"Merry Christmas, Darling" by The Carpenters

The Carpenters

Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...

 was written by Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter (musician)

Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo The Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, as well as joining with Karen on harmony...

 & Frank Pooler

Frank Pooler

Frank Pooler is an award-winning American choirmaster, and former Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Long Beach.-Professional career:...

 and originally recorded in 1970. At the time, it was first available on a 7" single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from A&M Records

A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

 (1236) and later in 1974 reissued as A&M 1648 and in 1977 as A&M 1991. The single went to number one on Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

's Christmas singles chart in 1970, and did again in 1971 and 1973.

In 1978, The Carpenters issued their Christmas Portrait

Christmas Portrait

Christmas Portrait is the first Christmas album recorded by The Carpenters , originally released on October 13, 1978 ....

album, which contained a new remix of "Merry Christmas Darling". The original 1970 mix continued to be used for all single releases, however. The major difference between it and the 1978 version is a newly recorded vocal by Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter

Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters. She was a drummer of exceptional skill, but she is best remembered for her vocal performances of idealistic romantic ballads of true love...

 on the latter. Richard Carpenter himself calls the original recording one of his sister's very best.

Billboard magazine did not display Christmas singles on the Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in 1970. This song just missed the top 40 in Cash Box.

Chart	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	45
US Billboard Christmas Singles	1

Other Versions

The song was sung by actress Lea Michele

Lea Michele

Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...

 for the second season Christmas episode of the hit TV series, Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, entitled "A Very Glee Christmas

A Very Glee Christmas

"A Very Glee Christmas" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 32nd episode overall. It was written by series co-creator Ian Brennan, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and premiered on Fox on December 7, 2010...

," in 2010. This version was released as part of the series' Christmas album

Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album

Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album is the fourth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee. The album was released on November 9, 2010 and accompanies the season two Christmas episode "A Very Glee Christmas", aired December 7, 2010. Dante Di Loreto and Brad...

.

The song has also been covered by Kimberley Locke

Kimberley Locke

Kimberley Dawn Locke is an American singer-songwriter and model. She has recorded in the dance, pop and adult contemporary music genres....

, Vanessa L. Williams

Vanessa L. Williams

Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...

, Amy Grant

Amy Grant

Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...

, Boys II Men, Kyle Vincent

Kyle Vincent

Kyle Vincent is an American singer-songwriter/entertainer, labeled as the "crown prince of soft pop," by Goldmine.Vincent was born and raised in Berkeley, California, U.S.A..-Musical career:...

, Keali'i Reichel

Kealii Reichel

Carleton Lewis Kealiinaniaimokuokalani Reichel popularly known as Kealii Reichel, is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from the State of Hawaii. He has spent his life educating the world about Hawaiian culture through...

, Chicago

Chicago (band)

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...

 and also covered by Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 rock singer Kitchie Nadal

Kitchie Nadal

Anna Katrina Dumilon Nadal , more commonly known as Kitchie Nadal, is a singer and songwriter from Manila, Philippines, formerly the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band, Mojofly. Kitchie's popularity in the female OPM niche grew after she released a self-titled solo album featuring her...

, Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 pop balladeer Rico J. Puno

Rico J. Puno

Enrico de Jesus Puno , better known as Rico J. Puno, is a popular Filipino pop singing artist and television host who is credited as a pioneer-promoter of original Filipino music. He started the trend of incorporating Tagalog lyrics in his rendition of the American song The Way We Were and other...

 and Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 pop crooner Richard Poon

Richard Poon

Richard Poon is a Chinese singer-songwriter and TV personality in the Philippines. He is a former member of U-Turn. He has gone on a successful solo career, and is a well-known jazz singer in the Philippines.-Early life:...

.