(It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas

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"(It's Gonna Be a) Lonely Christmas" is a Christmas song recorded by The Orioles in 1948. It was their second hit (following "It's Too Soon to Know"), reaching position #8 on Billboard’s Juke Box charts in December 1948, and #5 the following Christmas. [1]

The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound.

"It's Too Soon to Know" is an American doo-wop ballad by Deborah Chessler (1923-2012), performed first by The Orioles. It was number one on the American Rhythm and blues charts in November 1948. It is considered by some to be the first "rock and roll" song, and described by others as "the first rhythm and blues vocal group harmony recording".

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts. There are also Year End charts. The charts may be dedicated to specific genre such as R&B, country or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three pools of data are used to compile the charts. For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.

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References

  1. CD liner notes: Billboard Greatest R&B Christmas Hits, 1990, Rhino Records