I'll Be Home for Christmas

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written by Walter Kent.

In 1943, this song joined "White Christmas" to become one of America's most popular holiday songs. The recording by Bing Crosby shot to the top ten of the record charts that year and became a holiday musical tradition in the United States.

A song titled "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was first copyrighted on August 24, 1943, by Kent (music) and James "Kim" Gannon (words). The two revised and re-copyrighted their song on September 27, 1943, and it was this version that was made famous by Crosby. The label on Crosby's recording credits "I'll Be Home for Christmas" to Kent, Gannon, and Ram. Later recordings usually credit only Kent and Gannon. The discrepancy arose from the fact that on December 21, 1942 Buck Ram copyrighted a song titled "I'll Be Home for Christmas (Tho' Just in Memory)"—that song bore little or no resemblance, other than its title, to the Crosby recording.

According to Ram, who was primarily a lyricist, he had written the lyrics as a 16 years old, homesick college student. Prior to his publishers planned release, he had discussed the song with two acquaintences in a bar. He left a copy with them, but never spoke to them about it again. Both he and his publisher were shocked when the song was released by a competeing publishing house. Per news articles of the day, Ram's publisher, who had been holding the song back a year because they were coming out with "White Christmas," sued Gannon and Kent's publisher and prevailed in court.

On October 4, 1943, Crosby recorded "I'll Be Home for Christmas" with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra for Decca Records. Within about a month of its being copyrighted the song hit the music charts and remained there for eleven weeks, peaking at number three. The following year, the song reached number nineteen on the charts. It touched a tender place in the hearts of Americans, both soldiers and civilians, who were then in the depths of World War II, and it earned Crosby his fifth gold record. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" became the most requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows in both Europe and the Pacific and Yank, the GI magazine, said Crosby accomplished more for military morale than anyone else of that era.

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was recorded by Perry Como (1946), Frank Sinatra (1957) and countless other artists. And the team of Kent and Gannon continued to write songs, although none attained the popularity of 'I'll Be Home for Christmas. Kent also composed the hit song, "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover," with the lyricist Nat Burton.

In December 1965, having completed the first U.S. space rendezvous and set a record for the longest flight in the U.S. space program, the astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell hurtled back to earth aboard their Gemini 7 spacecraft. Asked by NASA communication personnel if they wanted any particular music piped up to them, the crew requested Bing Crosby's recording of "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

Versions

Recorded by:
*98 Degrees
*Aly & AJ ("Acoustic Hearts of Winter", 2006)
*BarlowGirl ("Home for Christmas", 2008)
*The Beach Boys ("The Beach Boys' Christmas Album", 1964)
*Tony Bennett
*Suzy Bogguss
*Boney M. ("Christmas Album", 1981)
*Pat Boone
*Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
*Michael Buble
*Jimmy Buffett
*Glen Campbell
*The Carpenters
*Johnny Cash
*Harry Connick, Jr. ("Harry for the Holidays", 2003)
*Doris Day on The Doris Day Christmas Album, September 14, 1964
*Neil Diamond
*Placido Domingo, including a duet with Tony Bennett for a 2000 Christmas concert in Vienna, "Our Favourite Things: Christmas in Vienna"
*Fats Domino
*Gloria Estefan
*Sara Evans ("Hear Something Country - Christmas 2007", 2007)
*Percy Faith
*Connie Francis
*The Forester Sisters
*Vince Gill
*Jackie Gleason
*Amy Grant
*Al Green
*Josh Groban
*Hampton String Quartet
*Gary Hoey
*Whitney Houston
*Brad Johner
*Wynonna Judd
*Toby Keith
*B.B. King
*Lonestar
*Dean Martin
*Matchbook Romance ("A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas")
*Johnny Mathis
*Martina McBride
*Reba McEntire
*Sarah McLachlan
*Glenn Miller Orchestra
*Ronnie Milsap
*Dannii Minogue
*Anne Murray
*The Nylons
*The Oak Ridge Boys
*Jeffrey Osborne
*The Osmonds
*Brad Paisley
*Dolly Parton
*The Platters
*Elvis Presley ("Elvis' Christmas Album", 1957)
*Eddie Rabbitt
*Leon Redbone
*Linda Ronstadt
*Art Paul Schlosser(I'll Be a Gnome for Christmas a parody from his 2003 recording Words of Cheese and Other Parrot Trees CD available at Apple iTunes)
*Diane Schuur
*Drew Seeley ("Disney Channel Holiday", 2007)
*Frank Sinatra
*Spyro Gyra
*The Statler Brothers
*The Three Tenors
*Pam Tillis
*Twisted Sister ("A Twisted Christmas", 2006)
*Tierney Sutton with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
*Jaci Velasquez
*Jennifer Warnes ("The Tradition of Christmas", 1991)
*Slim Whitman
*Andy Williams
*Joe Williams
*Vanessa L. Williams
*Dwight Yoakam
*Jordin Sparks ("This Christmas" soundtrack, 2007)