Chart Watch extra: Christmas' greatest hits
Mariah Carey's zesty "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has sold more copies than any other holiday song in digital history. The song has sold 1,715,000 downloads since she introduced it in 1994. Nielsen/SoundScan maintains a list of the 200 holiday songs that have sold the most digital copies. I have extracted the top 30 for today's blog. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the only act with more than one song in the top 30. The ensemble has three: "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" at #2, "Christmas Canon" at #4 and "Wizards In Winter" at #18.
The oldest song in the top 30 is the traditional "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The oldest song whose authorship is known is "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town", which has been a holiday perennial since 1934. (Bruce Springsteen, whose version ranks #14, recorded the song in 1975.) The oldest song in the top 30 that was recorded by the original artist is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", which he introduced in 1942.
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is the only song that appears twice in the top 30. A version by Dean Martin ranks #22. Another by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan ranks #30. Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban introduced the Frank Loesser song in the 1949 movie Neptune's Daughter. It became the second holiday song (after "White Christmas") to win an Academy Award for Best Song.
Several of these songs, notably Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", are the biggest hits these artists ever had. In several other cases, the act had bigger pop hits, but these holiday perennials are probably their best known works today. This is true of Brenda Lee ("Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"), Jose Feliciano ("Feliz Navidad"), Burl Ives ("A Holly Jolly Christmas") and Dan Fogelberg ("Same Old Lang Syne").
In addition to co-writing "All I Want For Christmas Is You", Carey shares the writing credit on the Faith Hill hit "Where Are You Christmas?" Only one other songwriter has two songs on this list. Johnny Marks wrote both Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" and Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas".
These artists ranged widely in age when they recorded these holiday perennials. Gayla Peevey was just 10 in 1953 when she recorded "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas (Hippo The Hero)". Burl Ives was 55 in 1964 when he recorded "A Holly Jolly Christmas".
Improbably, two of the artists who recorded these holiday classics died on Christmas Day. Dean Martin died on December 25, 1995. Eartha Kitt, who sang "Santa Baby", died on the same day in 2008. (Yahoo! Music)
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