If you couldn’t tell already, Sunny 99.1 is crazy about Christmas. We love the holiday season, which is why we’re playing holiday music all month long in our countdown to Christmas. As we share our favorite holiday tunes around the clock, we thought it would be fun to learn the story behind the cheer. You’ll be amazed by these 15 surprising facts about your favorite holiday songs.
- “Jingle Bells” was the first song broadcast from space! In 1965, the crew of Gemini 6 caroled Mission Control with their favorite tune after reporting to see an astronaut in a red suit. We don’t know if you can see Santa from space, but we do know the Gemini 6 team knew how to be jolly.
- Speaking of “Jingle Bells,” the song was actually written by James Lord Pierpontfor a Thanksgiving concert.
- According to Time, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling single of ALL TIME.
- A violin solo of "O Holy Night" was the second piece of music to be broadcast on the radio in 1906.
- “Up On the Housetop” was the first song to ever mention Santa Claus. The song was written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.
- Did you know Thurl Ravenscroft, best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger, was the uncredited singer her first sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”? Now you do!
- “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was originally an anti-war song written while American was close to nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” may sound like the type of song to cozy up to, but it was actually written during a heatwave in 1944.
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” wasn’t always meant to be the famous figure he is today. The beloved character was created by a staff copywriter for Montgomery Ward, a department store in the 1930s, for a company coloring book. Robert L. May, the writer, teamed up with Johnny Marks to create the song 10 years after the coloring book’s popular debut.
- “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” soared in popularity in the 18th century, but the song is much older. Originating in Latin, the song was penned in the ninth century.
Did these fun facts get you in the Holiday spirit? Be sure to listen to Sunny 99.1, Houston’s holiday music station.