All I Want for Christmas Is You (Vince Vance & The Valiants song)
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a Christmas song recorded by American novelty act Vince Vance & the Valiants. Initially released as a single in 1989, Vince Vance's version of the song has charted several times on the Billboard country singles charts. It is Vince Vance & the Valiants' only chart entry.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You (Vince Vance & The Valiants song 1989)" | |
---|---|
Single by Vince Vance & the Valiants | |
from the album All I Want for Christmas Is You | |
Released | 1989 |
Recorded | Masterphonics Studio 6; Nashville, Tennessee |
Genre | Country, Christmas |
Length | 3:47 |
Label | Valiant 92689 |
Songwriter(s) | Troy Powers, Andy Stone |
Producer(s) | Ed Loftus, James Stroud |
Content
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a mid-tempo in triple meter, featuring lead vocals from Lisa Burgess Stewart, who now records under the name Lisa Layne.[1][2] In it, the singer explains that she does not want Christmas decorations or gifts from Santa Claus. Instead, all she wants for Christmas is her lover. The melody used in the song is based on Bobby Vinton's number 9 pop hit single from early 1964, "My Heart Belongs to Only You," with a few minor alterations.[3]
Reception
In his review of the album All I Want for Christmas Is You, Allmusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier referred to the song as a "holiday favorite within the country community during the '90s" but noted that the rest of the album was not "remotely worth bothering with."[4] Having received frequent rotation on country radio and adult contemporary radio during the Christmas season since its 1993 re-release, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is also the most-played country music Christmas song.[5]
The song was also made into a music video directed by Steve Dunning.[6]
Chart performance
The song first charted in early 1994 based on airplay from the 1993 Christmas season, peaking at #55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts on the chart week of January 8, 1994.[7] It re-entered in December 1994, reaching a new peak of #52 on the chart week of January 7, 1995.[7] The song re-entered the country charts again every January afterward, each time peaking higher than the last (confusion with the Mariah Carey hit song of the same name, released in 1994, may have accounted for increased exposure); it did not appear in the 1998-99 holiday season but again charted for the final time in January 2000, reaching its peak on that chart of 31. Although it never charted on the country charts again, it peaked at #23 on the Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay chart in 2002 (despite having never entered or bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 or Hot 100 Airplay charts), and has re-appeared on the Hot Country Recurrents chart every Christmas since late 2000-early 2001.
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 55 |
Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 52 |
Chart (1995–1996) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 52 |
Chart (1996–1997) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 49 |
Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 43 |
Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 31 |
Chart (2002) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay | 23 |
Other versions
Sammy Kershaw covered the song on his 1994 album Christmas Time's A-Comin.[8]
Santa's Doo Wop Helpers (Joel Katz, Johnny Maestro, Bobby Jay and Larry Chance) recorded the song in 1996 for various compilation Christmas CDs.
LeAnn Rimes covered the song for her 2004 Christmas album What a Wonderful World.[9]
In 2020, Kelly Clarkson released a version of the song as a standalone single.[10]
References
- Shannon, Gary. "Lisa Layne—The Voice Behind 'All I Want for Christmas is You' Vince Vance and the Valiants", KHLA, December 4, 2012
- Vance, Vince. All I Want for Christmas is You Archived 2017-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, http://www.icompositions.com/, December 26, 2016
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004). Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 63. ISBN 0-89820-161-6.
- Birchmeier, Jason. "All I Want for Christmas Is You review". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- "Most-Played Christmas Songs On Country Radio Listed". KWTX. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- "Vince Vance & the Valiants: All I Want for Christmas Is You". CMT. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- "Christmas Time's A-Comin'". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- "What A Wonderful World'". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- "Kelly Clarkson is releasing new cover of 'All I Want for Christmas is You' -- and no, it's not the Mariah Carey song". Good Morning America. Retrieved 13 November 2020.