Here in the New York area, radio stations switched to the ever-popular holiday format around Thanksgiving. You wouldn't think people wanted to hear "Jingle Bell Rock" over and over and over, but in fact they love it. Stations say their holiday format invariably boosts ratings, which means it's popular with advertisers, too.
Billboard first started tracking the holiday chart back in 2001, not long after radio stations invented the format, and it recently released the latest numbers. Despite a few obvious chart-toppers, like Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas," there are a couple of surprises.
One is the complete absence of anything by Josh Groban in the Top 30, despite a No. 1 Christmas album, "Noel." Could it be that even carol-humming housewives have gotten sick of him? Another shocker is that Wham! UK's "Last Christmas" didn't make the Top Ten, despite being, like, the best holiday track ever. Also, if you're sick of hearing Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" every year, you are mostly alone -- it's at No. 13.
Here are the top ten songs on the Billboard Hot Holiday Songs chart:
1. Brenda Lee, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" (MCA)
2. Bobby Helms, "Jingle Bell Rock" (Decca)
3. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" (Capitol)
4. Burl Ives, "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (MCA)
5. Mariah Carey, "All I Want for Christmas is You" (Columbia)
6. Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)" (Capitol)
7. Eagles, "Please Come Home For Christmas" (Asylum)
8. Jose Feliciano, "Feliz Navidad" (RCA)
9. Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" (MCA)
10. Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Columbia)
And just in case you've forgotten how good it really is: