"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company. Gene Autry's recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.
History
In 1939, Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May, created the character Rudolph as an assignment for Montgomery Ward and Marks decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into a song. English singer-songwriter and entertainer Ian Whitcomb interviewed Marks on the creation of the song in 1972. The song had an added introduction, paraphrasing the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas", stating the names of the eight reindeer which went: "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
The most famous reindeer of all?" The song was first sung by croonerHarry Brannon on New York City radio in early November 1949, before Gene Autry's recording hit No. 1 in the U.S. charts during Christmas 1949. The song was suggested as a "B" side for a record Autry was making. Autry rejected the song. His wife convinced him to use it. The success of this Christmas song by Autry gave support to Autry's subsequent popular Easter song, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail." Autry's version of the song also holds the distinction of being the only chart-topping hit to fall completely off the chart after reaching No. 1. The official date of its No. 1 status was for the week ending January 7, 1950, making it the first No. 1 song of the 1950s. The song was also performed on the December 6, 1949, Fibber McGee and Molly radio broadcast by Teeny and The Kingsmen vocal group. The lyrics varied greatly from the Autry version. Autry's recording sold 1.75 million copies its first Christmas season, eventually selling a total of 12.5 million. Cover versions included, sales exceed 150 million copies, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". Autry recorded another version of the song in the Autumn of 1957 and released it the same year through his own record label, Challenge Records. This version featured an accompaniment by full orchestra and chorus. This was the only other version of the song Autry recorded and released on an album. In 1959, Chuck Berry released a recording of a sequel, "Run Rudolph Run", credited to Marks and Marvin Brodie. In December 2018, Autry's original version entered the BillboardHot 100 at #36, nearly 70 years after it first charted. It climbed to #27 the week ending December 22, 2018 and peaked at #16 the week ending January 5, 2019.
Other notable recordings
1950: The song was recorded by Bing Crosby on June 22, 1950 with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra. His version reached No. 6 on Billboard's Best Selling Children's Records chart and No. 14 on Billboards pop singles chart that year.
1950: Spike Jones and his City Slickers released a version of the song that peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's pop singles chart and No. 8 on Billboards Best Selling Children's Records chart.
1951: Red Foley and The Little Foleys released a version of the song that peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Best Selling Children's Records chart.
1960: Alvin and the Chipmunks recorded a popular cover for their album Around the World with The Chipmunks that charted at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. In their version, Rudolph himself sang with the Chipmunks, his vocals indicating suffering from a cold. They would record the song again for their 1961 album Christmas with The Chipmunks and their 1994 album A Very Merry Chipmunk as a duet with Gene Autry.
1964: Burl Ives recorded the song for the soundtrack of the holiday TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The soundtrack album containing Ives's version reached No. 142 on the Billboard 200 albums sales chart. He would re-record the song the following year for his holiday album Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.
1965: The Supremes covered the song in their album Merry Christmas.
1968: The Temptations released a version of the song that peaked at No. 12 on Billboard's special, year-end, weekly Christmas Singles chart. Their version of the song was also included on the group's 1970 Christmas album, The Temptations Christmas Card.
1970: The Jackson 5 recorded a version on their holiday album, Jackson 5 Christmas Album.
2001: Destiny's Child released their version on their 8 Days of Christmas album. The song was released as a single in 2002 and featured on their Christmas album in 2001. The music video features the popular girl group completely animated.
In popular culture
The lyric "All of the other reindeer" can be misheard in dialects with the cot–caught merger as the mondegreen "Olive, the other reindeer", and has given rise to another character featured in her own Christmas television special, Olive, the Other Reindeer. The song in its Finnish translation, "Petteri Punakuono", has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in the mythology as the lead reindeer of Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa. One line in the song becomes a critical clue to unlocking the exit of a house in the winter-themed section of the escape room in the 2019 film Escape Room.
