November 16, 2021 • 8 mins
On this day in 1979, Paul McCartney released his quirky seasonal classic “Wonderful Christmastime.”
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show for those interested in the big and small
moments of history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode,
(00:24):
we're remembering the day when a former Beatle first told
us that he was simply having a wonderful Christmas Time.
The day was November six, seventy nine, Paul McCartney released
his quirky seasonal classic, Wonderful Christmas Time. It's prog rock
(00:49):
sound made it an instant stand out in the pantheon
of Christmas songs, loaded as it was, with synthesizer's sleigh
bells and all sorts of special effects who the Spirits
(01:11):
shaft Christmas. McCartney wrote the song one boiling hot day
in July, as he put it, and it took him
just ten minutes to get the job done. The lyrics
are a little basic, so that's not exactly hard to believe,
but ten minutes is still impressive, especially when you consider
(01:34):
how popular the song became. Wonderful Christmas Time was released
as a standalone single in the United Kingdom, and the
Brits loved it from the start. The song peaked at
number six on the UK Singles Chart, but it was
less of a hit in the US, where it made
it's a number ninety four on the Record World Singles Chart,
(01:57):
but never even cracked the Billboard Hot one hundred. It
still the song's a certified earworm, so plenty of stand
offish listeners warmed up to it eventually. To this day,
it gets plenty of play each year at shopping malls
and Christmas parties, and of course on the radio. It's
even popped back onto certain charts from time to time,
(02:20):
including a few of the Billboards. As you might imagine,
all that airplay has translated to a Wonderful Christmas Time
for Paul McCartney's bank account. According to Forbes, when you
factor in cover versions, the song earns the singer anywhere
from four hundred thousand to six hundred thousand dollars each year.
(02:42):
That adds up to roughly seventeen million dollars since its
release in nineteen seventy nine. Truly a gift that keeps
on giving. In most cases, those profits would be shared
between the other musicians featured on the track, but that's
not the case with wonder Full Christmas Time because Paul
McCartney made the whole thing himself. Not only did he
(03:05):
write and produce the song, he also played every single
instrument and sang every line, and yes, that includes when
the choir of children start to sing the song they've
practiced all year long. True, that song amounts to nothing
but ding dong, ding dong, but it's still just McCartney
(03:26):
singing it. He recorded the song on his own during
the sessions for his McCartney Too solo project, though he
wound up releasing it as a non album single. The
members of his then current band Wings had no part
(03:49):
in the song's creation, but they did appear in the
music video promoting it, which was shot at the Fountain
Inn in West Sussex. Wings also played the song during
their nine tour of the UK, which ended up being
the band's last one. Today, many people love the song,
(04:09):
while others despise it and try to exit the room
as soon as it starts playing. Some music critics have
called it the worst composition of McCartney's career, but I
don't even think it's his worst Christmas song that dishonor
has to go to the B side of Wonderful Christmas Time,
A little tune called Rudolph the Red Nosed Reggae which
(04:32):
makes no sense, has no lyrics and definitely is in reggae.
It sounds more Irish or Scottish. As CBC Radio put it,
that song quote makes wonderful Christmas Time sound like let
it be in comparison. In speaking of other Christmas songs,
(05:00):
Paul McCartney recorded one with the Beatles called Christmas Time
Is Here Again, which was sent to the band's fan
club members in nineteen sixty seven. Paul was the third
former Beatle to return to the Christmas well in the
nineteen seventies. John Lennon got there first in nineteen seventy
(05:22):
one when he and Yoko Ono released Happy Xmas, War
Is Over and Happy. Three years later, George Harrison threw
his hat in the holiday ring with Ding Dong Ding Dong,
a New Year's Eve sing along that McCartney obviously cribbed
(05:46):
without Shane for his own Christmas song, Asper Ringo star
He bided his time until nineteen nine, when he released
an entire album of Christmas songs called I Want to
Be Santa Claus. Ringo's album included his take on a
(06:09):
number of popular Christmas songs, and while Wonderful Christmas Time
isn't one of them, plenty of other artists have covered
it over the years. The roster of notable covers includes
versions by Diana Ross, The Bear Naked Ladies, Kelly Rowland,
Demilovado Hansen, and a sixteen duet between Kylie Minogue and
(06:33):
Mika Paul McCartney is said to be a little tired
of the song himself, but he's still performed it at
live shows in recent years, at least the ones in
the Winter. He also performed it on sn L back
in and again with Jimmy Fallon in the Roots In.
That's a lot of staying power for a song that's
(06:55):
been quite divisive with the public in the years since
its release, but where whether you love it or hate it,
there's no denying the song has become a new Christmas standard.
It's bouncy and upbeat enough then most people can help
but hum along as the song goes. The parties on
the feelings here that only comes this time of year.
(07:18):
Of course, whether that feeling is good or bad depends
entirely on who's listening. I'm Gabelusier and hopefully you now
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
If you enjoyed the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at t d I HC Show. And if
(07:42):
you want to go into lengthy detail about why I'm
wrong and how Rudolf the Red Nosed Reggae is actually
the best Christmas song ever, well, you can send your
argument to Chandler Maze at I heart media dot com.
Speaking of which, thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show,
and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here
(08:04):
again tomorrow for another day in History class. For more
podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show for those interested in the big and small
moments of history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode,
(00:24):
we're remembering the day when a former Beatle first told
us that he was simply having a wonderful Christmas Time.
The day was November six, seventy nine, Paul McCartney released
his quirky seasonal classic, Wonderful Christmas Time. It's prog rock
(00:49):
sound made it an instant stand out in the pantheon
of Christmas songs, loaded as it was, with synthesizer's sleigh
bells and all sorts of special effects who the Spirits
(01:11):
shaft Christmas. McCartney wrote the song one boiling hot day
in July, as he put it, and it took him
just ten minutes to get the job done. The lyrics
are a little basic, so that's not exactly hard to believe,
but ten minutes is still impressive, especially when you consider
(01:34):
how popular the song became. Wonderful Christmas Time was released
as a standalone single in the United Kingdom, and the
Brits loved it from the start. The song peaked at
number six on the UK Singles Chart, but it was
less of a hit in the US, where it made
it's a number ninety four on the Record World Singles Chart,
(01:57):
but never even cracked the Billboard Hot one hundred. It
still the song's a certified earworm, so plenty of stand
offish listeners warmed up to it eventually. To this day,
it gets plenty of play each year at shopping malls
and Christmas parties, and of course on the radio. It's
even popped back onto certain charts from time to time,
(02:20):
including a few of the Billboards. As you might imagine,
all that airplay has translated to a Wonderful Christmas Time
for Paul McCartney's bank account. According to Forbes, when you
factor in cover versions, the song earns the singer anywhere
from four hundred thousand to six hundred thousand dollars each year.
(02:42):
That adds up to roughly seventeen million dollars since its
release in nineteen seventy nine. Truly a gift that keeps
on giving. In most cases, those profits would be shared
between the other musicians featured on the track, but that's
not the case with wonder Full Christmas Time because Paul
McCartney made the whole thing himself. Not only did he
(03:05):
write and produce the song, he also played every single
instrument and sang every line, and yes, that includes when
the choir of children start to sing the song they've
practiced all year long. True, that song amounts to nothing
but ding dong, ding dong, but it's still just McCartney
(03:26):
singing it. He recorded the song on his own during
the sessions for his McCartney Too solo project, though he
wound up releasing it as a non album single. The
members of his then current band Wings had no part
(03:49):
in the song's creation, but they did appear in the
music video promoting it, which was shot at the Fountain
Inn in West Sussex. Wings also played the song during
their nine tour of the UK, which ended up being
the band's last one. Today, many people love the song,
(04:09):
while others despise it and try to exit the room
as soon as it starts playing. Some music critics have
called it the worst composition of McCartney's career, but I
don't even think it's his worst Christmas song that dishonor
has to go to the B side of Wonderful Christmas Time,
A little tune called Rudolph the Red Nosed Reggae which
(04:32):
makes no sense, has no lyrics and definitely is in reggae.
It sounds more Irish or Scottish. As CBC Radio put it,
that song quote makes wonderful Christmas Time sound like let
it be in comparison. In speaking of other Christmas songs,
(05:00):
Paul McCartney recorded one with the Beatles called Christmas Time
Is Here Again, which was sent to the band's fan
club members in nineteen sixty seven. Paul was the third
former Beatle to return to the Christmas well in the
nineteen seventies. John Lennon got there first in nineteen seventy
(05:22):
one when he and Yoko Ono released Happy Xmas, War
Is Over and Happy. Three years later, George Harrison threw
his hat in the holiday ring with Ding Dong Ding Dong,
a New Year's Eve sing along that McCartney obviously cribbed
(05:46):
without Shane for his own Christmas song, Asper Ringo star
He bided his time until nineteen nine, when he released
an entire album of Christmas songs called I Want to
Be Santa Claus. Ringo's album included his take on a
(06:09):
number of popular Christmas songs, and while Wonderful Christmas Time
isn't one of them, plenty of other artists have covered
it over the years. The roster of notable covers includes
versions by Diana Ross, The Bear Naked Ladies, Kelly Rowland,
Demilovado Hansen, and a sixteen duet between Kylie Minogue and
(06:33):
Mika Paul McCartney is said to be a little tired
of the song himself, but he's still performed it at
live shows in recent years, at least the ones in
the Winter. He also performed it on sn L back
in and again with Jimmy Fallon in the Roots In.
That's a lot of staying power for a song that's
(06:55):
been quite divisive with the public in the years since
its release, but where whether you love it or hate it,
there's no denying the song has become a new Christmas standard.
It's bouncy and upbeat enough then most people can help
but hum along as the song goes. The parties on
the feelings here that only comes this time of year.
(07:18):
Of course, whether that feeling is good or bad depends
entirely on who's listening. I'm Gabelusier and hopefully you now
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
If you enjoyed the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at t d I HC Show. And if
(07:42):
you want to go into lengthy detail about why I'm
wrong and how Rudolf the Red Nosed Reggae is actually
the best Christmas song ever, well, you can send your
argument to Chandler Maze at I heart media dot com.
Speaking of which, thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show,
and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here
(08:04):
again tomorrow for another day in History class. For more
podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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