"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song by songwriter

Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...

based on the 1939 story ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

'' published by the

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

Company.

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

's recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.

History

In 1939, Marks' brother-in-law,

Robert L. May Robert L. May (July 27, 1905 – August 11, 1976) was an American retailer. He was best known for creating the fictional character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Early life Robert Lewis May was born in Arverne, Long Island, New York, and grew ...

, created the character Rudolph as an assignment for

, and Marks decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into a song. English singer-songwriter and entertainer

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song "You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''Bi ...

interviewed Marks on the creation of the song in 1972. The song had an added introduction, paraphrasing the poem " A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

by the time the song was written), stating the names of the eight reindeer, which went: "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?" The song was first introduced live on New York Radio (WOR) by crooner Harry Brannon in November 1949. Gene Autry recorded the song on June 27, 1949; which was later released as a children's record by Columbia Records in September 1949. By November, Columbia began pushing the record to the pop music market. It hit No. 1 in the US charts during Christmas 1949. The song was suggested as a "B" side for a record Autry was making. Autry first rejected the song, but his wife convinced him to use it. The success of this Christmas song by Autry gave support to Autry's subsequent popular Easter song, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". Autry's version of the song also holds the distinction of being the only chart-topping hit to fall completely off the chart after reaching No. 1. The official date of its No. 1 status was for the week ending January 7, 1950, making it the first No. 1 song of the 1950s. The song was also performed on the December 6, 1949, ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' radio broadcast by Teeny ( Marian Jordan's little girl character) and the Kingsmen vocal group. The lyrics varied greatly from the Autry version. Autry's recording sold 1.75 million copies its first Christmas season and 1.5 million the following year. In 1969, it was awarded a gold disk by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of 7 million, which was Columbia's highest-selling record at the time. It eventually sold a total of 12.5 million. Cover versions included, sales exceed 150 million copies, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". Autry recorded another version of the song in the fall of 1957, and released it the same year through his own record label, Challenge Records. This version featured an accompaniment by a full orchestra and chorus. This was the only other version of the song Autry recorded and released on an album. In 1959,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

released a recording of a sequel, "

Run Rudolph Run "Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first record ...

" (sometimes called "Run Run Rudolph"), originally credited to Berry but subsequent releases are often credited to Marks and Marvin Brodie. In December 2018, Autry's original version entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 36, nearly 70 years after it first charted. It climbed to No. 27 the week ending December 22, 2018. and peaked at No. 16 the week ending January 5, 2019.

Other notable recordings

* 1950: The song was recorded 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 ...

on June 22, 1950 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. His version reached No. 6 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 ...

'''s Best Selling Children's Records chart and No. 14 on ''Billboard''s pop singles chart that year. * 1950:

Spike Jones and his City Slickers Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

released a version of the song that peaked at No. 7 on ''Billboard''s pop singles chart and No. 8 on ''Billboard''s Best Selling Children's Records chart.Whitburn p. 43 * 1951: Red Foley and The Little Foleys released a version of the song that peaked at No. 8 on ''Billboard''s Best Selling Children's Records chart.Whitburn p. 36 * 1956:

The Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...

released a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

version of the song that peaked at No. 11 on ''Billboard''s Rhythm & Blues Records chart.Whitburn p. 25 * 1959: by

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

is a very popular cover of the song every year. * 1960:

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...

recorded a popular cover for their album ''

Around the World with The Chipmunks Around the World with The Chipmunks is the third album by Alvin and the Chipmunks with David Seville. Released on January 1, 1960, by Liberty Records. it was the last album to be originally issued with realistic-looking chipmunks on the cover, t ...

'' that charted at No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In their version, Rudolph himself sang with the Chipmunks, his vocals indicating suffering from a cold (hence the red nose). They would record the song again for their 1961 album ''

Christmas with The Chipmunks ''Christmas with The Chipmunks'' is the name given to four different Christmas music albums by Alvin and the Chipmunks. These albums were released individually in 1962, 1963, 2007 and 2008. Volume 1 ''Christmas with The Chipmunks'' was released ...

'' and their 1994 album ''

A Very Merry Chipmunk ''A Very Merry Chipmunk'' is a 1994 music album by '' Alvin and the Chipmunks'', released by Sony Wonder. It is their fourth Christmas album. The album reached #147 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was the first in a series of 25 Christmas compila ...

'' as a duet with

. * 1960: The Melodeers released a doo-wop version of the song that peaked at No. 72 on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 singles chart.Whitburn p. 49 * 1964:

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

recorded the song for the soundtrack of the holiday TV special ''

''. The soundtrack album containing Ives's version reached No. 142 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums sales chart. He would re-record the song the following year for his holiday album ''

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas ''Have a Holly Jolly Christmas'' is a Christmas album by American folk singer Burl Ives, first released by Decca Records in October 1965 (recorded in November 1964). It peaked at #32 on '' Billboards Best Bets For Christmas album chart on Decem ...

.'' * 1968:

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

released a version of the song that peaked at No. 12 on ''Billboard''s special, year-end, weekly Christmas Singles chart (this same version later got as high as No. 3 on the same chart in December 1971).Whitburn p. 61 Their version of the song was also included on the group's 1970 Christmas album, '' The Temptations Christmas Card''.

References

*ASCAP Work ID: 480058686 (ISWC: T0701273995)

External links

*
Interview with Johnny Marks writing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (song) 1910 Fruitgum Company songs 1949 songs 1949 singles * American Christmas songs Barry Manilow songs Bing Crosby songs Burl Ives songs Columbia Records singles Dean Martin songs Gene Autry songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Lynyrd Skynyrd songs Music based on short fiction Paul Anka songs Songs about mammals Songs about fictional male characters Songs about Santa Claus Songs written by Johnny Marks The Crystals songs Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements The Jackson 5 songs The Supremes songs The Temptations songs Christmas novelty songs

History

Other notable recordings

See also

References

External links