At Christmas time, we hear seasonal music pretty much everywhere we go.  Over the last couple of generations there have been some new Christmas classics that some think are the best songs ever.  Mariah Carey comes to mind of course and the success of the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” song cannot be denied.  She makes about 3 million a year from it and it now has a 30 year track record.  Huge hit.

But it may surprise you what’s the largest selling song of all time.  NOT just the largest selling CHRISTMAS song, but the biggest SONG ever.  It’s Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”  And with all due respect to Mariah, or Brenda Lee, or countless others who have recorded holiday classics we’ve been enjoying for generations, it’s not even close.

It was written by the incredible Irving Berlin and Bing sings it originally in the 1942 classic movie, Holiday Inn.  It won an Oscar that year and was first publicly performed by Bing a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  To date his version of that song has sold over 50 million copies.  And that is #1 all time.  And if you add the rest of the versions recorded the number is over 100 million.

Whether you like his version or not, if it’s too dated for you, that’s fine.  Just know that over 80 some years, it has stood the test ot time.  The beauty of this song is, its timelessness is unmatched.  Does it sound different that many of today’s songs?  Yes. And for some reason, most just don’t care.  It makes them feel safe at home and warm.

Fun fact too, the legend says he recorded it in 18 minutes.   Much the same way Louis Armstrong and the legend of him saying he was only going to sing, “What A Wonderful World”  ONE TIME in the studio.  Both are rumored to be true.  Both have seemed to work out OK.

Merry Christmas