Some other popular holiday season songs
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For a list of all holiday season songs on the site Songbook.wordPress.com, see:
This page contains recordings of the following songs:
- Jingle Bells
- It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Carol of the Drum (Little Drummer Boy)
- Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano)
- Jingle Bell Rock
Update, 15 December 2015: The list of the 25 most performed ASCAP holiday songs of the previous decade (2000-2009), released by ASCAP in 2009, previously found on this page, has been relocated to the “Selected holiday season songs, index” page.
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Jingle Bells by James Lord Pierpont (1857) didn’t make the list. But it is far from forgotten. It is a children’s favorite, and Jazzstandards.com ranks it #275, well above White Christmas (#404) in their ranking of the top 1,000 jazz standards.
From Wikipedia:
Jingle Bells is one of the best known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and copyrighted under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” on September 16, 1857. Despite being inextricably connected to Christmas, it is not specifically a Christmas song.
When James Lord Pierpont’s song was originally published in 1857,[1] it had a different chorus melody, which was more classical. The 1857 lyrics differed slightly from those we know today. It is unknown who replaced the chorus melody and the words with those of the modern version. The song was reprinted in 1859 with the revised title of “Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh.”[2]
“Jingle Bells” was first recorded by the Edison Male Quartette in 1898 on an Edison cylinder. In 1902, the Hayden Quartet recorded the song.
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Benny Goodman & his Orchestra – recorded on 1 July 1935; issued on the 78 rpm single Victor 25145, as the B-side of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (A-side by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra)
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Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra — recorded on 29 September 1943; issued on the 78 rpm single Decca 23281, b/w “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”
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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Edward Pola, George Wyle) – Written in 1963, it was recorded and released that year by Andy Williams on his first Christmas album, though no promotional single was released. Wikipedia says,
The original version of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams has since become a radio airplay standard, attaining more and more popularity with each passing holiday season since the song’s original release. It was also selected as the theme song for Christmas Seals in both 1968 and 1976.
Andy Williams — from The Andy Williams Show, 1963(?); appears to be a lip-sync performance to the track released in 1963 on his first Christmas album
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Carol of the Drum (Little Drummer Boy) — words and music by Katherine K. Davis
Wikipedia says:
“Little Drummer Boy,” originally known as “Carol of the Drum,” is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer/teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis* in 1941.[1] It was recorded 1955 by the Trapp Family Singers[2] and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale. This version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since.[3]
The Wikipedia page on the song claims (under Origins) that the song “was published by Davis based upon a traditional Czech song,” and identifies that song by title, before evidently contradicting this claim a few sentences later in the same paragraph by stating that “The Czech original of the carol has never been identified.”
Trapp Family Singers — issued on Christmas with the Trapp Family Singers — Vol. 1, Decca DL 9553, in 1955, according to SecondHandSongs.com
However, the dates of the recording and its release are in question:
- SecondHandSongs.com says “A previous release (ca. 1953) on a smaller format may exist.”
- See the forum topic “Work: Carol of the Drum (Bastien) – Trapp Family 1955,” regarding dating of the recording and release of “Carol of the Drum” by the Trapp Family Singers. Blogger Lee Hartsfield claims that the Trapp Family Singers recording was made for “Deutsche Grammophon between 1951-53, and it appeared in the U.S. on Decca in 1953 on a two-part 45 rpm EP set.”
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The Jack Halloran Singers — released in 1957 on the album Christmas is a Comin’, (Canada) Dot Records DLP-3076
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The Harry Simeone Chorale — from the 1958 album Sing We Now of Christmas
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Marlene Dietrich — Der Trommelmann, a 1964 recording with a German language lyric
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The Vienna Boys Choir – date unknown
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Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano) It is rare that the writer of one of the most popular Christmas songs is also the performer most associated with the song. The song was written, recorded, and released in 1970.
Wikipedia says,
Feliciano’s version of “Feliz Navidad” (in which he plays both an acoustic guitar and a Puerto Rican cuatro) is one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs in the United States and Canada. The addition of the horns as a final touch was the idea of producer Rick Jarrard. It was also recognized by ASCAP as one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs around the world.
José Feliciano — live, date unknown
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Jingle Bell Rock (Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe)
According to Wikipedia:
Beal was a Massachusetts-born public relations man and longtime resident of South Ocean Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Boothe was a Texas writer in the advertising business.
Regarding the Helms recording, Wikipedia says:
“Jingle Bell Rock” has been performed by many, but Helms’ version is the most known in the world. Its title and some of its lyrics are takeoffs on the old Christmas standard, “Jingle Bells.” It makes brief references to other popular songs of the 1950s, such as “Rock Around the Clock,” and mentions going to a “Jingle hop.” An electric guitar played by Hank Garland can be heard playing the first notes to the chorus from the aforementioned “Jingle Bells.”
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Bobby Helms — 1957
From the Bobby Helms biography at AllMusic, by John Bush:
Though his name is unfamiliar to most, Bobby Helms rules the airwaves every year around December 25th. His single “Jingle Bell Rock” first became a hit in 1957, and it reappeared on the charts four of the following five years to become an all-time Christmas classic. Before he was pigeonholed, though, Helms had a successful country career with two number one hits to his credit. [read more]
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The Ventures — 1965
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Wayne Newton — from his 1966 holiday LP Songs For a Merry Christmas
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*ASCAP credits the song under the title Carol of the Drum alone to Katherine K. Davis. However, Little Drummer Boy (the preferred title has no article) is credited to Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone. More recordings have been made under the latter title, a title which seems to refer to a specific 1958 arrangement by Simeone which may have owed a dept to the version recorded by the Jack Halloran Singers for Dot Records in 1957. Henry Onorati produced the 1957 Dot Records album Christmas is a Comin’, by the Jack Halloran Singers, which featured their recording of “Carol of the Drum.” Receiving a writing credit for an arrangement (Simeone) is rather exceptional, but receiving a writing credit for producing a recording, if that’s the case with respect to Onorati, would be even more unusual.
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