List of Christmas hit singles

The following is an incomplete list of Christmas songs (hit singles and tracks) recorded by well known and obscure artists, many of which have hit on various charts around the world. Mostly listed here are US and UK hits (some only released in the artist's home country). A year indicates the "first" year of release for that artist's version. However, many were re-released as singles in subsequent years.

Parodies

* the best-selling parody of all-time in the US is "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" (by Elmo 'N Patsy), which first appeared on radio and as an independent single in 1979. It was re-released for several years following, and grew in popularity each year. It was the best-selling of all Christmas singles in the US for many years in the 1980s and, due to that success, it spawned toys and an animated TV special that remains popular every year.
* Radio personality Bob Rivers has written countless Christmas parodies. Some of the most notable include "The Twelve Pains of Christmas" and "The Restroom Door Said Gentlemen". He has also written some original humorous holiday songs, including "The Chimney Song". These have appeared on, as of 2006, five albums: "Twisted Christmas", "I Am Santa Claus", "More Twisted Christmas", "Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire" and "Christmas".
* Twisted Christmas is also the name of a popular 2006 parody album by metal band Twisted Sister.
* Parody king "Weird Al" Yankovic has also recorded festive songs: "Christmas at Ground Zero", an original tune from 1986, and "The Night Santa Went Crazy", a parody of Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas".
* the US TV series "South Park" discovered their knack for holiday music parodies with an early Christmas episode (and like-named song), "Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo" in (1997). The runaway hit led to annual Christmas episodes, many including brand new songs or parodies of traditional tunes. An all-music sing-along Christmas 'special' was hosted by Mr Hankey and a full-length album of the 'new Christmas classics' from the series was released, along with videos for all the songs. Notably, the 'pilot' episode for the series was an animated short film entitled "The Spirit of Christmas" (albeit without music).
* the political satire group The Capitol Steps has released three Christmas albums: "Danny's First Noel" (1989), "All I Want for Christmas Is a Tax Increase" (1993), and "O, Christmas Bush" (2006). In addition, some of their other albums contain parodies of Christmas songs. The group's first performance, in 1981, was a Christmas show.
*Many Christmas songs were parodies by Floridan band, The Monsters in the Morning. They were the second disc in the Monsters Double Brown Album.

References

*"The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits" by Fred Bronson
*"Billboard's Book of Top 40 Hits: 1955-2003" by Joel Whitburn
*"Billboard's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002" by Joel Whitburn
*"Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day" by Dave McAleer
*"Christmas in the Charts 1920-2004" by Joel Whitburn
*"Complete UK Hit Singles" by Graham Betts
*"Complete Guide to the British Charts" by Neil Warwick
*"British Hit Singles and Albums (Guinness 19th Edition)" by David Roberts