A Holly Jolly Christmas
| "A Holly Jolly Christmas" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Snow for Johnny" |
"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 Johnny Marks in the early 1960s and featured in the 1964 Rankin-Bass Christmas special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, in which Burl Ives voiced the narrator, Sam the Snowman. Originally to be sung by Larry D. Mann as Yukon Cornelius, the song, as well as "Silver and Gold," was 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]
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.
- ^ a b "Burl Ives Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ a b "Burl Ives Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Billboard Holiday 100 for Burl Ives.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Burl Ives Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Billboard Country Digital Songs for Burl Ives.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Alan Jackson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
- ^ "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Jerrod Niemann Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
External links
- All Music Guide link
- Lyrics link
