"Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer-lyricist

Carol Hall Carol Hall (April 3, 1936 – October 11, 2018) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1978, adapted as a film in 1982). ...

for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange ...

''. Near the end of the original play, individual girls of the brothel sing lines of the verses as they are preparing to leave; they join together on the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

s. This pattern was adopted for the film version of the musical, except that

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

(who played Miss Mona) is featured as soloist on the refrains, with the girls accompanying her. A further alteration can be found on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

album for the film in which Parton alone sings the verses. Parton's version of the song was released as a single in October 1982, reaching number 8 on the U.S. country singles chart in January 1983. In 1998, the song re-entered the country charts and peaked at number 73 based on unsolicited airplay. Though not expressly a "Christmas song", Parton's recording received some airplay on country stations around the holiday seasons during the 1980s and 1990s; Parton also performed the song on

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

's Christmas Special in 1988. During the late 1990s, when RCA reissued Parton's 1984 holiday album with

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, '' Once Upon a Christmas'', Parton's recording of "Hard Candy Christmas" was added to the track list.

Hard candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varietie ...

encompasses a large array of inexpensive sweet treats like candy canes and lollipops. The phrase "hard candy Christmas" refers to a time when families who did not have much money could only afford to give hard candy or penny candy (

bulk confectionery Bulk confectionery is supplied in a container with loose confectionery to be dispensed by weight or quantity, or containing a number of retail-size bags of confectionery, typically used in vending machines. Unbagged bulk confectionery is typicall ...

) to their children at Christmas. The hard candy metaphor suggests that life can simultaneously be hard and sweet.

Chart performance

Dolly Parton

Cyndi Lauper

Certifications

Covers

In 1997, the song was covered by

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

on the album ''

Ho, Ho, Ho ''Ho Ho Ho'', also known as ''VH-1 Presents RuPaul: Ho Ho Ho'', is a 1997 Christmas album and the third studio album by American singer and drag queen RuPaul. Released on October 28, 1997 by the record label Rhino, it is RuPaul's first album fe ...

'' featuring

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

and

Barbara Mitchell Barbara Mitchell (4 October 1929 – 9 December 1977, Kingston Upon Thames) was an English actress who became a familiar face on British television in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her work in many classic sitcoms of the period. Care ...

. The song has also been recorded by indie rocker

Dan Bryk Dan Waldemar Bryk (born September 23, 1970) is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and recording artist. Originally from Toronto, Bryk is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. A songwriter and keyboard player, Bryk has released five full-leng ...

, and former

Sixpence None The Richer Sixpence None the Richer (also known as Sixpence) is an American Christian alternative rock band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, and eventually settled in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs " Kiss Me" and " Breathe Yo ...

vocalist

Leigh Nash Leigh Anne Bingham Nash ( ; born June 27, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the Christian alternative rock band Sixpence None the Richer and was also a member of Fauxliage. Her debut solo album, '' Blue on ...

on their respective 2006 releases ''Christmas Record'' and '' Wishing for This''.

The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animation, adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on ...

released a version of the song in 2005 as performed by Henchmen Nos. 21 and 24 and

The Monarch This is a list of main and recurring fictional characters from ''The Venture Bros.'', a comic science fiction television series broadcast on Adult Swim. Overview Team Venture Team Venture comprises the central characters in the show; they for ...

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

performed the song on the 1982 ''Johnny Cash Christmas'' special on CBS Television. In 2001, the song was covered by The Torpedoes on their CD ''Hard Rock Candy Christmas''. In 2008,

Kristine W Kristine Elizabeth Weitz, widely known by her stage name Kristine W, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and entrepreneur. She is most widely known as a Electronic dance music, dance music artist. Born and raised in Pasco, W ...

released a dance cover version, remixed by Paul Goodyear, on her EP ''Hey Mr. Christmas''. In 2012,

Tracey Thorn Tracey Anne Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is a British singer. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl from 1982 to 1999. She was a member of the band Marine Girls between 1980 and 1983 and since 2007 has been ...

recorded a version of the song for her Christmas album '' Tinsel and Lights''. In 2014,

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

recorded a version of the song for her Christmas EP ''One Christmas: Chapter 1''. In 2015,

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 ...

recorded a cover of the song for her 2016 album ''

Detour __NOTOC__ A detour or (British English: diversion) is a (normally temporary) route taking traffic around an area of prohibited or reduced access, such as a construction site. Standard operating procedure for many roads departments is to route an ...

'' as a duet with

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

. In 2016,

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

recorded a cover of the song for her 2016 album ''

My Kind of Christmas ''My Kind of Christmas'' is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on October 24, 2000, by RCA Records. The album was recorded from late 1999 to mid 2000, while Aguilera was tourin ...

''. In 2016,

The Nymphs Nymphs are an American alternative rock band that performed in the late 1980s and early 1990s with lead singer Inger Lorre. The band was signed to Geffen Records, and released their debut album in 1991. Nymphs are known for their wild stage show ...

Inger Lorre Inger Lorre (born Lori Ann Wening) is an American singer who is best known for her band Nymphs. Music career Nymphs Nymphs spent the mid-to-late '80s honing their craft in New Jersey, but they soon decided to try to make it big in California. T ...

, Eric James Contreras, and Marshall O’boy recorded a cover of the song for

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

's ''Acoustic Christmas'' album. In 2020,

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''Th ...

included a cover of "Hard Candy Christmas" on her 2020 Christmas album, ''Comfort and Joy (An Acoustic Christmas)''.

References

External links

Hard Candy Christmas lyrics at Dolly Parton On-Line
{{authority control 1982 singles 1982 songs Dolly Parton songs Cyndi Lauper songs Alison Krauss songs Reba McEntire songs American Christmas songs RCA Records singles Songs from musicals