"Wonderful Christmastime" is a 1979 Christmas song by Paul McCartney. It enjoys significant Christmas time popularity around the world.[1] The notable synthesiser riff was played on a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. The song was later added as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Wings' Back to the Egg. Although the song did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, it reached #6 in the United Kingdom Singles Chart.[2] The video was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex.[3]
McCartney recorded the song entirely on his own during the sessions for his solo project McCartney II. Although the members of Wings are not on the recording, they do appear in the promotional music video.[4]
Fellow ex-Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison had already released festive singles, and Ringo Starr made a Christmas album in 1999. Of all of the former Beatle seasonal offerings, Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" and McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" have become two of a canon of Christmas songs played year after year. "Wonderful Christmastime" can be heard in the 1998 animated film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie during Santa's takeoff on Christmas Day. Wings performed the song during their 1979 tour of the UK,[5] and McCartney included the song as an encore during his Good Evening Europe tour.[6]
Though McCartney has since gone on to state that he is now embarrassed about this record,[citation needed] it continues to receive substantial airplay every year. Including royalties from cover versions, it is estimated that Paul McCartney makes $400,000 per year from this song, which puts its cumulative earnings for this song at near $15 million.[7]
[edit] Cover versions
- ^ "Most Popular Christmas Songs". http://www.christmasmusic247.com/2006/01/09/most-popular-christmas-songs/. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/paul%20mccartney/. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Sawday, Alastair (6 December 2007). "Top 10 cosy pubs". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/dec/06/bars.top10. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
- ^ Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium (Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions, 2000), 251.
- ^ Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium (Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions, 2000), 254.
- ^ Paul McCartney wonderful christmas time Koln 16-12-2009. YouTube. Retrieved on 2011-12-15.
- ^ Paul McCartney Continues to Have a Wonderful (Financial) Christmas Time – Forbes. Blogs.forbes.com (2010-12-23). Retrieved on 2011-12-15.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Review of The Ultimate Gift". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1403094/review. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ "Holiday Havoc: THE VENTURE BROS.". Quick Stop Entertainment. http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2008/12/23/venture-bros/. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
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