"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" is a 1954 song commonly associated with the

Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

. 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 City, New York – 17 February 1979 Manhattan, New York City, New York) was an American lyricist. Biography Al Stillman was born as Albert Irving Silverman to American ...

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 American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, 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 accompanied Pe ...

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

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

, 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 Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

that December by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

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

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 advertis ...

'' 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 Ye Merry, Gentlemen", also known as "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 "T ...

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

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

, with the flip side " Tina Marie". 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, commonly shortened to 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 configurat ...

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 Himb ...

", by RCA Victor in the U.S. and as a 45rpm single by

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 ...

'', 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‐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 Canad ...

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 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 distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

’ recording on their 1984 LP release, ''

An Old Fashioned Christmas ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas'' is the second Christmas album by the American music duo Carpenters, released on October 26, 1984. It is also the second posthumous release after the 1983 death of singer and drummer Karen Carpenter. Background Th ...

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

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

special, ''

A Muppet Family Christmas ''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas musical television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Its teleplay was conceived by longtime Muppet writer ...

''. In 1992,

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalacqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Although Pass recorded and performed live with pianist Oscar Peterson, composer Duke Ellington, and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, he ...

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 and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

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, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

version, from '' Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas'', 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. In 2002, singer

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

released a version of the song on his Christmas album "

A Christmas Gift of Love ''A Christmas Gift of Love'' is the second Christmas-themed album by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow released in 2002. The album went Gold in the United States. It was done with Columbia Records instead of his usual label of Concord Records. How ...

." Manilow's version was also included on the 2003 compilation album Now That's What I Call Christmas!: The Signature Collection. In 2010,

Mandy Barnett Amanda Carol Barnett (born September 28, 1975) is an American country music singer. 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 her musical caree ...

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. He made his directorial film debut with the slasher film '' The Town That Dreaded Sundown'' (2014). He h ...

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

Carly Foulkes Carly Marie Foulkes 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 spokesperson in other ...

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, near the interchange of Golf Road and Interstate 290 (Illinois), Interstate 290. The mall is the largest shopping mall in the state ...

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

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

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

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

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Perry Como (1954) version

Perry Como (1959) version

The Carpenters version

Garth Brooks version

Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones version

All-time charts

Perry Como (1959) version

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Perry Como (1954) version

Perry Como (1959) version

The Carpenters version

Garth Brooks version

Cyndi Lauper and Norah Jones version

All-time charts

Perry Como (1959) version

See also

References