"Happy Holiday" (sometimes performed as "Happy Holidays") is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

composed by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

in 1942 and published the following year.

History

"Happy Holiday" was introduced by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and

Marjorie Reynolds Marjorie Reynolds (née Goodspeed; August 12, 1917 – February 1, 1997) was an American film/television actress and dancer, who appeared in more than 50 films, including the 1942 musical ''Holiday Inn'', in which she and Bing Crosby introdu ...

(dubbed by Martha Mears) in the 1942 film ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

'' in a scene when the Inn opens for the first time. While it is commonly regarded as a Christmas song, in the film it is performed on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

, and expresses a wish for the listener to enjoy "happy holidays" throughout the entire year. It contains certain melodic material first used in Berlin's earlier song " Easter Parade".

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

was the first to release it on a

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

, on her album of the same name in 1955. The

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

song "The Holiday Season" is sometimes paired with "Happy Holiday" as a medley. This was first popularized by
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
(whom Thompson herself discovered and mentored). Other artists who have covered the "Happy Holiday"/"Holiday Season" medley include
The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...
,
She & Him She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production) formed in 2006 in Portland, Oregon.Scaggs, Austin"Smoking Section: Modest Mouse, Zooey Deschanel, Kings of Leon"''Rol ...
, and
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...
.

Renditions
*Bing Crosby recorded the song on June 1, 1942, for Decca Records with
John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...
and His Orchestra, plus The Music Maids and Hal. Crosby also used the song as the introduction to his long-running '' A Christmas Sing with Bing'' radio shows. *
Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...
on her album of the same name in 1955. *
Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
, on his 1956 album ''Merry Christmas'' * Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, on their 1964 album ''That Holiday Feeling!'' *
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
(in a medley with "The Holiday Season"), on his 1963 album ''
The Andy Williams Christmas Album ''The Andy Williams Christmas Album'' is the first Christmas holiday album released by singer Andy Williams and his twelfth studio album overall. It was issued by Columbia Records in 1963, the first of eight Christmas albums released by Williams ...
'' *
Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
, on her 1965 album ''Happy Holiday'' *
Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listenin ...
, on his 1966 album ''Christmas Is...'' * Living Strings and Living Voices, on their 1968 album ''White Christmas'' *
Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...
, on the 1970 album ''Avon Christmas 1970'' *
The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
(as part of a medley), on their 1984 album '' An Old-Fashioned Christmas'' *
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
(in a medley with "Caroling, Caroling"), on his 1986 album ''
Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis ''Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis'' is the fourth Christmas album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 23, 1986, by Columbia Records. This was Mathis's fourth holiday-themed gramophone record, LP and focused exclus ...
'' *
Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
(in a medley with "White Christmas"), on the 1989 album ''Hallmark Presents Carols of Christmas'' *
The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...
(in a medley with "The Holiday Season"), on their 1992 album '' The Christmas Album'' *
Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
(in a medley with "We Need a Little Christmas"), on his 1994 album '' Perry Como's Christmas Concert'' *
Acoustix Acoustix is a Dallas, Texas-based quartet that won the 1990 International Quartet Championship of SPEBSQSA (now Barbershop Harmony Society, or BHS). They have all, at different times, been members of the Dallas-based Vocal Majority chorus. Aco ...
, on their 1999 album ''Cool Yule'' *
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...
(in a medley with "White Christmas"), on his 2002 album '' A Christmas Gift of Love'' *
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
, on her 2004 album ''My Favorite Time of the Year'' *
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...
(in a medley with "The Holiday Season"), on his 2014 album '' The Spirit of Christmas'' *
She & Him She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production) formed in 2006 in Portland, Oregon.Scaggs, Austin"Smoking Section: Modest Mouse, Zooey Deschanel, Kings of Leon"''Rol ...
(in a medley with "The Holiday Season"), on their 2016 album '' Christmas Party''

Charts

Andy Williams "Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season" version

References
Holiday songs 1942 songs Andy Williams songs Bing Crosby songs Jo Stafford songs Peggy Lee songs American Christmas songs Songs written for films Songs written by Irving Berlin {{1940s-song-stub