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"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams' record label (Columbia Records) that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of "White Christmas" as the official promo single from the album.[1] The song peaked number 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 2007 and into the Top 10 consistently over the past several years, peaking at No. 5 in 2020 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA.

For other uses, see The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (disambiguation).

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
One of artwork variants for 2007 UK single release
Single by Andy Williams
from the album The Andy Williams Christmas Album
ReleasedOctober 14, 1963
GenreChristmas
Length2:33
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Robert Mersey

History



Song content


Andy Williams (1963)
Andy Williams (1963)

The song is a celebration and description of activities associated with the Christmas season, focusing primarily on get-togethers between friends and families. Among the activities included in the song is the telling of "scary ghost stories," a Victorian Christmas tradition that has mostly fallen into disuse,[2][3] but survives in the seasonal popularity of numerous adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Other activities mentioned include hosting parties, spontaneous visits from friends, universal social gaiety, spending time with loved ones, sledding for children, roasting marshmallows, sharing stories about previous Christmases, and singing Christmas carols in winter weather.

In a 2005 interview, Williams discusses how The Andy Williams Show figured into his recording of the song, first introduced in the 1962 Christmas episode:[4]

George Wyle, who is a vocal director, who wrote all of the choir stuff and all of the duets and trios and things that I did with all the guests, he wrote a song just for the show – I think the second Christmas show we did – called 'Most Wonderful Time of the Year'. So I did that, you know, every Christmas, and then other people started doing it. And then suddenly it's become – not suddenly but over 30 years – it's become a big standard. I think it's one of the top 10 Christmas songs of all time now.[5]

Although Williams recorded multiple other versions throughout his life,[6][7] the original 1963 version remains the most popular and well-known.[8]

The song was selected as the theme song for Christmas Seals in 1968,[9] 1976,[10] 2009 and 2012.


Other notable versions



Use in advertising and parodies


Since 1995, the song was used humorously in the Staples office supply retail chain's annual back to school advertising campaign. In the commercials, the parents joyously shop for school supplies to this song in anticipation of the upcoming school year while their children sullenly follow.[18]

In 2018, Sprite made a parody titled “It’s The Most Thirstiest Time of The Year” featuring LeBron James advertising their Sprite Cranberry. This was a meme after the commercial aired.


Chart performance


In the issue of Billboard magazine dated November 28, 2009, the list of the "Top 10 Holiday Songs (Since 2001)" places the Williams recording of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" at number five.[19] 2001 also marked the first year in which the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) started compiling data regarding the radio airplay of holiday songs, and although the Williams classic started out at number 25 of twenty-five songs that were ranked that year,[20] it gained steam over the next ten years, reaching number 18 in 2002,[21] number 13 in 2003,[22] and eventually getting to number four in 2010.[23]

Because of its use in an advertisement for Marks & Spencer, a CD single of the Williams recording was released in the UK in 2007 and gave the song its first of many annual appearances on the UK singles chart.[24] In December 2011, Billboard returned to the practice of publishing a seasonal Christmas singles chart, and the Williams song debuted at number eight on the newly christened Holiday 100,[25] where it has reappeared every year since. In December 2016, Williams' original version began a series of annual chart runs on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching the top 10 for the first time in December 2018. On the Hot 100 chart from the 2020 holiday season dated January 2, 2021, it reached a new all-time peak of No. 5.[26]


Weekly charts


Andy Williams version


Certifications and sales



Andy Williams version


Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[117] Platinum 70,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[118] Platinum 90,000
Italy (FIMI)[119] Gold 35,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[120] Gold 10,000
Portugal (AFP)[121] Gold 5,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[122] Gold 25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[123] Platinum 600,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.


References


  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 65. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
  2. "Telling ghost stories is a lost tradition on Christmas Eve". Deseret News. December 23, 2010.
  3. "Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome" – via www.gutenberg.org.
  4. Crump, William D. (2013). "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". The Christmas Encyclopedia (Third ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-7864-6827-0. LCCN 2013023691.
  5. Williams, Andy. Interviewed by Karen Herman. Archive of American Television, A Program of the Television Academy Foundation. emmytvlegends.org, September 19, 2005. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  6. "Andy Williams - The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". mp3lemon.ws. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014.
  7. (1995) We Need a Little Christmas by Andy Williams [CD booklet]. Nashville: Unison Music V20044. "[Andy Williams:] These all-new recordings feature fresh, innovative arrangements of some of my favorite carols. I felt like I was singing them for the very first time."
  8. Lenniger, Shea (December 4, 2018). "Here Are the Lyrics to Andy Williams' 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020. Andy Williams' 1963 holiday hit "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" returns to the Billboard Hot 100 chart once again. Last December was the first time the song broke into the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 32. This year, it has already re-entered at the No. 21 spot... Since its 1963 release, the lovable track has continued to put listeners into a joyful spirit leading up to the holidays.
  9. (1968) "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year/The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by Andy Williams [7-inch single]. New York: Columbia Records 4-44709.
  10. (1976) "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year/Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells" by Andy Williams [7-inch single]. New York: Columbia Records AE7 1108.
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На других языках

- [en] It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

[it] It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, conosciuta anche come The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, è una canzone natalizia scritta da Edward Pola e George Wyle[8][9] ed incisa originariamente nel 1962[10] da Andy Williams, che la incluse nel suo album The Andy Williams Christmas Album dell'anno seguente[8][11]. Il singolo uscì su etichetta Columbia Records.[10] e fu ripubblicato nel 1968[9].


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