Popular Christmas songs last forever, and Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” is one of the most popular. The “Band on the Run” singer doesn’t care if it’s overplayed. Love it or hate it, “Wonderful Christmastime” distinguishes itself from most of the Christmas canon.
Paul McCartney wanted ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ to get the party started
In a 2022 article from his website, Paul discussed writing “Wonderful Christmastime.” “I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas!” he said. “They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ I was trying to capture that party aspect.”
Paul commented on the tune’s ubiquity. “I did hope it would keep coming back — which it has,” he said. “Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear it a little too much, but I don’t care! I’m happy!” While Paul seems pleased with “Wonderful Christmastime,” it’s one of the most divisive songs in his catalog. To some, it’s a classic and to others, it’s an example of Paul’s poor forays into pop music after The Beatles broke up.
Paul McCartney also made holiday music specifically for his family
“Wonderful Christmastime” is not the only Yuletide offering from Paul. “When the kids were little, I suddenly thought there wasn’t the ideal Christmas record, in my opinion,” he said. “There’s some great Christmas records like the Phil Spector one, and Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby on the old standards, but I just wanted an instrumental of all the tunes.”
Paul solved this problem in the best way possible “So, I ended up recording one for the family in my studio,” he said. “And Eddie Klein, my engineer at the time, helped me. I now have this album I pull out every year.” The former Beatle has never revealed this Christmas album to the public. He likes putting it on when he carves a veggie roast for his family.
‘Wonderful Christmastime’ became a hit — and here’s why
“Wonderful Christmastime” has remained popular decades after its release. In 2018, the tune peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Wonderful Christmastime” has spent a total of 11 weeks on that chart. In more recent years, it has become common for Christmas songs to hit the Billboard Hot 100 during the holiday season.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Wonderful Christmastime” proved popular in the United Kingdom as well. There, the song reached No. 6 and stayed on the chart for a whopping 53 weeks.
What makes “Wonderful Christmastime” stand out from the crowd is its genre. Many Christmas songs are traditional pop songs or include traditional pop elements. On the other hand, “Wonderful Christmastime” is a bouncy synth-pop track. Besides “Last Christmas” by Wham! And the truly dreadful charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” there aren’t any other synth-pop songs in the seasonal canon. While Christmas music is generally backward-looking, “Wonderful Christmastime” was a trailblazer that helped set the stage for the songs of the 1980s.
“Wonderful Christmastime” isn’t going anywhere and that’s exactly what Paul wants.
