Christmas songs: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is another popular Christmas song.

The song was written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle.

The song was recorded on Andy Williams first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album.  However, the song was not released as the single that year, because Williams version of White Christmas was that years single.

In a 2005 interview, Williams discusses how The Andy Williams Show figured into his recording of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: “George Wyle, who is a vocal director, who wrote all of the choir stuff and all of the duets and trios and things that I did with all the guests, he wrote a song just for the show – I think the second Christmas show we did – called “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. So I did that, you know, every Christmas, and then other people started doing it. And then suddenly it’s become – not suddenly but over 30 years – it’s become a big standard. I think it’s one of the top 10 Christmas songs of all time now.”

Numerous other artists including Garth Brooks, Johnny Mathis, Amy Grant and Vince Gill, Paul Anka and Harry Connick Jr have released covers of the song.

In 2003-2004, Andy Williams released a shorter, more upbeat version of the song for the movie Surviving Christmas.