Christmas Songs
Where would Christmas music, not to mention Sixties Christmas music, be without Elvis Presley? The song “If Every Day Was Like Christmas” was written by Red West, an actor, stuntman, songwriter, and old friend of Elvis Presley. West, born Robert Gene West, was a High School friend and, for a time, part of Elvis’ entourage. Elvis recorded the song in 1966 and released it as a single with “How Would You Like to Be” as the B-Side. That was a song from the soundtrack of Elvis’ 1963 film It Happened at The World’s Fair. The recording also featured The Jordanaires and The Imperials Quartet on the backing vocals. It went to #2 on Billboard’s “Best Bets for Christmas” survey in 1966 and charted in 1967. The song was subsequently included in the reissues of Elvis’ Christmas Album collection (1970, 1975, and 1985). That album earned RIAA Diamond status in 2011, as it sold more than 10 million copies.