Mistletoe and Holly

"Mistletoe and Holly"
Single by Frank Sinatra
from the album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
B-side	"The Christmas Waltz"
Released	1957
Recorded	July 17, 1957
Studio	Capitol Records, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Christmas, traditional pop
Length	2:14
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Dok Stanford, Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra
Producer(s)	Voyle Gilmore
Frank Sinatra singles chronology
"Witchcraft" (1957) "Mistletoe and Holly" (1957) "Nothing in Common" (1958)

"Mistletoe and Holly" is a 1957 Christmas song recorded by Frank Sinatra that was written by Sinatra with his longtime associate Hank Sanicola and Dok Stanford. The song was released by Capitol Records as a single and on the 1957 Christmas album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra.

Background

"Mistletoe and Holly" was written by Frank Sinatra, Dok Stanford and Hank Sanicola, and published by the Barton Music Corporation in New York.^[1] It was recorded by Sinatra with The Ralph Brewster Singers and an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins on July 17, 1957.^[2] Later that year it was paired with "The Christmas Waltz" as a Capitol Records single in the 7-inch 45 and 10-inch 78 rpm formats but did not chart at that time.^[3] Capitol Records also released the song in 1960 as "The Christmas Seal Song", a special 7-inch single with an introduction by Sinatra, and shipped 2,000 copies to radio stations in the US that year to broadcast as a reminder to use Christmas Seals.^[4]

In 2012 the song was remixed by Kaskade.^[5]

Critical reception

Billboard magazine wrote, "Sinatra gives this one a crisp and polished vocal to a tasteful backing."^[6] Cashbox magazine described the song as a "contagious lilter" and concluded, "Pretty ditty with that wonderful Xmas spirit."^[7]

Commercial performance

In December 2011, Billboard began a Hot Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitored the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data",^[8] and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100.^[9] "Mistletoe and Holly" made its first appearance there during the 2016 holiday season, during which time it peaked at number 70.^[10] It also charted at lower positions on the Holiday 100 during the seasons from 2017 to 2023.^[a]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography by Luiz Carlos do Nascimento Silva:^[2]

Frank Sinatra – lead vocal Gordon Jenkins – conductor Allan Reuss – guitar Nat Gangursky – bass John Ryan – bass Bill Miller – piano Kathryn Thompson – harp Ralph Hancoll – drums Victor Arno – violin Walter Edelstein – violin David Frisina – violin Sol Kindler – violin Joseph Livoti – violin Nick Pisani – violin Joseph Quadri – violin Lou Raderman – violin Mischa Russell – violin Marshall Sosson – violin Bill Baffa – viola Louis Kievman – viola Paul Robyn – viola Dave Sterkin – viola Cy Bernard – cello Armond Kaproff – cello

The Ralph Brewster Singers – backing vocals: Betty Allen Sue Allen Ralph Brewster Peggy Clark Barbara Ford Lee Gotch Beverly Jenkins Jimmy Joyce Gene Lanham Bill Lee Ray Linn, Jr. John Mann Thora Mathiason Dorothy McCarty Loulie Jean Norman Betty Noyes Thurl Ravenscroft Ginny Roos Max Smith Bob Stevens Bill Thompson Robert Wacker Betty Wand Gloria Wood

Charts

Original 1957 recording

Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2016) Chart (2016) Peak position US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[10] 70 Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2017) Chart (2017) Peak position Latvia (DigiTop100)[11] 58 US Holiday 100 (Billboard) [12] 95 Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2018) Chart (2018) Peak position US Holiday 100 (Billboard) [13] 92 Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2019) Chart (2019) Peak position US Holiday 100 (Billboard) [14] 92

Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2020) Chart (2020) Peak position Portugal (AFP)[15] 172 US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[16] 94 Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2021) Chart (2021) Peak position US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[17] 88 Chart performance for "Mistletoe and Holly" (2023) Chart (2023) Peak position Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 14 US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[19] 98

Notes

1. See Charts section.

References

1. "dbopm :: the database of popular music :: Songs written or co-written by Frank Sinatra". Dbopm.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
2. Silva, Luiz Carlos do Nascimento (2000). Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313310556.
3. "Song artist 10 - Frank Sinatra". Tsort.info. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
4. "Intensive Promotion Supports Seal Drive". Bulletin of the National Tuberculosis Association. Vol. 45, no. 11. December 1960. p. 5. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
5. "Throwback Thursday: Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and Holly (Kaskade Mix)". EDM Identity. December 25, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
6. "Christmas > Frank Sinatra > Mistletoe and Holly" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 69, no. 49. December 2, 1957. p. 55. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
7. "The Cash Box Record Reviews > Frank Sinatra > "Mistletoe and Holly"" (PDF). Cashbox. New York: Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc. November 30, 1957. p. 14. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
8. "Andy Williams Hits New High, The Ronettes 'Ride' Back After 52 Years & More Hot 100 Chart Moves". billboard.com. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
9. "Carey Brings Back 'Christmas'". Billboard. December 14, 2013. p. 115.
10. "Holiday 100: The week of December 31, 2016". billboard.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
11. ""DIGiTop100" gada izskaņas topā svētku dziesmas uzvar teju visus muzikālos smagsvarus" [Christmas songs beat almost all musical heavyweights in DIGiTop100 at the end of the year] (in Latvian). Skaties.lv [lv]. January 3, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
12. "Holiday 100: The week of January 3, 2018". billboard.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
13. "Holiday 100: The week of January 5, 2019". billboard.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
14. "Holiday 100: The week of January 4, 2020". billboard.com. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
15. "Frank Sinatra – Mistletoe and Holly". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
16. "Holiday 100: The week of January 2, 2021". billboard.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
17. "Holiday 100 (Week of January 8, 2022)". Billboard. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
18. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
19. "Holiday 100 (Week of January 6, 2024)". Billboard. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.

Sources

• Granata, Charles L. (1999). Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-509-5
• Phasey, Chris (1995). Francis Albert Sinatra: Tracked Down (Discography). Buckland Publications. ISBN 0-7212-0935-1
• Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn (2005). Sinatra: The Life. Doubleday. ISBN 0-552-15331-1