Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits

Last updated

Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits is a set of two Christmas-themed compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1989, each featuring ten popular Christmas recordings from 1935 to 1983, many of which charted on the Billboard record charts. Both volumes were certified Gold by the RIAA in the U.S., with the second volume being certified Platinum. [1]

Contents

1935–1954

Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954)
Billboard greatest christmas hits 1935-1954.jpg
Compilation album by
Various artists
Released1989
Genre Christmas music
Label Rhino
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
  1. "White Christmas" — Bing Crosby (Best Sellers in Stores and Christmas singles chart #1, Hot 100 #12) [3]
  2. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" — Vaughn Monroe (Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys & Most Played in Jukeboxes #1)
  3. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" — Gene Autry (Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys & Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys #1)
  4. "The Christmas Song" — King Cole Trio (Most Played by Jockeys & Most played Juke Box Race Records #3)
  5. "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" — Spike Jones & His City Slickers (Most Played by Jockeys #1)
  6. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" — Jimmy Boyd (Best Sellers in Stores #1)
  7. "Christmas Island" — Andrews Sisters & Guy Lombardo (Most Played in Jukeboxes #7)
  8. "Silent Night" — Bing Crosby (Record Buying Guide #10) [4]
  9. "Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)" — Gene Autry (Best Sellers in Stores #8)
  10. "Santa Baby" — Eartha Kitt (Best Sellers in Stores #4)

Reception

Shawn Haney of Allmusic says the album is a "charming collection of golden classic Christmas favorites" that "should appeal to all ages." Featuring "everybody and everything from the Bing himself to Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to "All I Want for Christmas," a comedic, hilarious family favorite". [2] The album peaked at #24 on Billboard's Top Christmas Albums chart in 1991 and charted a total of 7 weeks. [5]

1955–Present

Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955–Present)
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955-Present).jpg
Compilation album by
Various artists
Released1989
Genre Christmas music
Label Rhino
Alternative cover
Billboard Christmas Four-Pack.jpg
Box Set Cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
  1. "Jingle Bell Rock" — Bobby Helms (Top 100 Sides #6, Hot 100 #35 (in 1958), Christmas singles chart #1)
  2. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" — Brenda Lee (Hot 100 #14 (in 1960), Christmas singles chart #3)
  3. "The Chipmunk Song" — The Chipmunks with David Seville (Hot 100 #1, Christmas singles chart #5)
  4. "The Little Drummer Boy" — The Harry Simeone Chorale (Hot 100 #13, Christmas singles chart #1)
  5. "Mary's Boy Child" — Harry Belafonte (Best Sellers in Stores #12, Christmas singles chart #5)
  6. "Blue Christmas" — Elvis Presley (Christmas singles chart #1)
  7. "Nuttin' for Christmas" — Barry Gordon (Best Sellers in Stores #6)
  8. "Please Come Home for Christmas" — Charles Brown (Hot 100 #76, Best-Selling Rhythm & Blues Records #12 & Christmas singles chart #1)
  9. "White Christmas" — The Drifters (Rhythm and Blues #2, Top 100 Sides #80, Hot 100 #88, Christmas singles chart #4)
  10. "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" — Elmo 'n Patsy (Hot Country Singles #92 (in 1983), Christmas singles chart #1)

Reception

Allmusic critic Stewart Mason calls the album "a rather skimpy but nonetheless useful compilation of Christmas songs" and says it "wisely steers mostly clear of the annoying novelty Christmas songs of the rock era." While it does include the "horrifyingly bad 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer'," it also includes "Charles Brown's 'Please Come Home for Christmas', maybe the best R&B Christmas song ever". [6] The album peaked at #15 on Billboard's Top Christmas Albums chart in 1991 and charted a total of 59 weeks. [5]

Other albums

Rhino Records subsequently released five other albums as Billboard Christmas hits:

Billboard Greatest Country Christmas Hits (1990)

  1. "Blue Christmas" — Ernest Tubb (Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys #1, Best Sellers in Stores #1)
  2. "Christmas Carols by the Old Corral" — Tex Ritter (Most Played Juke Box Folk Records #2)
  3. "Will Santy Come to Shanty Town" — Eddy Arnold (Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys #5)
  4. "Little Sandy Sleighfoot" — Jimmy Dean (Top 100 Sides #32)
  5. "Jingle Bell Rock" — Bobby Helms (Hot C&W Sides #13)
  6. "White Christmas" — Ernest Tubb (Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys #7)
  7. "The Little Drummer Boy" — Johnny Cash (Hot C&W Sides #24, Hot 100 #63)
  8. "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" — Eddy Arnold (Best Selling Folk Records #7)
  9. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" — Jimmy Boyd (Top Country & Western Records Most Played In Juke Boxes & Best Sellers in Stores #1)
  10. "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" — Buck Owens & His Buckaroos (Christmas singles chart #1)

Source: [7]

Billboard Greatest R&B Christmas Hits (1990)

  1. "Merry Christmas, Baby" — Johnny Moore's Three Blazers (Most played Juke Box Race Records #3, Christmas singles chart #2)
  2. "(It's Gonna Be A) Lonely Christmas" — The Orioles (Most played Juke Box Race Records #5)
  3. "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" — Mabel Scott (Most played Juke Box Race Records #12)
  4. "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby" — Amos Milburn (Best-Selling Retail & Most Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records #3)
  5. "The Little Drummer Boy" — Lou Rawls (Christmas singles chart #2)
  6. "This Time of the Year" — Brook Benton (Best-Selling Rhythm & Blues Records #12, Hot 100 #66)
  7. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" — The Cadillacs (Best-Selling Rhythm & Blues Records #11)
  8. "Run Rudolph Run" — Chuck Berry (Hot 100 #69 (in 1958))
  9. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" — The Jackson 5 (Christmas singles chart #1)
  10. "Silent Night" — Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Best-Selling Retail Rhythm & Blues Records #6)

Source: [8]

Billboard Rock 'n' Roll Christmas (1994)

  1. "Thank God It's Christmas" — Queen (UK Singles chart #21)
  2. "Christmas Is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" — Billy Squier (Christmas singles chart #9)
  3. "Rock and Roll Christmas" — George Thorogood & the Destroyers [9]
  4. "Christmas at Ground Zero" — Weird Al Yankovic
  5. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" — Foghat [10]
  6. "Father Christmas" — The Kinks
  7. "Run Rudolph Run" — Chuck Berry
  8. "Little Saint Nick" — The Beach Boys (Christmas singles chart #3)
  9. "Christmas Blues" — Canned Heat (Christmas singles chart #18) [11]
  10. "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" — Cheech & Chong (Christmas singles chart #3)

Sources: [12]

Billboard Presents: Family Christmas Classics (1995)

  1. "Christmas Time Is Here" — Vince Guaraldi Trio (from A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, Top Holiday Albums #2)
  2. "Welcome Christmas" — Boris Karloff / MGM Studio Orchestra (from the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! TV special soundtrack, Top Holiday Albums #36)
  3. "We Need a Little Christmas" — Angela Lansbury (from the Mame Original Cast recording, Top LPs #23)
  4. "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" — Alvin and the Chipmunks / David Seville
  5. "Riu Chiu" — The Monkees (from The Monkees (TV series) Christmas Show)
  6. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" — Burl Ives (from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special, Christmas singles chart #13)
  7. "Comin' Up Christmas Time" — Yogi Bear & Friends (from Casper's First Christmas)
  8. "White Christmas" — Bing Crosby (from the film Holiday Inn )
  9. "Frosty the Snowman" — Jimmy Durante (from the Frosty the Snowman TV special)
  10. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" — Judy Garland (from Meet Me in St. Louis)

Source: [13]

Billboard Top Christmas Hymns (1995)

  1. "Joy to the World" — Philadelphia Orchestra (from The Glorious Sound Of Christmas, Christmas album chart #17)
  2. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" — Mormon Tabernacle Choir (from The Spirit of Christmas, Christmas album chart #26)
  3. "O Holy Night" — Andy Williams (from The Andy Williams Christmas Album , Christmas album chart #1)
  4. "The First Noel" — Johnny Mathis / Percy Faith & His Orchestra (from Merry Christmas (Best-Selling Pop LPs #3, Christmas album chart #2)
  5. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear/Good King Wenceslas/We Three Kings/Villancico/Hark! The Herald Angels" — Harry Simeone Chorale (from The Little Drummer Boy, Christmas album chart #1)
  6. "O Come, All Ye Faithful" — Leonard Bernstein / Mormon Tabernacle Choir / New York Philharmonic (from The Joy of Christmas , Christmas album chart #8)
  7. "Away in a Manger" — Julie Andrews / André Previn (from A Christmas Treasure, Christmas album chart #9)
  8. "Medley: The Joys of Christmas/O Little Town Of Bethlehem/Deck The Halls/The First Noel" — Harry Belafonte (from To Wish You a Merry Christmas , Christmas album chart #40)
  9. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" — Ray Conniff & the Singers (from Here We Come A-Caroling , Christmas album chart #15)
  10. "Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/O Little Town Of Bethlehem/Silent Night" — John Gary (from the John Gary Christmas Album, Christmas album chart #3)

Sources: [14]

See also

Billboard Christmas Holiday Charts

Related Research Articles

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, online streaming, and radio play in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Sandman</span> 1954 song

"Mr. Sandman" is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954. It was first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra and later that year by The Chordettes and the Four Aces. The song's lyrics convey a request to "Mr. Sandman" to "bring me a dream" – the traditional association of the folkloric figure. The pronoun used to refer to the desired dream is often changed depending on the sex of the singer or group performing the song, as the original sheet music publication, which includes male and female versions of the lyrics, intended.

"Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite" is a popular song that was a hit during the mid-1950s. It was written by Calvin Carter and James "Pookie" Hudson in 1951, and was first recorded by The Spaniels in 1953. It has also been released by some artists as "Goodnight, Well It's Time to Go".

"It's Almost Tomorrow" is a 1955 popular song with music by Gene Adkinson and lyrics by Wade Buff. The song was actually written in 1953, when Adkinson and Buff were in high school. Hit versions were released in 1955 by The Dream Weavers, Jo Stafford, David Carroll, and Snooky Lanson.

Radio Disney Jams was a series of CD compilations of music that was featured on Radio Disney, a children's radio network.

"Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first recorded by Berry in 1958, released as a single on Chess Records.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Christmas (song)</span> Song by Billy Hayes and J W. Johnson

"Blue Christmas" is a Christmas song written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson and most famously recorded by Elvis Presley, although it was first recorded by Doye O'Dell in 1948. It is a tale of unrequited love during the holidays and is a longstanding staple of Christmas music, especially in the country genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana (Paul Anka song)</span> 1957 song by Paul Anka

"Diana" is a song written and first performed by Paul Anka, who recorded it in May 1957 at Don Costa’s studio in New York City. Anka stated in his autobiography that the song was inspired by a girl named Diana Ayoub, whom he had met at his church and community events, and had developed a crush on. Session musicians on the record included George Barnes playing lead guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli playing the "Calypso" riff on guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA Victor Studios in New York. Backup singers included Artie Ripp.

<i>Merry Christmas</i> (The Supremes album) 1965 studio album by The Supremes

Merry Christmas is the seventh studio album recorded by Motown girl group The Supremes, and released on Motown Records in November 1965. The LP, produced by Harvey Fuqua, includes recordings of familiar Christmas songs such as "White Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "My Favorite Things", and "Joy to the World". Two originals, "Children's Christmas Song" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me", were issued as a single. Neither Wilson nor Ballard sing on the original 1965 release of "Merry Christmas". They were too tired from their appearance at the Copacabana so The Andantes were used instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here Comes Santa Claus</span> 1947 song by Oakley Haldeman and Gene Autry

"Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song written and originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Claus as "Santy Claus") was a top-10 hit on the pop and country charts; the song would go on to be covered many times in the subsequent decades.

Christmas with The Chipmunks is the name given to four different Christmas music albums by Alvin and the Chipmunks. These albums were released individually in 1962, 1963, 2007 and 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus Is Back in Town</span> 1957 song by Elvis Presley

"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" is a Christmas song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and first recorded that year by Elvis Presley as the opening track on Elvis' Christmas Album, the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of all time in the United States. The song has become a rock and roll Christmas standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)</span> 1949 Christmas song by Johnny Marks

"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company. Gene Autry's recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.

<i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i> (soundtrack) 1964 soundtrack album by cast

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a soundtrack album to the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special of the same name. The original cast recordings from the TV special are supplemented with instrumental versions recorded by the Decca Concert Orchestra on the Compact Disc version. All songs used in the television special were written by Johnny Marks.

<i>Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole</i> 1983 live album by Johnny Mathis

Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole is a soundtrack album released in the UK in 1983 by the CBS Records division of Columbia in conjunction with the broadcast of American pop singer Johnny Mathis's BBC television concert special of the same name that featured Cole's daughter Natalie. The front of the original album jacket credits the concert performers as "Johnny Mathis and Natalie Cole", whereas the CD booklet reads, "Johnny Mathis with special guest Natalie Cole".

"Feel So Fine" is a song released in 1960 by Johnny Preston. The song is a reworking of the 1955 song "Feel So Good" by Shirley & Lee, with modified lyrics.

<i>Billboard</i> Christmas Holiday charts Music rankings by the trade magazine Billboard of Christmas Holiday Music

Billboard magazine only charted Christmas singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday records until the 1958 holiday season when they published their first section that surveys only Christmas music.

References