"Christmas in the Sun" is a Christmas song by Rolf Harris and

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with rock band Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in pubs and holiday cam ...

, released in 2009. It was included in the compilation box set album ''It's Christmas Time''. The single was released on 7 December 2009 and it was written by Parfitt, Harris,

Hal Shaper Hal Shaper (Born Harold David Shaper), 18 July 1931 - 8 January 2004) was a South African songwriter. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1955, he travelled to London to begin his five-decade-long musical career during which he worked with and wrote f ...

and

Andy Bown Andrew Steven Bown (born 27 March 1946) is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo. Career Bown's first major band was The Herd, along with Peter Frampton. After The H ...

. Harris said the song took 20 years to write and was inspired by memories of growing up in Western Australia in the 1930s (in the Southern Hemisphere, December 25 falls during the summer season). The final chorus features lyrics from " Whatever You Want", a song by Parfitt's band

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

. The proceeds of digital download sales and four ''Christmas in the Sun'' paintings by Harris were donated to the Australian charity The Smith Family. It is not to be confused with the documentary '' Christmas Under the Sun''.

Track listing

# "Christmas in the Sun" (3:11) Another original Christmas song entitled Christmas in the Sun was written, recorded and copyrighted in 1983. A version of this song, sung by Leonard Tucker, was released several years later. The author/composer of this original Christmas Song provides a story behind the song in his own words: "Growing up in NYC, I always associated Christmas with cold or snowy weather. Moving to San Diego in 1983, I appreciated the beautiful weather. But, when the Christmas season came and it was still beach weather, I was confused, maybe a little sad, and certainly inspired to write this song. It features the vocals of my generous and talented friend, leonard Tucker, who has his own unique style but is on the same level as Johnny Mathis! With no snow or ice on Christmas Day, even I began to ask myself 'Is Santa Claus Real or Not?'"

Charts

References

{{authority control Rolf Harris songs Status Quo (band) songs 2009 singles Christmas songs Songs written by Rolf Harris Songs written by Andy Bown Songs written by Rick Parfitt 2009 songs Songs written by Hal Shaper