What do you think is the best selling Christmas song of all time? 
I thought I knew, but I was completely wrong. Before collaborating with Google I assumed it would be “White Christmas”, as made famous by Bing Crosby. It isn’t. In fact, White Christmas isn’t even Bing Crosby’s number one selling Christmas song. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams)” is actually Bing Crosby’s number one.
The number one Christmas seller? You’ll have to hold on for a moment.
It is unfair to only use record sales to determine the number one Christmas song of all time. Prior to digital downloads, the number one Christmas song was “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley released in 1964.
“Blue Christmas” is certified by the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) as a platinum selling record meaning it has sold over 1,000,000 copies but less than 2,000,000. “This One’s For the Children” by New Kids on the Block is number two in sales certified as gold by selling over 500,000 copies. Those crazy musical geniuses, The Chipmunks, have two of the top twenty.
Oldies like Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Round the Christmas Tree”, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms, Jimmy Boyd’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” are in the top twenty. Gene Autry, the famous cowboy singer, has two songs in the top twenty. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)” and “Jingle Bells” are at the bottom of the list for top sellers. Each of these is certified as a gold seller.
Things changed with digital downloads. Not only is the convenience of digital downloads impacting sales, but support from television and general access to the internet is changing how we listen to music. With that in mind, the number one seller of all time is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” and the number two seller isn’t even close.
“All I Want for Christmas is You” has sold over 12,000,000 copies. Number 2 with just over 4,000,000 in sales is Justin Biebers “Mistletoe”. Honestly, I’m not sure if I have ever heard Biebers “Mistletoe”. Pentatonix takes the third and fourth places with “Hallelujah” and “Mary, Did You Know”. Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song” and Chris Brown’s “This Christmas” are in the top ten. The only old school Christmas song to make the top ten digital downloads is “Christmas Time is Here” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. The Vince Guaraldi Trio? Remember A Charlie Brown Christmas?
Regardless of how one acquires their music, one thing is sure, music is an integral part of our holiday traditions. Songs from our past are tied directly to these family traditions and directly through our children we add more songs to the family musical tradition. I recently received a text from my oldest daughter, a mother of three, telling me while she was decorating her home for Christmas she was listening to, and exposing her husband and children to, a piece of music that she heard as a youngster growing up at home, George Winston’s “December”. “December” was and still is a staple at our house during the Christmas holidays.
In reality, sales don’t define the most popular Christmas and Holiday songs of all time. Our families create traditions that have a foot in the past and an ear in the future. It is these traditions that define the most popular Christmas songs. I know our daughter isn’t just playing George Winston. I promise she has Mariah Carey in her queue.
Here are links to some of the most popular Christmas songs of all time.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)/Bing Crosby:
This One’s For the Children/New Kids on the Block
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree/Brenda Lee
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/Jimmy Boyd
All I Want For Christmas Is You/Mariah Carey
Mary, Did You Know?/Pentatonix
The Chanukah Song/Adam Sandler
Christmas Time is Here/The Vince Guaraldi Trio
Here is some of the music that fills our home during the Christmas season.
Cantate Domino is an amazing performance featuring a choir, orchestra and pipe organ. It is also an amazing recording. Recorded in 1976 in Oscarskyrkan Sweden, Cantate Domino includes classical music from Handel, Christmas classics like Silent Night and Swedish folk songs. As an added bonus Cantate Domino is available in high resolution downloads and S.A.C.D. for those who are serious about sound quality. Here’s a link to “O Holy Night”.
December by George Winston is a solo piano recording from the famed label Windam Hill Recordings. Winston is known for his percussive style of playing and the music is captured in a warm, yet pristine way. Perfect for background music or serious listening, December has been a part of our Christmas traditions since the early 90’s. Full Album
Larry Carlton is known as one of the greatest jazz guitar players around. Not only has he had a terrific solo career, he has been in bands like Fourplay and The Crusaders and was recruited by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan fame to play on several of their albums. Here’s a link to the entire album.
The Drifters were one of the most influential and popular “doo wop” vocal groups of the 1950’s. Clyde McPhatter formed The Drifters in the early 1950’s. In 1956 they released their version of the classic Christmas song, “White Christmas“. There is a relatively newish video that has brought “White Christmas” to a new generation that was created by Joshua Held.
In The Media Room | by Artistic Systems 