"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne.[1] The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[2] Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas.[3] It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.[2]
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" tells a story loosely based upon the story of the Nativity of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Matthew, incorporating fragments of the annunciation to the shepherds from the Gospel of Luke, though Jesus is never mentioned by name or explicitly identified. A "night wind" tells a lamb of a star, following which the lamb tells his young shepherd that he also hears a loud song. They are each led to a "mighty king," whom they tell of a child in the cold and ask to bring the child silver and gold (much as the Biblical Magi, which in tradition with prophecies in the Book of Isaiah and Psalm 72 are often characterized as kings, did with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The king proclaims a prayer of peace and announces that the child will "bring goodness and light".[citation needed]
Lyricsedit
Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Shayne composed the music in October 1962.[2] This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually, it was Shayne who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did when they wrote a song based on the classic children's song "Rain Rain Go Away".[1][2]
Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere" after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New York City.[1] Shayne stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis: "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of war at the time".[1]
Recordings and versionsedit
Original recordingsedit
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962.[1] The song was originally recorded for Mercury Records by the Harry Simeone Chorale,[1] a group that had also popularized "The Little Drummer Boy", and released as part of the album The Wonderful Songs of Christmas with the Harry Simeone Chorale. As a 45 rpm single, it went on to sell more than a quarter-million copies during the 1962 Christmas holiday season.[1]
Bing Crosby made the song into a hit when he recorded his own version of it on October 21, 1963,[4] with the record being released as a single on October 26. Crosby also performed the song on a Bob Hope Christmas television special on December 13 of that year. Over the years, Crosby's recording of the song has been widely played on the radio and has been available on numerous compilation Christmas albums and compact discs put out by Capitol Records.
Cover versionsedit
The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists. Among the most notable are:
Regney said that his favorite version of the song was performed by Robert Goulet; as The New York Times noted, when the singer came to the line "pray for peace, people everywhere", he "almost shouted the words".[10]
Houston originally recorded the song as a part of A Very Special Christmas on 1987 omitting the first verse. Her version peaked at the top of Billboard Gospel Digital Songs and Gospel Streaming Songs on 2011 and 2018 and stayed for a record 42 weeks on former[11] while 17 weeks on latter.[12]
On October 25, 2019, Pentatonix released their cover featuring Houston. The song would go on to be included on the groups first compilation album titled The Best of Pentatonix Christmas.[13] The Pentatonix version would go on to peak at number 9 on the US Adult Contemporary chart making it Houston's 25th Top 10 single on the chart.[14]
^Perry Como with The Ray Charles Singers. "The Perry Como Christmas Album". Kokomo/RCA Victor.Mid-Late August 1968. . Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
^Gibson, Kelsie (2019-10-24). "Pentatonix's New Christmas Song Includes Whitney Houston, and We Already Have Chills". POPSUGAR Entertainment UK. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
^Trust, Gary (2019-12-19). "Whitney Houston Adds 25th Adult Contemporary Top 10, First Since 2003". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
hear, what, hear, song, written, october, 1962, with, lyrics, noël, regney, music, gloria, shayne, pair, married, time, wrote, plea, peace, during, cuban, missile, crisis, regney, been, invited, record, producer, write, christmas, song, hesitant, commercialism. Do You Hear What I Hear is a song written in October 1962 with lyrics by Noel Regney and music by Gloria Shayne 1 The pair married at the time wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis 2 Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas 3 It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists 2 Do You Hear What I Hear Song by Harry SimeoneWrittenOctober 1962Composer s Gloria ShayneLyricist s Noel Regney Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Lyrics 3 Recordings and versions 3 1 Original recordings 3 2 Cover versions 4 Charts 4 1 Whitney Houston version 4 1 1 Weekly charts 4 1 2 Year end charts 4 1 3 All time charts 4 2 Certifications 5 See also 6 ReferencesSynopsis edit Do You Hear What I Hear tells a story loosely based upon the story of the Nativity of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Matthew incorporating fragments of the annunciation to the shepherds from the Gospel of Luke though Jesus is never mentioned by name or explicitly identified A night wind tells a lamb of a star following which the lamb tells his young shepherd that he also hears a loud song They are each led to a mighty king whom they tell of a child in the cold and ask to bring the child silver and gold much as the Biblical Magi which in tradition with prophecies in the Book of Isaiah and Psalm 72 are often characterized as kings did with their gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh The king proclaims a prayer of peace and announces that the child will bring goodness and light citation needed Lyrics editRegney wrote the lyrics for the song while Shayne composed the music in October 1962 2 This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers Usually it was Shayne who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music as they did when they wrote a song based on the classic children s song Rain Rain Go Away 1 2 Regney was inspired to write the lyrics Said the night wind to the little lamb Do you see what I see and Pray for peace people everywhere after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New York City 1 Shayne stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis Our little song broke us up You must realize there was a threat of war at the time 1 Recordings and versions editOriginal recordings edit Do You Hear What I Hear was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962 1 The song was originally recorded for Mercury Records by the Harry Simeone Chorale 1 a group that had also popularized The Little Drummer Boy and released as part of the album The Wonderful Songs of Christmas with the Harry Simeone Chorale As a 45 rpm single it went on to sell more than a quarter million copies during the 1962 Christmas holiday season 1 Bing Crosby made the song into a hit when he recorded his own version of it on October 21 1963 4 with the record being released as a single on October 26 Crosby also performed the song on a Bob Hope Christmas television special on December 13 of that year Over the years Crosby s recording of the song has been widely played on the radio and has been available on numerous compilation Christmas albums and compact discs put out by Capitol Records Cover versions edit The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists Among the most notable are Andy Williams 1965 Merry Christmas Pat Boone 2 1966 Christmas is a Comin Kate Smith 2 1966 The Kate Smith Christmas Album 5 Diahann Carroll 1967 6 appears on various artists 1995 holiday album Christmas Encore 7 Jim Nabors 2 1967 Jim Nabors Christmas Album Perry Como 2 1968 The Perry Como Christmas Album 8 Robert Goulet 2 1968 Robert Goulet s Wonderful World of Christmas Mahalia Jackson 2 1968 Christmas with Mahalia 9 Johnny Mathis 2 1969 Give Me Your Love for Christmas Whitney Houston 2 1987 1995 The Preacher s Wife Regney said that his favorite version of the song was performed by Robert Goulet as The New York Times noted when the singer came to the line pray for peace people everywhere he almost shouted the words 10 Charts editWhitney Houston version edit Do You Hear What I Hear Promotional single by Whitney Houstonfrom the album A Very Special ChristmasReleasedOctober 12 1987GenreHoliday music R amp B soul gospelLength3 32LabelAristaLegacySongwriter s Gloria ShayneNoel RegneyProducer s Jimmy Iovine Do You Hear What I Hear Promotional single by Pentatonix and Whitney Houstonfrom the album The Best of Pentatonix ChristmasReleasedOctober 25 2019Length3 33LabelRCASongwriter s Gloria ShayneNoel RegneyProducer s PentatonixBen BramHouston originally recorded the song as a part of A Very Special Christmas on 1987 omitting the first verse Her version peaked at the top of Billboard Gospel Digital Songs and Gospel Streaming Songs on 2011 and 2018 and stayed for a record 42 weeks on former 11 while 17 weeks on latter 12 On October 25 2019 Pentatonix released their cover featuring Houston The song would go on to be included on the groups first compilation album titled The Best of Pentatonix Christmas 13 The Pentatonix version would go on to peak at number 9 on the US Adult Contemporary chart making it Houston s 25th Top 10 single on the chart 14 Weekly charts edit Chart 2005 PeakpositionUS Hot 100 Recurrents Billboard 15 24Chart 2007 PeakpositionUS Holiday Airplay Billboard 16 14Chart 2011 PeakpositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 11 1US Holiday 100 Billboard 17 35Chart 2018 2019 PeakpositionUS Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 12 1US Adult Contemporary Billboard 18 with Pentatonix 9US Holiday Digital Song Sales Billboard 19 with Pentatonix 3Chart 2022 PeakpositionUS Digital Song Sales Billboard 20 37US Holiday Digital Song Sales Billboard 19 16US R amp B Digital Song Sales Billboard 21 4US R amp B Hip Hop Digital Song Sales Billboard 22 4 Year end charts edit Chart 2013 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 23 20Chart 2016 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 24 23Chart 2017 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 25 20US Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 26 30Chart 2018 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 27 11US Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 28 26Chart 2019 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 29 21US Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 30 27Chart 2020 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 31 18US Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 32 16Chart 2021 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 33 14Chart 2022 PositionUS Gospel Digital Songs Billboard 34 8US Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard 35 23All time charts edit Chart PeakpositionUS Holiday 100 Billboard 36 85 Certifications edit Region Certification Certified units salesUnited States RIAA 37 Gold 500 000 Sales streaming figures based on certification alone See also editList of Christmas carolsReferences edit a b c d e f g Noland Claire 2008 03 15 Pianist wrote music for holiday song Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2016 11 29 a b c d e f g h i j k l Fox Margalit 2008 03 11 Gloria Shayne Baker Composer and Lyricist Dies at 84 The New York Times Retrieved 2008 03 23 Richard W O Donnell 2016 08 30 Do You Hear What I Hear The Story Behind the Song Franciscan Media Archived from the original on 2019 12 12 Retrieved 2019 12 12 A Bing Crosby Discography Part 4a Song Index www bingmagazine co uk Retrieved 2018 02 25 Smith Kate The Kate Smith Christmas Album RCA Sony Music Distribution 28 November 1966 http www allmusic com album the kate smith christmas album mw0000613874 Carroll Diahann Discography Diahann http www diahann carroll com discography misc1 html Various Artists Christmas Encore Legacy Sony Music Distribution 15 August 1995 http www allmusic com album christmas encore mw0000176602 Perry Como with The Ray Charles Singers The Perry Como Christmas Album Kokomo RCA Victor Mid Late August 1968 The Perry Como Christmas Album LSP 4016 Archived from the original on 2012 04 02 Retrieved 2010 05 26 Jackson Mahalia Christmas with Mahalia Columbia Sony Music Distribution 1968 http www allmusic com album christmas with mahalia columbia mw0002348379 Douglas Martin Noel Regney Songwriter Known for Do You Hear What I Hear Is Dead at 80 NYTimes com December 1 2012 last access Dec 25 2017 a b Whitney Houston Chart History Gospel Digital Songs Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved April 6 2022 a b Whitney Houston Chart History Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved April 6 2022 Gibson Kelsie 2019 10 24 Pentatonix s New Christmas Song Includes Whitney Houston and We Already Have Chills POPSUGAR Entertainment UK Retrieved 2022 12 19 Trust Gary 2019 12 19 Whitney Houston Adds 25th Adult Contemporary Top 10 First Since 2003 Billboard Retrieved 2022 12 19 Whitney Houston Chart History Hot 100 Recurrents Billboard Penske Media Corporation Whitney Houston Chart History Holiday Airplay Billboard Penske Media Corporation Whitney Houston Chart History Holiday 100 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved April 6 2022 Whitney Houston Chart History Adult Contemporary Billboard a b Whitney Houston Chart History Holiday Digital Song Sales Billboard Penske Media Corporation Whitney Houston Chart History Digital Song Sales Billboard Whitney Houston Chart History R amp B Digital Song Sales Billboard Penske Media Corporation Whitney Houston Chart History R amp B Hip Hop Digital Song Sales Billboard Penske Media Corporation Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2013 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2016 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2017 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Year End 2017 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2018 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Year End 2018 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2019 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Year End 2019 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2020 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Year End 2020 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2021 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved April 6 2022 Gospel Digital Songs Year End 2022 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Hot Gospel Streaming Songs Year End 2022 Billboard com Penske Media Corporation Retrieved October 29 2021 Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Billboard Penske Media Corporation American single certifications Pentatonix amp Whitney Houston Do You Hear What I Hear Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved January 27 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Do You Hear What I Hear 3F amp oldid 1180401891, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
