| "Please Come Home for Christmas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyCharles Brown | ||||
| from the album Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs | ||||
| B-side | "Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)" by Amos Milburn[1] | |||
| Released | 1960 | |||
| Recorded | September 21, 1960[2] | |||
| Genre | R&B, Christmas | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | King 45-5405 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Charles Brown, Gene Redd | |||
| Charles Brown singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown.[3] Hitting the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with Gene Redd[note 1], peaked at position number 76. It appeared on the Christmas Singles chart for nine seasons, hitting number 1 in 1972.[4][note 2] It includes a number of characteristics of Christmas music, such as multiple references in the lyrics to the Christmas season and Christmas traditions, and the use of a church bell type sound, created using tubular bells, at the start of the song. The song has been covered by many artists, including by Eagles, Etta James and Cher.
| "Please Come Home for Christmas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyEagles | ||||
| B-side | "Funky New Year" | |||
| Released | November 27, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 at Bayshore Recording Studios, Coconut Grove, Florida | |||
| Genre | Rock, rhythm and blues, Christmas music | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | Asylum 45555 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Charles Brown, Gene Redd | |||
| Producer(s) | Bill Szymczyk | |||
| Eagles singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1978, the rock band Eagles covered and released the song as a holiday single. Their version peaked at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the first Christmas song to reach the Top 20 on that chart since Roy Orbison's "Pretty Paper" in 1963. This was the first Eagles song to feature Timothy B. Schmit on bass (having replaced founding member Randy Meisner the previous year). The lineup features Don Henley (drums/lead vocals), Glenn Frey (piano, backing vocals), Joe Walsh (guitar, backing vocals), Schmit (bass/backing vocals), and Don Felder (lead guitar). Originally released as a vinyl 7" single, it was re-released as a CD single in 1995, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. This version includes the lyrics "bells will be ringing the sad, sad news" (that is, a Christmas alone) as opposed to Brown's original version which references the "glad, glad news" (that is, Christmas in general).
A live version of the song was included on the compilation 4-CD box set called Selected Works: 1972–1999 released in 2000. This particular version was recorded in concert on December 31, 1999, in Los Angeles.
Forty-two years after it first charted, Eagles' 1978 recording of "Please Come Home for Christmas" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 45 (on the chart dated January 2, 2021).[6]
| "Please Come Home for Christmas" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyBon Jovi | ||||
| B-side | ||||
| Released | December 5, 1994 (1994-12-05)[7] | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Charles Brown, Gene Redd | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Iovine | |||
| Bon Jovi singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jon Bon Jovi also covered the song on the 1992 holiday album A Very Special Christmas 2 in the style of Eagles. In 1994 the same recording was released as a charity single in Europe, but this time instead of being credited as a solo recording by Jon Bon Jovi it was released under the band name Bon Jovi. A promo music video that featured supermodel Cindy Crawford was made to accompany that release. The 1994 single release reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Italy. Don Felder of Eagles also featured on guitar in this version of the song.
Stuart Bailie from NME wrote, "Sleighbells, big choirs, some hammond organ. Cindy Crawford snogs Jon on the cover for charidee (well, she'd have to, wouldn't she?). Alright, but not as nice as The Eagles' versh of the song."[8]
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100 | 76 |
| Chart (1978–1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] | 19 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] | 5 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] | 28 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 15 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 30 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[14] | 18 |
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 15 |
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot Digital Songs | 74 |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[15] | 94 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USRolling Stone Top 100[16] | 35 |
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] | 48 |
| Chart (2021–2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[18] | 34 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] | 33 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] | 23 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[21] | 28 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[22] | 36 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[23] | 49 |
| Lithuania (AGATA)[24] | 43 |
| Portugal (AFP)[25] | 97 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 37 |
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[27] | 28 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] | 20 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[29] | 6 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[30] | 10 |
| Scotland (OCC)[31] | 8 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[32] | 7 |
| Chart (2020–2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[33] | 78 |
| Slovenia (SloTop50)[34] | 30 |
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[35] | 70 |
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[36] | 71 |
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[37] | 50 |
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[38] | 51 |
| Chart (2011–2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[39] | 51 |
| Chart (2013–2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada AC (Billboard)[40] | 14 |
| South Korea International Singles (GAON)[41] | 97 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[42] | 6 |
| US Holiday Digital Songs (Billboard)[43] | 14 |
| Chart (2021–2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Croatia (HRT)[44] | 20 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[45] | 100 |
| Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[46] | 52 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[47] | 8 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[49] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[50] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
...the original version was recorded in 1960 at Evanston's King Records studio by Charles Brown. [...] In 1960, word of Brown's presence in town reached Syd Nathan of King Records. In [a] 1990 interview, Brown recalled that Nathan asked him, "'Could you write something as good as 'Merry Christmas Baby?' I said, 'I don't know how good it will be, but I'll write.' He said, 'You and [Milburn] Amos go write one apiece and let me hear what you done.' When we brought it to Syd Nathan he fell in love with mine." Milburn's "Christmas Comes But Once a Year" ended up as the B-side of Brown's King single... Brown subsequently recorded other singles and even an album of Christmas songs for Nathan, but never had another hit. While Brown claimed he wrote "Please Come Home" alone, the credits listed Redd as co-writer.
Merry Christmas Baby," first recorded with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in 1947, and "Please Come Home For Christmas," a 1960 hit on King Records covered with great success the Eagles in 1978. Brown recorded both of these songs many times...
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