Burl Ives Tops Media Monitors ‘Christmas Ten ‘06’

Another good December for Burl Ives.
Media Monitors’ 2006 Christmas Radio Report says Ives’ “Holly Jolly Christmas” regained its top spot on the Christmas Ten ‘06 chart of the most-played Christmas songs among 93 all-Christmas stations. The holiday classic is back on top after being bumped to second place by Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” last year, which now is No. 2.
For the study, Media Monitors tracks the airplay on the stations in 60 major metropolitan cities and compares it with previous years during the first 10 days of the holiday season, beginning on Thanksgiving Day.
The report shows Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” (#3) with a steady but barely perceptible increase in airplay from fifth place in 2004 and fourth place in 2005. Andy Williams’ “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (#5) ranked fifth for the second year in a row. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (#7) was third in 2004 and 2005, but dropped to number seven in 2006.
The rest of the list includes “Feliz Navidad,” José Feliciano (#4); “Please Come Home for Christmas,” The Eagles (#6); “Happy Xmas,” John Lennon (#8); “Merry Christmas, Darling,” The Carpenters (#9); and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Johnny Mathis (#10).