According to a 1948 Life magazine article, "if [Gene's records] were all shipped to one place, [they] would make up a freight train solid with Western songs and be more than a mile long."
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" Joins Christmas Classics As #1 ASCAP Holiday Song in 2017
Updated November 2, 2018
Gene Autry is a member of ASCAP as both a songwriter and music publisher. ASCAP annually writes about the popularity of Christmas songs written, performed, or published by their members. The list for 2017 notes that more contemporary tunes are making the list along with Christmas classics. We at Gene Autry Entertainment think it is wonderful that current artists are writing new holiday hits and love the fact that the favorites first introduced by Gene, like "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)," "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "Frosty the Snowman" remain popular today.
We've noted all the songs performed by Gene Autry – released on record or sung on his Melody Ranch Radio Show – with a star on the ASCAP Top Holiday Songs Chart.
Old School Favorites Still Dominate the Rest of the Holiday Charts
NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ – The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces its Top Holiday Songs for 2017. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, 1994's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," written by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey, moves to #1, joining enduring Christmas classics like "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (written by Johnny Marks, © 1962) and "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" (written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, © 1945), at the top of the charts. (Check out ASCAP's interview with Afanaseiff about writing "All I Want" at http://bit.ly/2k8S9E0)
Also gaining in popularity is another "recent" holiday song, George Michael's "Last Christmas" from 1984. The rest of the Top Ten Holiday Songs chart is dominated by old school ASCAP favorites: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Johnny Marks, 1958), "Jingle Bell Rock" (Joseph Carleton Beal/James Ross Boothe, 1957), "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (Meredith Willson, 1951), "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson/Mitchell Parish, 1950), "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks, 1949), and the 1960s hit, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," (Edward Pola/George Wyle, 1963).
"Music is such an essential part of the holiday season, and beloved holiday favorites have lasting appeal across all generations, whether performed by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande, or Brenda Lee and Johnny Mathis," said Paul Williams, ASCAP President and award-winning songwriter. "As time has passed, new classics like 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' and 'Last Christmas' have evolved in the hearts and minds of music listeners, and taken their rightful place at the top of the today's holiday songs chart."
Below is a list of the ASCAP Top 25 Holiday Songs,* their writer(s) and the song's copyright date according to ASCAP records:
* Based on an analysis of Nielsen streaming and terrestrial radio data from Aug. 7, 2017 to Nov. 19, 2017.
About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 640,000 members representing more than 10 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter @ASCAP and on Facebook.
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