Perhaps making the wait for a parking spot at the mall during the holidays not seem so long by comparison, enters Dean Martin's “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Bulletin board's Adult Contemporary survey — nearly 72 years after the legendary entertainer recorded it.
The carol debuts on the chart (dated Nov. 23) at No. 30.
The song was finally released on October 14th. According to a press release, it is the earliest known recording of Martin's holiday and the only recorded version of the classic carol, written by Meredith Willson in 1951. The performance originated from a radio broadcast on December 16, 1952, as part of the NBC The Martin and Lewis Show starring Martin and Jerry Lewis. (Their guest that week: Ginger Rogers.)
A new animated video for Martin's “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” premiered on November 14.
Martin, who died on Christmas Day 1995 aged 78, extended his reach on the Adult Contemporary chart (which began on July 17, 1961, Bulletin board issue) to 60 years, four months and three weeks, dating back to the iconic 'Everybody Loves Somebody' in 1964. The song became his first of five chart No. 1s through 1968.
Only Nat King Cole boasts a longer run on Adult Contemporary: 60 years, five months and two weeks, from 1961 to 2022, when a new version of the revered late singer's holiday hit “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire', featuring John Legend, reached No. 29.
This past holiday season, Martin also added to his chart history when “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” climbed to a new high of No. 7 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 all-genre chart. The song, from 1959, reached the top 10 for the first time during the 2020-21 holidays, becoming his fourth song to reach the level. “The King of Cool” posted his first three top 10s in 1964-65: “Everybody Loves Somebody” (No. 1, one week), “The Door Is Still Open to My Heart” (No. 6) and ” I Will ” (No. 10).
To date, two versions of “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” have reached the Hot 100, by Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres and His Orchestra (No. 12, 2020) and Michael Bublé (No. . 19, 2023). The recordings have both reached No.8 Bulletin boardHoliday 100 chart, where, in addition, Johnny Mathis' version reached No. 15 and Bing Crosby's, with Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, reached No. 18.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/dean-martin-its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas-reaches-adult-contemporary-chart-1235833828/
