It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Encyclopedia
"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's 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.
than Christmas (although one such story, Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
, is indeed told most often around Christmas). Other activities mentioned include hosting parties for friends that come to call, roasting marshmallows (presumably over a fireplace and not a campfire as in the summer), and singing Christmas carol
s.
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.
In 1986, another popular version was released by Johnny Mathis
on his fourth holiday album, Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis.
In 1997, Bob Rivers
teamed up with Richard Simmons
to record a parody version, "It's the Most Fattening Time of the Year." The song is the lead track to the album More Twisted Christmas
. In the parody, Simmons appears as himself, panicked at numerous indulgences occurring in the song, scolding Rivers when he asks for a hot buttered roll, ominously warning him that "I'm watching!!"
In 1999, country singer Garth Brooks
became the first artist to chart a version of the song in North America, as his country remake reached #56 on Billboard
s Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart. Garth's version was taken from his second holiday album, Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas
. Also in 1999, Kathy Troccoli
recorded the song as a duet with Williams.
In 2006, Gonzo the Great
and Rizzo the Rat
recorded a cover for the holiday album The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas
.
A 2008 recording of the song by Harry Connick, Jr.
(from his third Christmas album, What a Night! A Christmas Album
) hit #9 on Billboard
s Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
chart (the highest charting version of the song to date in the United States).
In 2011, Chicago
released a cover version on their third holiday album, Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three.
For years, the song was used in a humorous fashion 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.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
song written in 1963 by Edward Pola
Edward Pola
Edward "Eddie" Pola was an actor, radio/television producer, and songwriter....
and George Wyle
George Wyle
George Wyle , born Bernard Weissman, was an American orchestra leader and composer best known for having written the theme song to 1960s television sitcom Gilligan's Island.-Early Years:...
. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album
The Andy Williams Christmas Album
The Andy Williams Christmas Album is the first Christmas holiday album released by singer Andy Williams. It was issued by Columbia Records in 1963, and it would prove to be the first of eight Christmas albums released by Williams...
. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams's record label (Columbia Records) that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of "White Christmas"
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
as the official promo single from the album.
Overview
The song is a celebration and description of activities associated with the Christmas and holiday season, focusing primarily on get-togethers between friends and families. Among the activities included in the song is the telling of "scary ghost stories," an activity that is more commonly associated with HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
than Christmas (although one such story, Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, is indeed told most often around Christmas). Other activities mentioned include hosting parties for friends that come to call, roasting marshmallows (presumably over a fireplace and not a campfire as in the summer), and singing Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s.
The original version of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
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.
In 1986, another popular version was released by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
on his fourth holiday album, Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis.
In 1997, Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers is a well-known American rock and roll radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies....
teamed up with Richard Simmons
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and DVDs and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality...
to record a parody version, "It's the Most Fattening Time of the Year." The song is the lead track to the album More Twisted Christmas
More Twisted Christmas
More Twisted Christmas is the third Christmas album by Bob Rivers. It was released in 1997, four years after I Am Santa Claus, and three years before Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire...
. In the parody, Simmons appears as himself, panicked at numerous indulgences occurring in the song, scolding Rivers when he asks for a hot buttered roll, ominously warning him that "I'm watching!!"
In 1999, country singer Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
became the first artist to chart a version of the song in North America, as his country remake reached #56 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart. Garth's version was taken from his second holiday album, Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas
Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas
Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas is the twelfth studio album, and second holiday album, by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on November 23, 1999, peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart , and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart...
. Also in 1999, Kathy Troccoli
Kathy Troccoli
Kathleen Colleen "Kathy" Troccoli is a contemporary Christian singer, author, and speaker.-Personal:Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 24, 1958, Troccoli moved at age three and was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, graduating from East Islip High School. At 15, she lost her father...
recorded the song as a duet with Williams.
In 2006, Gonzo the Great
Gonzo the Great
Gonzo the Great is a puppet character, one of Jim Henson's Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a "Whatever" , he is considered one of The Frackles...
and Rizzo the Rat
Rizzo the Rat
Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet, performed by Steve Whitmire. Rizzo first appeared in episode 418 of The Muppet Show, as one of a group of rats following Christopher Reeve around backstage. He can be seen mugging and reacting to practically every line of dialogue. He remained a scene-stealing background...
recorded a cover for the holiday album The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas
The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas
-See also:*Kermit Unpigged*Muppets: The Green Album*The Muppets-External links:*...
.
A 2008 recording of the song by Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
(from his third Christmas album, What a Night! A Christmas Album
What a Night! A Christmas Album
What a Night! A Christmas Album, by American singer, pianist and bandleader Harry Connick, Jr., was released on November 4, 2008., being his third Christmas album, since 1993's When My Heart Finds Christmas and 2003's Harry for the Holidays...
) hit #9 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart (the highest charting version of the song to date in the United States).
In 2011, Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
released a cover version on their third holiday album, Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three.
For years, the song was used in a humorous fashion in the Staples office supply
Office Supply
Office Supply is a New Wave band consisting of three keyboardists. The band has successfully released their debut album Work in Progress, on the independent record label Toaster Records on April 30, 2006...
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.