Wonderful Christmastime
| Wonderful Christmastime | |
|---|---|
| Paul McCartney | |
| publication | November 16, 1979 |
| length | 3 min 45 s |
| Genre (s) | Christmas carol , rock |
| Author (s) | Paul McCartney |
| Label | Parlophone , Columbia Records |
| Cover version | |
| look here | |
Wonderful Christmastime is a Christmas carol written by Paul McCartney that was released as a single on November 16, 1979 .
background
Paul McCartney recorded the song while working on his solo album McCartney II in his home studio in Peasmarsh , East Sussex . Although no members of his backing band Wings were involved in the recording , they appeared in the promo video that was filmed at the Fountain Inn pub in Ashurst .
The single was released on November 16, 1979 as a 7 "single via Parlophone and Columbia Records . As a B-side was Reggae -Song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae published. Paul McCartney and the Wings played the song on their Wings UK Tour 1979, which was dedicated to the new Wings album Back to the Egg .
For years the song was only available as a single or on Christmas samplers. In 1993 it was added to the CD re-release of the Wings album Back to the Egg . In 2011 the song appeared as a bonus on the McCartney II compilation , and also as a special long version on the Deluxe Edition . It was also released on the DVD The McCartney Years (2007) as a remastered version in 5.1 surround sound .
Reception and success
The song reached number six in the British charts in 1979/1980 and initially stayed in the charts for eight weeks. Since the consideration of music downloads in 2007, the song is regularly back in the British music charts at Christmas . By taking music streaming into account in the mid-2010s, he was able to reach the top 30 in the UK for the first time in more than 35 years in 2017. In 2016 the song was placed for the first time in Germany and Austria, in 2017 for the first time in Switzerland and in 2018 for the first time in the USA.
In the United States, the single missed the Billboard Hot 100 but reached number 83 on Cash Box's Top 100 singles chart and number 94 on Record World . The single also reached number ten on Billboard's Christmas carols chart and number 29 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks .
The song receives a lot of airplay every Christmas , but is considered a rather poor performance by McCartney by critics. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) listed the song in 2006 on a list of the 25 most played Christmas songs ("Top 25 ASCAP Holiday Songs"). It was the newest song on this list. Thanks to the numerous cover versions and the constant airplay at Christmas time, McCartney receives between 400,000 and 600,000 US dollars in royalties annually. He made around $ 15 million on this song by 2010.
| year | Chart placements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|
| 1979/80 | - | - | - | 6 (8 weeks) |
- |
| 2007/08 | - | - | - | 44 (3 weeks) |
- |
| 2011/12 | - | - | - | 72 (2 weeks) |
- |
| 2012/13 | - | - | - | 96 (1 week) |
- |
| 2015/16 | - | - | - | 68 (2 weeks) |
- |
| 2016/17 | 77 (1 week) |
62 (1 week) |
- | 40 (4 weeks) |
- |
| 2017/18 | 27 (4 weeks) |
28 (3 weeks) |
59 (1 week) |
26 (4 weeks) |
- |
| 2018/19 | 13 (4 weeks) |
13 (3 weeks) |
19 (2 weeks) |
20 (4 weeks) |
47 (1 week) |
| 2019/20 | 12 (4 weeks) |
12 (3 weeks) |
31 (2 weeks) |
37 (4 weeks) |
- |
| All in all | 12 (13 weeks) |
12 (10 weeks) |
19 (5 weeks) |
6 (32 weeks) |
47 (1 week) |
Cover versions
- 1999: Amy Grant for her Christmas show Amy Grant: A Christmas to Remember 1999 on CBS
- 2000: Martin Sheen , John Spencer and Stockard Channing sang the song as part of the cast of the television series The West Wing for the album NBC Celebrity Christmas (2000)
- 2002: Hilary Duff on Santa Claus Lane
- 2004: Barenaked Ladies : Barenaked for the Holidays (Instrumental)
- 2004: Tom McRae on Maybe This Christmas Tree (2004)
- 2007: Jars of Clay on Christmas Songs
- 2008: Demi Lovato on All Wrapped Up
- 2009: Family Force 5 on Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant
- 2011: Chicago feat. Dolly Parton on Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
- 2012: The Shins on Holidays Rule (compilation)
- 2013: Straight No Chaser feat. Paul McCartney: Under the Influence: Holiday Edition (EP)
- 2016: Jimmy Buffett on 'Tis The SeaSon
- 2016: Kylie Minogue and Mika on Kylie Christmas: Snow Queen Edition
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chip Madinger and Mark Easter: Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium , 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11724-4 ), S. 251st
- ↑ Alastair Sawday: Top 10 cozy pubs . In: The Guardian . Guardian News and Media Ltd. December 6, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
- Jump up ↑ Chip Madinger & Mark Easter: Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium , 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11724-4 ), p. 254.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn: The Comparison Book . Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 2015, ISBN 0-89820-213-2 , p. 333.
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004) . Record Research Inc., Wisconsin 2004, ISBN 0-89820-161-6 , p. 48.
- ↑ Craig Outhier: Paul McCartney's Worst Songs . In: Phoenix New Times , March 25, 2010 (accessed December 30, 2012).
- ↑ Robert Rodriguez, Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970−1980 , Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4 ), p. 191.
- ^ Alan Clayson: Paul McCartney , Sanctuary (London, 2003; ISBN 1-86074-486-9 ), pp. 192-193.
- ↑ Most Popular Christmas Songs . January 9, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
- ^ Paul McCartney Continues to Have a Wonderful (Financial) Christmas Time , blogs.forbes.com, December 23, 2010, accessed December 15, 2011.