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| Elvis Presley |
Blue Christmas is a Christmas song written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson. The heart-broken tale of unrequited love during the holidays had long been considered a Christmas staple of country music, having been recorded by Ernest Tubb in 1948. In 1957, Elvis Presley effectively made Blue Christmas a steadfast rock-and-roll holiday classic by recording it in his signature style. The song has since been recorded by a host of rock and country artists alike, as well as those of other genres. Blue Christmas was a 1960 Hot 100 entry by the Browns (Jim Ed, Bonnie and Maxine). The song was also featured in the children's Christmas special, The Year Without a Santa Claus. More recently, the song has been covered by Céline Dion, indie band Bright Eyes and Billy Idol in his 2006 Christmas album Happy Holidays, as well as Andrea Bocelli, for his 2009 holiday album My Christmas, in a duet with Reba McEntire. To date, there have been more than 65 significant recorded versions.
Elvis Presley's famous recording of the song appeared on his 1957 LP Elvis' Christmas Album. It was also released as a single. Ernest Tubb's version of the song included an extra verse not used by Elvis' later version.
In 2009, Elvis' version was used in a TV commercial for Verizon Wireless.
The song was covered by the American rock band The Beach Boys. The song was released as the B-side of the The Man with All the Toys single on November 16, 1964; it charted at #3 in the U.S. Christmas charts but did not chart in the U.K. The song was also released on the bands 1964 album The Beach Boys' Christmas Album on the same day. The song featured Brian Wilson on lead vocals.
(www.wikipedia.com)
Watch a 1965 film of Elvis singing the classic, Christmas hit.
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