Stan Freberg that came out in 1958 and satirized commercial advertising. • "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas with a Dalek," released in 1964 by an otherwise-obscure band named
The Go-Go's (unrelated to the later American band of the same name). Originally intended to help fuel
Dalekmania, it tried to turn the
Daleks, a murderous race of aliens hellbent on exterminating everything in their path who were featured in the
Doctor Who franchise, into another version of
The Chipmunks. • "
Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy", co-written and recorded by
Buck Owens in 1965, has been covered by other country music stars, including
Garth Brooks,
Travis Tritt, and
Brad Paisley. In the 1970s comedic singing duo
Cheech & Chong's debut single in 1971 was "
Santa Claus and His Old Lady".
The Kinks did "
Father Christmas" in 1977, and
Elmo & Patsy came out with "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" in 1979. More recent titles added to the canon include: • "
The Twelve Days of Christmas" parodies (including one by
Bob and Doug McKenzie in 1982) • "
Christmas at Ground Zero" by
Weird Al Yankovic (1986) • "
Rusty Chevrolet" by
Da Yoopers, a parody of "
Jingle Bells" (1987) • "
Christmas in Hollis", a rap single by
Run–D.M.C. (1987) •
A Rubber Band Christmas – an entire album featuring traditional and popular Christmas songs played on rubber bands, staplers and other office equipment (1996) • "
Christmas Convoy", a
southern rock song by
Paul Brandt, a parody of the
C.W. McCall song "
Convoy" (2006) • "
Dick in a Box", a 1990s R&B-style song written by
The Lonely Island and
Justin Timberlake that premiered on
Saturday Night Live (2009) Seattle radio personality
Bob Rivers became nationally famous for his line of novelty Christmas songs and released five albums (collectively known as the
Twisted Christmas quintilogy, after the name of Rivers' radio program,
Twisted Radio) consisting entirely of Christmas parodies from 1987 to 2002. "
Don't Shoot Me Santa" was released by
The Killers in 2007, benefiting various AIDS charities. Christmas novelty songs can involve
gallows humor and even morbid humor like that found in "
Christmas at Ground Zero" and "
The Night Santa Went Crazy", both by
"Weird Al" Yankovic.
The Dan Band released several adult-oriented Christmas songs on their 2007 album
Ho: A Dan Band Christmas which included "Ho, Ho, Ho" (ho being slang for a prostitute), "I Wanna Rock You Hard This Christmas", "Please Don't Bomb Nobody This Holiday" and "Get Drunk & Make Out This Christmas".
Kristen Bell and
a cappella group
Straight No Chaser "teamed up to poke fun at the modern seasons greeting" with "
Text Me Merry Christmas": :Text me Merry Christmas :Let me know you care :Just a word or two :Of text from you :Will remind me you're still there Straight No Chaser singer Randy Stine said of the song: "We wanted a Christmas song that spoke to how informal communication has become."
Juvenile Christmas novelty songs include many sung by young teens, or performed largely for the enjoyment of a young audience. Starting with "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" sung by 13-year-old
Jimmy Boyd in 1952, a few other notable novelty songs written to parody the Christmas season and sung by young singers include: • "
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" sung by 10-year-old
Gayla Peevey (1953) • "
Nuttin' for Christmas" by
Art Mooney and
Barry Gordon, who was seven years old when he sang it (1955) • " (Where is Santa Claus?)" sung by 12-year-old Augie Rios, featuring the Mark Jeffrey Orchestra (1959) Christmas novelty songs aimed at a young audience include: • "
All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth", written by
Donald Yetter Gardner in 1944 and introduced by
Spike Jones and his City Slickers (1948) • "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" with music and lyrics by British songwriter
Tommie Connor was first recorded by 13-year-old
Jimmy Boyd in 1952, reaching No. 1 on the
Billboard pop singles chart in December of that year.
The Jackson 5 recorded a popular cover in 1970 with a young
Michael Jackson singing lead. • "
The Chipmunk Song", written by
Ross Bagdasarian Sr./
David Seville and performed by
Alvin and the Chipmunks (1958) • "
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" originally done for the 1966 cartoon special
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; lyrics written by
Dr. Seuss, music by
Albert Hague, and performed by
Thurl Ravenscroft • "
Snoopy's Christmas" performed by
The Royal Guardsmen in 1967; a follow-up to their earlier song "
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" recorded in 1966 • "
Santa Claus Is a Black Man" by Akim and the Teddy Vann Production Company (1973) The number of Christmas novelty songs is so vast that radio host
Dr. Demento devotes an entire month of weekly two-hour episodes to the format each year, and the novelty songs receive frequent requests at radio stations across the country.
Non-Christian writers Approximately half of the 30 best-selling Christmas songs by ASCAP members in 2015 were written by
Jewish composers.
Johnny Marks has three top Christmas songs, the most for any writer—"
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", and "
A Holly Jolly Christmas". By far the most recorded Christmas song is "
White Christmas" by
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia)—who also wrote "
Happy Holiday"—with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages. Others include: • "
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by
Sammy Cahn (born Cohen) and
Jule Styne (who also wrote "
The Christmas Waltz" together) • "
Winter Wonderland" (composer
Felix Bernard was born Felix William Bernhardt) • "
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by
Robert Wells (born Levinson) and
Mel Tormé • "
Sleigh Ride" (lyricist
Mitchell Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky in Lithuania) • "
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (composer
George Wyle was born Bernard Weissman) • "
Silver Bells" by
Jay Livingston (born Jacob Levinson) and
Ray Evans • "
(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" by
Bob Allen (born Robert Allen Deitcher) and
Al Stillman (born Albert Silverman) • "
I'll Be Home for Christmas" by
Walter Kent (born Walter Kauffman) and
Buck Ram (born Samuel). • "
Santa Baby" by Joan Ellen Javits (Zeeman), niece of Senator
Jacob Javits, and Philip Springer. • "
Baby, It's Cold Outside" by
Frank Loesser Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote "
Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which
Elvis Presley debuted on his first
Christmas album in 1957. "
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was written by
Ellie Greenwich and
Jeff Barry (with
Phil Spector), originally for
Ronnie Spector of
The Ronettes. It was made into a hit by
Darlene Love in 1963. "Peace on Earth" was written by
Ian Fraser,
Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan as a
counterpoint to "
The Little Drummer Boy" (1941) to make
David Bowie comfortable recording "
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" with
Bing Crosby on September 11, 1977 – for Crosby's then-upcoming television special, ''Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas''. ==Adopted Christmas music==