Wonderful Christmastime

"Wonderful Christmastime" is a 1979 Christmas song by Paul McCartney. It enjoys significant Christmas time popularity around the world.[1]  The notable synthesizer riff was played on a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. The song was later added as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue of Wings'Back to the Egg album.[2]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Background and recording  ==Background and recording[ edit] == McCartney recorded the song entirely on his own during the sessions for his solo project McCartney II. Although the members of Wings are not on the recording, they do appear in the promotional music video,[3]  which was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex.[4]
 * 2 Reception and legacy
 * 3 Personnel
 * 4 Cover versions
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

"Wonderful Christmastime" can be heard in the 1998 animated film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie during Santa's takeoff on Christmas Eve. Wings performed the song during their 1979 tour of the UK.[5] ==Reception and legacy[ edit] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Following its release as a stand-alone single in the United Kingdom, "Wonderful Christmastime" peaked at No. 6 on the United Kingdom Singles Charton the week ending 5 January 1980.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[6]  Although the song did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States, it did chart for two weeks on Billboards specially designated Christmas Singles chart in December 1984, peaking at No. 10.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Whitburn_7-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[7]  It also reached No. 29 on Billboards weekly Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in early January 1996.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Whitburn_7-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[7]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The 1979 release did reach the top 100 in the US music trades Cashbox and Record World.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The song continues to receive substantial airplay every year, although some music critics consider it to be one of McCartney's poorest compositions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[8] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Rodriguez_p_191_9-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[9] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[10]  Beatles author Robert Rodriguez has written of "Wonderful Christmastime": "Love it or hate it, few songs within the McCartney oeuvre have provoked such strong reactions."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Rodriguez_p_191_9-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[9]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Including royalties from cover versions, it is estimated that McCartney makes $400,000 a year from this song, which puts its cumulative earnings at near $15 million.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[11] ==Personnel<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Cover versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * Paul McCartney - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion
 * Martin Sheen, John Spencer and Stockard Channing (all parts of the cast of TV series The West Wing) covered "Wonderful Christmastime" on the NBC Celebrity Christmas album in 2000.
 * Barenaked Ladies included a short synthesised instrumental cover of the song on their 2004 album Barenaked for the Holidays.
 * Jump5 covered and remixed the song for their 2002 Christmas album All the Joy in the World.
 * Earthsuit covered the song for Happy Christmas Vol. 3 in 2000.
 * Hilary Duff released a cover of "Wonderful Christmastime" on her 2002 Christmas album Santa Claus Lane.
 * Tom Mcrae contributed a cover of this song on a various artists album titled Maybe This Christmas Tree released in 2004.
 * Jars of Clay recorded a cover version for their 2007 release, Christmas Songs.
 * Demi Lovato did a cover on the 2008 All Wrapped Up album. This version also appears on the 2012 compilation album Now That's What I Call Today's Christmas and in trailers for the 2013 film A Madea Christmas.
 * Family Force 5 covered the song on their 2009 Christmas album Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant.
 * Amy Grant covered the song for her primetime Christmas special entitled Amy Grant: A Christmas to Remember, which aired on 15 December 1999 on CBS.
 * Rahsaan Patterson covered this song on his 2008 album The Ultimate Gift.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[12]
 * Helix covered the song on their 2008 Christmas album A Heavy Mental Christmas.
 * The Venture Bros. co-creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer released a version of the song, performed as the characters 21 and 24, for the website Quick Stop Entertainment as part of the 2008 holiday season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[13]
 * Kelly Rowland recorded a version of the song for the 2010 release Now That's What I Call Christmas! 4.
 * Chicago featured Dolly Parton on their own version on Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three released in 2011.
 * Eli Young Band covered the song on the 2011 compilation The Country Christmas Collection. Their version peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in January 2012.
 * The Shins covered the song for the Starbucks 2012 holiday cover album, Holidays Rule (McCartney also appeared on this album).
 * Eleventyseven covered the song with a synthpop flare for their 2012 Regifted EP.
 * Paul McCartney re-recorded the song in 2013 with the a cappella group Straight No Chaser for their EP, Under the Influence: Holiday Edition<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[14]