The song, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, was originally recorded by Judy Garland in 1944

Christmas favourite “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, was written by Hugh Martin (1914-2011) and Ralph Blane (1914-1995) and first recorded by Judy Garland for the film ‘Meet Me In St. Louis’ in 1944. It was never commercially released but the film itself became a huge box office hit and remains a well-loved classic still.

Frank Sinatra adjusted the lyrics for his famous version in 1957 which featured on his album, “A Jolly Christmas”. This recording has found continual commercial success ever since.

Judy was back, in all but name, in 1995 with her daughter Lorna Luft with a new recording using the original soundtrack with additional vocals by Luft. This was released as a single and broke the UK singles top 100.

The track has been recorded by around twenty artists including Canadian singer Michael Buble in 2011. His version featured on his festive album “Christmas” and was released as a single, peaking at No.47 in America while the album itself topped the charts in twenty countries around the world and has sold over 12 million copies to date.

British singer Sam Smith released his in 2014 and took it to No.53 in the UK and No.90 in America. His recording also charted around the world in the top 50 from Austria to Australia. The following year, Australian-born singer Kylie Minogue recorded her version for the album “Kylie Christmas“, which became a hit in her native homeland and also in the UK.

Other versions have come from Christina Aguilera in 2011, Josh Groban in 2016 and John Legend in 2018, so it’s up to anyone and everyone to put their own stamp on this seasonal smash, which is now eighty years old and still able to entice every singer, top rank and budding, to its charm and to top up the coffers each and every year.

But which version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is the best?

Happy Christmas!

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