"Please Come Home for Christmas" is a

Christmas song 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 m ...

, written in 1960 and released the same year by American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with Gene Redd, peaked at position number 76. It appeared on the Christmas Singles chart for nine seasons, hitting number 1 in 1972.CD sleeve: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955 – Present), 1989 Rhino Records Inc. It includes a number of characteristics of

Christmas music 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 ...

, such as multiple references in the lyrics to the

Christmas 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 ...

and

Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced in a virtually identical m ...

, and the use of a

church bell A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and to ...

type sound, created using

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

, at the start of the song. It is sometimes referred to by its

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it b ...

, "Bells Will Be Ringing". The song has been covered by many artists, including in 1978 by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

Personnel

* Charles Brown – vocals, piano

Eagles version

In 1978, the rock band

covered and released the song as a holiday single. Their version peaked at number 18 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the first Christmas song to reach the Top 20 on that chart since

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

's "

Pretty Paper ''Pretty Paper'' is the first Christmas album and 24th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was also his last release of the 1970s. Nelson reunited with producer/arranger Booker T. Jones, with whom he had collaborated on the accla ...

" in 1963. This was the first Eagles song to feature Timothy B. Schmit on bass (having replaced founding member

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocal ...

the previous year). The lineup features

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", "Des ...

(drums/lead vocals),

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...

(piano, backing vocals),

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

(guitar, backing vocals), Schmit (bass/backing vocals), and

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

(lead guitar). Originally released as a vinyl 7" single, it was re-released as a CD single in 1995, reaching number 15 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. This version includes the lyrics "bells will be ringing the sad, sad news" (that is, a Christmas alone) as opposed to Brown's original version which references the "glad, glad news" (that is, Christmas in general). A live version of the song was included on the compilation 4-CD box set called Selected Works: 1972–1999 released in 2000. This particular version was recorded in concert on 12/31/1999 in Los Angeles. Forty-two years after it first charted, the Eagles' 1978 recording of "Please Come Home for Christmas" re-entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 45 (on the chart dated January 2, 2021).

Jon Bon Jovi/Bon Jovi version

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

also covered the song on the 1992 holiday album ''

A Very Special Christmas 2 ''A Very Special Christmas 2'' is the second in the '' A Very Special Christmas'' series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 20, 1992, and production was overseen by ...

'' in the style of the Eagles. In 1994 the same recording was released as a charity single in Europe, but this time instead of being credited as a solo recording by Jon Bon Jovi it was released under the band name

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

. A promo music video that featured supermodel

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

was made to accompany that release. The 1994 single release reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Italy. Don Felder of the Eagles also featured on guitar in this version of the song.

Chart performance

Charles Brown

Eagles

Bon Jovi

Gary Allan

Lee Roy Parnell

Willie Nelson

Josh Gracin

Martina McBride

Kelly Clarkson

George Ezra

Certifications and sales

Eagles

Jon Bon Jovi

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1960 singles 1978 singles 1994 singles Eagles (band) songs American Christmas songs Aaron Neville songs Jon Bon Jovi songs Charles Brown (musician) songs Kimberley Locke songs Josh Gracin songs Gary Allan songs Willie Nelson songs Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes songs Music videos directed by Herb Ritts Asylum Records singles Mercury Records singles Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk 1960 songs King Records (United States) singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine