December 26, 2025 —– Chart #330
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week, another Christmas edition. Some songs are Christmas. You can string a million lights, bake a hundred cookies, and play every carol ever written… but the moment Nat King Cole starts singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” you know the holiday has officially arrived.
Nat didn’t just record this song — he defined it.
His voice was buttery, flawless, and smoother than fresh snow on a golf course. If Santa had a favorite singer, it was Nat. If chestnuts could applaud, they would have.
This is one of those rare recordings where every note sounds like it was delivered with grace, intention, and maybe a tuxedo.
The Backstory
The song was written in 1945 by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells during another sweltering California heat wave. (Apparently all the great winter songs are written when the thermometer is begging for mercy.)
Tormé later joked that Wells had scribbled down winter-imagery words — “chestnuts,” “Jack Frost,” “turkey,” “mistletoe” — simply to cool himself off mentally. Within 45 minutes, they had one of the greatest Christmas songs ever written.
Meanwhile, the rest of us can barely write a grocery list in 45 minutes.
Nat King Cole’s Legendary Recordings
Nat believed in this song so much that he recorded it four separate times:
- 1946 — First version, simple trio arrangement
- 1946 (second session) — Re-recorded with strings
- 1953 — More polished, richer arrangement
- 1961 — The definitive version, recorded in stereo
It’s the 1961 version that’s become immortal — the one you hear in every movie, mall, airport, and living room from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
Arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael, that version is lush, warm, and wrapped in musical velvet.
Nat’s vocal?
Well… you might as well be listening to an angel in a silk pocket square.
Chart Performance & Legacy
- Frequently returns to the Billboard Holiday Chart each December
- Reached #11 on the Hot 100 in 2023 — not bad for a song recorded before seatbelts were standard
- Recognized globally as the essential Christmas ballad
- Added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry for cultural & historical significance
If there’s ever a time capsule to show future civilizations what Christmas felt like, this track is going in it.
Fun Facts
- Mel Tormé considered it his greatest songwriting accomplishment — and the royalties backed him up.
- Nat King Cole was the first major artist to record the song, and once he sang it, nobody else really stood a chance.
- Nat was only 36 years old when he cut the iconic 1961 version — sounding like a man born to sing Christmas music.
- No matter how cold it is outside, this song makes the room feel 72 degrees with a working fireplace.
What’s It Really About?
Simple warmth.
Family.
Memory.
And the kind of peaceful Christmas moment we all chase but rarely catch.
It’s the musical equivalent of sitting by a fire after everyone has gone to bed, the tree lights still glowing, and you’re thinking…
“Yeah… this was a good one.”
Fitting for December 26th — the day when the wrapping paper is gone, the leftovers are winning the fridge, and all that’s left is the quiet glow of the season.
Playing the Song
This one is more complex than your average acoustic-strummer, but with some jazzy chords and a little patience, it’s gorgeous on guitar.
Play it on a Taylor or Martin acoustic and you’ll feel like you should be wearing a suit jacket and holding a glass of something excellent.
Bonus points if your audience walks by and says, “Now that’s Christmas.”
Why It Lasts
Because it’s sincere.
Because it never oversings.
Because Nat King Cole recorded the most perfect vocal in Christmas history.
And because every holiday, year after year, families gather — and this song is there, part of the ritual as surely as lights, ornaments, and memories.
If Christmas had a heartbeat, it would sound like this song.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw