“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Makes “Most Performed Holiday Song List”
John Mellencamp’s version of the Christmas chestnut “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” has been cited by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in its annual Top 25 list of most performed holiday songs for the past five years.
The list, which is topped for the second time by “Winter Wonderland,” includes songwriter credits and notes the most popular artist version played on radio.
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” came in at No. 21. Written by Tommie Connor, it was a No. 1 hit originally for Jimmy Boyd in 1952 and has been memorably covered also by the likes of the Ronnettes (on Phil Spector’s classic Christmas album) and the Jackson Five.
Mellencamp’s version was part of the 1987's “A Very Special Christmas” album compilation. It was cut with his Lonesome Jubilee band and was accompanied by a video featuring his then very young daughter Teddi Jo singing.
ASCAP, by the way, is the leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing over 330,000 music creators and copyright owners in licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. Its Top 25 most performed holiday songs list, which also includes such holiday standards as “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” is based on performance data tracked by radio airplay monitoring service Mediaguide.
All 25 songs on the list can be heard on the ASCAP Network’s Playback radio channel at http://www.ascap.com/network/.
Mellencamp, meanwhile, was ranked No. 42 in “The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists” list based on all charting titles from August 1958 through July 2008. “Hurts So Good” was No. 83 on “The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs” list and No. 19 on the “The Billboard Hot 100 Rock Songs” list (both under the artist name of John Cougar), with “Jack & Diane” at No. 35 on the latter list (again as Cougar). The findings were included in Billboard’s recent “Hot 100 Anniversary” issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of its Hot 100 sales charts.
The list, which is topped for the second time by “Winter Wonderland,” includes songwriter credits and notes the most popular artist version played on radio.
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” came in at No. 21. Written by Tommie Connor, it was a No. 1 hit originally for Jimmy Boyd in 1952 and has been memorably covered also by the likes of the Ronnettes (on Phil Spector’s classic Christmas album) and the Jackson Five.
Mellencamp’s version was part of the 1987's “A Very Special Christmas” album compilation. It was cut with his Lonesome Jubilee band and was accompanied by a video featuring his then very young daughter Teddi Jo singing.
ASCAP, by the way, is the leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing over 330,000 music creators and copyright owners in licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. Its Top 25 most performed holiday songs list, which also includes such holiday standards as “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” is based on performance data tracked by radio airplay monitoring service Mediaguide.
All 25 songs on the list can be heard on the ASCAP Network’s Playback radio channel at http://www.ascap.com/network/.
Mellencamp, meanwhile, was ranked No. 42 in “The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists” list based on all charting titles from August 1958 through July 2008. “Hurts So Good” was No. 83 on “The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs” list and No. 19 on the “The Billboard Hot 100 Rock Songs” list (both under the artist name of John Cougar), with “Jack & Diane” at No. 35 on the latter list (again as Cougar). The findings were included in Billboard’s recent “Hot 100 Anniversary” issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of its Hot 100 sales charts.
Music Video: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" 1987
* Buy "I Saw Mommy..." on iTunes or Amazon.com.
* The video for "I Saw Mommy..." appears on THIS DVD.
* John has another Christmas song called "Teddi's Song (When Christmas Comes)" available HERE.