Billboard Christmas Holiday charts
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.
An increase of Christmas records began charting Billboard in 1957. The popular music surveys charted 9 Christmas singles, including the debut of the Bobby Helms' standard "Jingle Bell Rock" (Top 100 Sides #6).[1] Gene Autry's newly recorded version of his 1949 original "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"[2] made the Top 100 Sides at No. 70.[3] The Best Selling Pop LP's had 11 seasonal albums chart including the debut of Elvis' Christmas Album that topped the survey for 3 weeks.
Bing Crosby's all-time best-selling single[4] "White Christmas" returned to the Top 40 again in 1957 at No. 34. It has charted Billboard's surveys almost annually since it first spent 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on their Best Selling Retail Records chart beginning Oct. 31, 1942[5] It reached the top spot again in 1945 for two more weeks and made its 14th #1 week on December 28, 1946.[6] Crosby's "Silent Night" (Top 100 Sides #54) and "Silver Bells" (Top 100 Sides #78) also made the Top 100 Sides in 1957. All 3 of these titles are included on his Merry Christmas which returned to No. 1 in January 1958 after charting Billboard's album surveys since its debut in 1945.
Deejay's Favorite Christmas Disks[edit]
On November 24, 1958, the magazine published Deejay's Favorite Christmas Disks. Described as the records played most frequently by disk jockeys each Christmas season, according to a survey made by The Billboard, the section consisted of 3 top 10 lists charting the top Holiday Singles, LP Albums and for the only time on Billboard's Christmas/Holiday surveys, EP Albums. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" was the No. 1 single, Percy Faith's 1954 Music of Christmas[39] was the No. 1 LP and Pat Boone's 1957 Merry Christmas[40] was the No. 1 EP.[41] A Holiday survey would not be published again until the annual Christmas Records section is launched in 1963.
Seven holiday singles charted the first year of Billboard's Hot 100 in 1958 including the debut of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" (Hot 100 #1 for 4 weeks)[42] and Harry Simeone's "Little Drummer Boy" (Hot 100 #13).[43] Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" returned to the charts at No. 35. Eight holiday albums charted on Billboard's Best-Selling LP's survey in 1958 including the debut of Johnny Mathis' Merry Christmas that peaked at No. 3 on December 27.[44] Mitch Miller & The Gang's first holiday album Christmas Sing Along with Mitch peaked at No. 1 on January 8, 1959. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" made its first Hot 100 appearance in 1959 at No. 59. Perry Como debuted his second Christmas album Season's Greetings from Perry Como on The Billboard's TOP LP'S on January 8, 1960, peaking at No. 22.[45]
The 1960 Hot 100 had 10 holiday singles including the debut of an annual charting of Brenda Lee's standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Hot 100 #14)[46] and the return of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)" (Deejay's Favorite Christmas Disks #2, Hot 100 #80).[47] Bing Crosby's "Silent Night" (Deejay's Favorite Christmas Disks #8, Hot 100 #54) also returned in 1960 and the flip side "Adeste Fidelis" (Hot 100 #45) also from his 1945 Merry Christmas album made its first charting.[48]
Bobby Helms returned to the Hot 100 at No. 36 in 1960 with the start of an annual charting of "Jingle Bell Rock". Harry Simeone's "Little Drummer Boy" and "The Chipmunk Song" re-charted the Hot 100 every year after their initial release just as Christmas Sing Along with Mitch and Johnny Mathis' Merry Christmas album had on Billboard's Best-Selling LPs chart. The Chipmunks with David Seville followed up in 1960 with a cover of "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" that peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100. Bobby Rydell & Chubby Checker's cover of "Jingle Bell Rock" peaked at No. 21[49] and "Baby's First Christmas" by Connie Francis peaked at No. 26 in 1961, both re-charting the following year.[50] Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" returned to the Hot 100 in 1961 at No. 12[51] and in 1962 at No. 38.
Billboard's TOP LP's charted 21 holiday albums in 1962. Mitch Miller's Gang peaked at No. 1 again with their latest Christmas album Holiday Sing Along with Mitch.[52] Bing Crosby returned with Merry Christmas (Deejay's Favorite Christmas Disks #3, Top Mono LP's #46) and debuted his latest I Wish You a Merry Christmas (Top Mono LP's #50).[53] The 1962 Hot 100 had 12 seasonal singles including new releases like The 4 Seasons cover of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (Hot 100 #23) and re-charting holiday standards like Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" (Hot 100 #65). Billboard debuted their first annual Christmas Records charts the following year.
Best Bets for Christmas[edit]
Beginning with the issue dated November 30, 1963, Billboard magazine no longer charted Christmas albums or singles on its existing music charts. For the next 10 years, these titles could only be found in their new annual best-selling Christmas Records section (retitled Billboard Top Christmas Sellers in 1965[54] and then Billboard Best Bets for Christmas in 1966[55] through 1973).[A] The 5-position survey ranking of top-selling Christmas Singles[B] and Christmas LP's[C] ran for 3–5 weeks each holiday season expanding in size as sales activity increased.[57]
The Andy Williams Christmas Album was the first number one album and his version of "White Christmas" from the same album was the first number one single, both peaking at No. 1 for the 5 week entirety of the section run in 1963.[58] The chart size increased each holiday season until peaking at 38 singles and 117 LPS in 1967.[59] Beginning in 1971, the Best Bets for Christmas only ran 2–3 weeks a year and listed significantly less titles with the singles chart only having 3 positions on December 18 of that year.[60]
Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas (LPs #2) spent 39 weeks on the LP survey from 1963 to 1973, more than any other album at the time. Harry Simeone's album The Little Drummer Boy (LPs #1)[61] and Nat King Cole's album The Christmas Song (LPs #1) tie at second, both charting 35 weeks between 1963 and 1973. Crosby's Merry Christmas, Cole's The Christmas Song and Johnny Mathis' Merry Christmas (LPs #2) spent more than 25 weeks each in the top 10. The Andy Williams Christmas Album spent the most time on top of the chart at 9 inconsecutive weeks between 1963 and 1965. Andy Williams follow up, Merry Christmas spent 3 inconsecutive weeks at number one from 1966 to 1969.[62][63] Barbra Streisand's 1967 A Christmas Album topped the second most with 6 weeks[64] and Harry Simeone's The Little Drummer Boy album comes in 3rd with 4 weeks at number one on the Best Bets For Christmas album chart.[65][66]
Harry Simeone's "The Little Drummer Boy" single peaked at No. 1 for 10 weeks between 1964 and 1968, the most of any title on Billboard's Christmas 45 rpm record surveys. His hit and 1960's "Please Come Home For Christmas" by Charles Brown (45's #1) spent more time than any other single in the top 10 of the Best Bets for Christmas survey at 33 weeks each. Both, along with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (45's #1), Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" (45's #1) and Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" (45's #1) spent more than 30 weeks each on the Christmas singles survey between 1963 and 1973. Andy William's "White Christmas" and 1967's "Snoopy's Christmas" by The Royal Guardsmen topped the chart 5 times each tying both for the second most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Christmas Singles chart.
The Carpenters "Merry Christmas, Darling" was No. 1 on the singles chart the most during the 1970s with 3 weeks.[67] Second is the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town' which topped the survey twice that decade.[68] Both debuted on the Best Bets For Christmas in 1970.[69] The Jackson 5 Christmas Album topped the album chart the most in the 70's with 3 weeks.[70] 1971's A Partridge Family Christmas Card[71] and Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas[72] tie for second with each peaking at No. 1 for 2 weeks.
Titles on these Christmas surveys did not appear on Billboard's other charts until 1973 when "Please Daddy" by John Denver (Hot 100 #69,[73] Hot Country Singles #69)[74] and "If We Make It Through December" by Merle Haggard (Hot 100 #28,[75] Hot Country Singles #1)[76] both peaked at No. 7[77][78] on the Best Selling Christmas Singles chart as well as appearing on the Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles chart.[D] Holiday albums only charted the Best Bets for Christmas that year. Christmas music surveys were not published after the December 22, 1973 Best Bets For Christmas until the section continues in 1983 retitled Christmas Hits.
Billboard sporadically provided a section entitled New Christmas Selections from 1974 until 1976 that alphabetically listed titles of holiday record albums and singles. Many singles and albums have re-charted over the years, but hundreds of titles only appeared in these best-seller sections that are unavailable on Billboard's website. The charts are extensively researched in Joel Whitburn's Christmas in the Charts 1920-2004 that contain statistics on every Christmas single and album that charted all of Billboard's music surveys. From 1974 until 1982, the magazine reverted to charting seasonal hits only on their weekly popular music surveys such as the Eagles' 1978 cover of "Please Come Home For Christmas" (Hot 100 #18)[82] and Dan Fogelberg's 1980 "Same Old Lang Syne" (Hot 100 #9,[83] Adult Contemporary #8)[84] as well as LPs and tapes like John Denver's 1975 Rocky Mountain Christmas (Top LPs & Tapes #14)[85] and Kenny Rogers' 1981 Christmas (Top LPs & Tapes #34,[86] Top Country LPs #10).[87]
Christmas Hits[edit]
After 9 years, Billboard began publishing the best-selling Christmas Album and Single chart survey section again under the title Christmas Hits on December 17, 1983. The top 10 charts ran for two weeks each holiday season for the next 3 years[88] then returned in 1987 as a 30 position album only chart. Unlike the Best Bets For Christmas, Christmas Hits would often also chart Billboard's other music surveys such as Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton's 1984 Once Upon A Christmas (Top 200 Albums #31, Top Country Albums #12)[89] and 1985's Alabama Christmas (Top 200 Albums #75, Top Country Albums #8)[90] which both peaked at No. 1 on the Christmas Hits album survey.[91]
Kenny Roger's 1981 Christmas was number one on the album chart for the first two weeks of the Christmas Hits survey. A Very Special Christmas spent the most weeks at the top of the album chart during the 1980s with 3 consecutive weeks starting December 12, 1987.[92][93] Mannheim Steamroller's A Fresh Aire Christmas spent 2 consecutive weeks at No. 1 starting December 24, 1988 and went on to top the chart 4 more weeks during the 1990s.
Barbra Streisand's A Christmas Album (Christmas Hits #2) and 1978's Christmas Portrait by The Carpenters (Christmas Hits #2) charted all 13 weeks of the Christmas Hits album chart. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's Once Upon a Christmas, Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song (Christmas Hits #5) and 1984's Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (Christmas Hits #2) tie for second most times on the chart during the eighties with 11 weeks each.[94] Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas, Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song and Elvis's Christmas Album spent more than 40 weeks each on the Best Bets for Christmas and Christmas Hits surveys, more weeks than other LP during the entire holiday album chart run at the time.[95][96]
Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" returned to the top of the singles chart for the first week of the Christmas Hits survey. His hit has charted the most with 37 total weeks during the entire Christmas singles survey run. Bobby Helms comes in second with "Jingle Bell Rock" charting a total of 36 weeks. Harry Simeone's "Little Drummer Boy", Charles Brown's "Please Come Home For Christmas", Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" and Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas " also charted over 30 weeks each during the entirety of the Christmas singles survey. All 6 of these records peaked at No. 1 over the duration of Billboard's Christmas singles charts.
Elmo 'N Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" spent the most weeks at top of the Christmas Hits singles chart during the 1980s with 4 consecutive weeks starting December 24, 1983.[97] It was also the only single that crossed over charting the Hot Country Singles chart at No. 92 in 1984. Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Hot 100 #13)[98] reached number 6 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart in 1984 and had sold an estimated 2.5 million copies in the U.S. by January 1985,[99] but did not appear on Billboard's Christmas Hits best selling singles survey.[E]
Bruce Springsteen's cover of "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town" had peaked at No. 1 when Billboard published their last Christmas Hits single survey on December 28, 1985.[101] An alphabetical listing of Christmas singles would be featured in the magazine's "Reviews and Previews" section, but a seasonal album chart would be the only Christmas survey published until the introduction of Holiday Songs in 2001. For the next 25 years, best-sellers like 1989's "This One's For The Children" by New Kids On The Block (Hot 100 #7,[102] Adult Contemporary #7,[103] Hot Black Singles #55)[104] and 1993's "Let It Snow" by Boyz II Men Featuring Brian McKnight (Hot 100 #32,[105] Hot R&B Singles #17)[106] were only surveyed on their weekly popular music charts until Billboard began surveying best selling Christmas songs in 2010 on the Holiday Digital Song Sales chart and also on the Holiday 100 beginning the following year.