Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish's festive favorite "Sleigh Ride" has been named America's most popular Christmas tune for a second year running. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has released its latest list of most-played holiday songs from over 2,500 radio stations all over the U.S. and the 1940s pop song has beaten "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bell Rock" to the top spot.
Sleigh Ride was originally written by Anderson and Parish as an instrumental piece for a symphony orchestra. The Boston Pops Orchestra gave the first performance in 1948, recorded it a year later and Parish added lyrics. The top 10 most-played ASCAP holiday songs so far this holiday season are listed below, together with the most popular version:
- "Sleigh Ride" - Leroy Anderson
- "Winter Wonderland" - Eurythmics
- "Jingle Bell Rock" - Bobby Helms
- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Andy Williams
- "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - The Carpenters
- "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" - Bing Crosby
- "Frosty the Snowman" - Jimmy Durante
- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)" - Nat King Cole