Up on the house top

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Version by Kevin MacLeod , 2007

Up on the House Top is a Christmas carol written by Benjamin Hanby in New Paris , Ohio in 1864 . It has been recorded by a wide variety of singers, including the most respected Gene Autry , also known for his version of the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer .

The Airmen of Note, 2009, Jazz version

history

After William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader , Up on the House Top is the second oldest secular Christmas carol, surpassed only by Jingle Bells , as it was written in 1857 (although the latter song was originally intended as a thangsgiving song). It is also considered the first Christmas carol to focus on Santa Claus. In fact, after Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Song Book , Hanby was the first to come up with the idea of ​​Santa Claus and his sleigh landing on the roofs of houses. Benjamin Russell Hanby was born near Rushville , Ohio in 1833 ; as the son of a minister, he was involved in the Underground Railroad . During his short life he wrote around 80 songs before dying of tuberculosis in 1867. Besides Up on the House Top , his best known song was Darling Nelly Gray .

On TV

In 1992, a syndicated was television special releases of the same name, produced by Perennial Pictures Film Corporation in Indianapolis , Indiana . Co-writer / co-director G. Brian Reynolds was also the voice of Curtis Calhoun and he also composed the score for the film. His partner Russ Harris was also a co-author / co-producer and commented on this special. The special is the story of Curtis Calhoun, a wretched man who wishes that there was no Santa Claus . But then, on Christmas Eve, someone is on Calhoun's roof and Curtis doesn't know if it's Santa Claus or a burglar.

Notable cover versions

Version by Kimberley Locke

Up on the house top
Kimberley Locke
publication 2005
Producer (s) Mike Curb , Michael Lloyd
Label Curb Records
album Christmas

In 2005 the song was brought back to life with a new recording by Kimberley Locke . The recording broke a Billboard record when it made the biggest jump into the top 5 in the history of the Adult Contemporary Charts, from number 32 to number 5 in just one week. It was also the second-longest Billboard Holiday AC chart topper in chart history, ranking first for four consecutive weeks.

Kimberley Locke version
Chart (2005/2006) Peak
position
US Adult Contemporary 1
Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents 15th
Top AC Singles of 2006 36

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fred Bronson: Signs Of The Season . ( October 13, 2012 memento on the Internet Archive ) Billboard Magazine, December 6, 2007.
  2. ↑ Up On The Housetop. hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com