"(There's No Place Like) Home for the 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 ...

, commonly associated with the

Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

. The lyrics detail the joys of being in your home community during the holidays and give examples of how some people will travel long distances to be with their loved ones. The music was composed by Robert Allen, with the lyrics written by

Al Stillman Al Stillman ''(né'' Albert Irving Silverman; 26 June 1901 Manhattan, New York – 17 February 1979 Manhattan, New York) was an American lyricist. Biography Stillman was born to Jewish parents Herman Silverman and Gertrude Rubin ''(maiden).'' He a ...

. The song was published during 1954.

Perry Como versions

The best-known recordings of "Home for the Holidays" were made by

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 ...

, who recorded the song twice, both times accompanied by

Mitchell Ayres Mitchell Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical condu ...

' Orchestra and the

Ray Charles Singers Ray Charles (born Charles Raymond Offenberg; September 13, 1918April 6, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and conductor who was best known as organizer and leader of the Ray Charles Singers who were featured o ...

. The first recording of "Home for the Holidays", arranged by

Joe Reisman Joseph Reisman (September 16, 1924, Dallas - September 15, 1987, Los Angeles) was an American musician (tenor and baritone saxophone, clarinet), bandleader, arranger, and record producer in the swing era. Reisman studied at Baylor University and ...

and

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

, was made on November 16, 1954. It was released as a single for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

that December by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. The flip side was "Silk Stockings" (which scored in the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine top 50). In the United States, "Home for the Holidays" peaked at number eight on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's Most Played by Jockeys chart (in the issue dated January 8, 1955) and at number 18 on ''Billboard'' Best Sellers in Stores chart (in the issue dated January 1, 1955). The next Christmas the song was released again, with "

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" is an English traditional Christmas carol. It is in the Roxburghe Collection (iii. 452), and is listed as no. 394 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It is also known as "Tidings of Comfort and Joy", and by other varian ...

" as the flip side. The same recorded version was released in the United Kingdom by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, with the flip side "

Tina Marie "Tina Marie" is a popular song. It was written by Bob Merrill and was published in 1955, and performed by Perry Como with an accompaniment with Mitchell Ayres and His Orchestra with The Ray Charles Singers. Recordings On June 21, 1955, Perry C ...

". This recording has appeared on many compilation albums over the years and remains a Christmas radio regular. Como's second recording of "Home for the Holidays", in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

and with a different musical arrangement by

Joe Lipman Joseph P. Lippman (April 23, 1915 - January 21, 2007) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and songwriter working in jazz and traditional pop. His musical career was over five decades long, having started at age 19 with the Ben ...

, was made on July 15, 1959. It was released as a 33rpm single, with flip side "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...

", by RCA Victor in the U.S. and as a 45rpm single by HMV in the UK. This 1959 version was also included on the album, ''

Season's Greetings from Perry Como ''Season's Greetings from Perry Como'', originally released in 1959, was Perry Como's sixth RCA Victor 12-inch long-play album and the fourth recorded in stereophonic sound, as well as his first major full-length Christmas album. The album is w ...

'', and has appeared on many compilations, as well as being played on some radio stations during the holidays.

Other versions

In 1968,

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

covered the song for his holiday album, ''Robert Goulet's Wonderful World Of Christmas''. Perhaps the most iconic version of the song, other than the original Perry Como version, is

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 ...

’ recording on their 1984 LP release, ''

An Old Fashioned Christmas ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas'' is the second Christmas album and posthumous twelfth studio album by American music duo Carpenters, released on October 26, 1984, and after the death of singer and drummer Karen Carpenter. Background The album pro ...

''. In 1987, the Muppets sang it in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

special, ''

A Muppet Family Christmas ''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its teleplay was conceived ...

''. In 1992,

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

recorded a jazz guitar instrumental cover for his holiday album, '' Six-String Santa''. In November and December 1993,

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

aired a "Home for the Holidays" ad campaign, using instrumental renditions of the song itself. In January 2000, a

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

version, from ''

Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas ''Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas'' is the second holiday album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on November 23, 1999, peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and number one on the Top Country A ...

'', reached No. 63 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. In 2010,

Mandy Barnett Amanda Carol Barnett (born September 28, 1975) is an American country music singer and stage actress. Early life and music career Barnett has been singing since she was a child, performing at churches, local venues, as well as at Dollywood. In ...

recorded the song for her holiday album, ''Winter Wonderland''. On December 1, 2011,

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (sometimes Alfonso Gómez-Rejón; born November 6, 1972, in Laredo, Texas) is an American film and television director. His television program credits include ''Hunters'', '' Glee'' and ''American Horror Story''. He was nomi ...

directed about six singing and dancing mall performances of "Home for the Holidays" by

Carly Foulkes Carly Foulkes (born August 4, 1988) is a Canadian model and actress who became known for appearing in a series of T-Mobile myTouch 4G television commercials, in which she often wore pink/magenta-and-white summer dresses. She continued as spoke ...

and 100 Chicago-area women in magenta dresses at the

Woodfield Mall Woodfield Mall is a shopping mall located in the northwest Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, United States, at the intersection of Golf Road and Interstate 290. The mall is the largest shopping mall in the state of Illinois, the second lar ...

. It was used in a television commercial for T-Mobile starting on December 12. A 2011 duet between

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

did well on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 11 and at No. 22 on the Adult Contemporary Radio Airplay Chart in the U.S.

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

covered the song for their 2021 Christmas album ''Evergreen''.

References

{{authority control 1954 songs Songs with music by Robert Allen (composer) Songs with lyrics by Al Stillman Perry Como songs American Christmas songs The Carpenters songs Songs about Pennsylvania Songs about Tennessee

Perry Como versions

Other versions

See also

References