"December" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and lead guitarist Jes ...

, released on the band's 1995 eponymous album. Written by singer/guitarist

Ed Roland Edgar Eugene Roland, Jr. (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Collective Soul. He is also active with his side project ...

, it peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks, surpassing their prior hit " Shine" by one week; it also reached number two on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, making it their highest-ranking single on that particular listing. In Canada the song settled at number two on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart, becoming their highest-charting single until "

The World I Know "The World I Know" is a song by American band Collective Soul, originally released on their 1995 eponymous album. Written by lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland, "The World I Know" peaked at number 19 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart when ...

" attained the top spot in March 1996.

Composition

In a December 2017 interview with Songfacts, lead singer

explained the inspiration behind "December":

Track listing

#"December" (album version) #"Sister Don't Cry" (acoustic non-album track) #"Where The River Flows" (live) #"December" (live) Live tracks recorded 3/14/95 at The Thunderdome in

St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa, Florida, T ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover version

Burmese rock band

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

has "copied" the song live in concert.

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles Atlantic Records singles Collective Soul songs Song recordings produced by Matt Serletic Songs written by Ed Roland