Once upon a time, Billboard listed the Hot 100 records based on something simple – sales of single records. Then came airplay, and then streaming, and now the results are in: oops!
Thanks to the full court press of Christmas music on radio stations desperate for listeners and streaming by people who should really know better, lots of Christmas singles are finally hitting the Hot 100 rather than the special Christmas chart. The only problem? It’s old, older, and older than me records rather than new recordings. Here’s a list of the records in this week’s list (all of which I usually punch out immediately if I’m listening in my car or on my portable radio):
#7 All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey *
#16 It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams **
#21 Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
#22 A Holly Jolly Christmas – Burl Ives ***
#26 Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
#29 The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) – Nat King Cole
#34 Last Christmas – Wham
#36 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry
#41 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – Dean Martin
No sign of Baby It’s Cold Outside thanks to all the recent bannings of the formerly popular song.
* Extra Credit: guess how much Mariah has made off writing and recording her Christmas record. Give up? Over 60 million dollars. Merry Christmas to Mariah!
** The next week Andy’s Christmas tune moved up to number 10, giving him a new record: it was over 41 years between the last time Andy Williams hit the top ten (the Theme to Love Story) and this record — crushing the 30 year span for Dobie Gray that previously held the record.
*** And one week after Andy’s trip to the top ten, Burl Ives crushed his record by getting into the top ten 56 years after his last trip there. He also eclipsed Paul McCartney’s record for longest stretch in the top ten and in the top 40 (Paul grabbed the record when FourFiveSeconds briefly got into the top ten a few years ago). Louie Armstrong probably still holds a few longevity records.
What Was Left In 
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