Elvis Presley’s 1957 Christmas Album Made Him the King of Christmas—Here’s the Story Behind the King’s Beloved Holiday Music
From 'Blue Christmas' to 'White Christmas,' Elvis created holiday magic that's never been matched
Most people know Elvis Presley as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and while that’s still true, come December some undoubtedly give him a different title. Yes, we are talking about when Presley became “the King of Christmas,” a title he earned after releasing a Christmas album back in 1957. To learn more about the album, keep scrolling!
A look at Elvis Presley’s 1957 Christmas album
Presley’s first Christmas album was released in 1957, entitled Elvis’ Christmas Album, and had 12 songs in total (you can listen here):
- “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”
- “White Christmas”
- “Here Comes Santa Claus”
- “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
- “Blue Christmas”
- “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)”
- “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
- “Silent Night”
- “(There’ll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)”
- “I Believe”
- “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”
- “It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)”
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Elvis’ Christmas Album and reissues have shipped at least 17 million copies in the United States. It was the singer’s first album to reach Diamond certification and is the best-selling Christmas album of all time in the United States.
“Elvis was having so much fun. He and Red West [Presley’s longtime bodyguard] had a karate demonstration, and they ended up breaking a classical guitar, and Red had put a Christmas tree in the studio. This is summertime, and he put a Christmas tree just to get [Elvis] into the Christmas mood, to get him to record,” Greg McDonald, author of, Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider’s Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business, said on the iHeart Radio Podcast Our American Stories, titled Behind the Blue Christmas: How Elvis Was Coaxed Into Recording a Christmas Album earlier this month. “Elvis recorded his version of ‘White Christmas’ and they sent the dub up to New York and they played that dub for Irving Berlin who wrote that song.”
“But at that time, it was the biggest Christmas song ever and was sung by Bing Crosby, and it was huge,” he continued. “ Irving Berlin [the songwriter] hated it. He tells them, ‘Don’t put it out. It’s my song. You can’t put it out.’ Well, of course, they could, and they did so. Irving Berlin hires a room full of people to call radio stations and tell them not to play the record. It’s sacrilegious. [Then] at the end of Irving Berlin’s career, someone asks him, ‘What was the biggest royalty check and on what song was it during your life?’ And he said Elvis Presley’s version of ‘White Christmas.’”
A look at Elvis Presley’s follow-up 1970 Christmas album
Thirteen years after the release of Elvis’ Christmas Album, Presley and RCA Camden re-released the disc with two new songs, “If Every Day Was Like Christmas” and “Mama Liked the Roses.” The album wasn’t nearly as successful as the original, though, and to this day, most of the versions that are played are remastered from the original 1957 album.
“Elvis’ Christmas album in 1957 was the biggest Christmas album ever. And a lot of people don’t realize that,” McDonald said in that same iHeartRadio podcast episode. “You can’t get an elevator around Christmas and not hear ‘Blue Christmas.’ It was the Colonel’s [Tom Parker, Presley’s longtime manager] idea. Elvis didn’t want to do it. He was blowing in the wind.”
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