On the Charts: Veteran Artists Take 10 of the Top 15 Singles

On the Sales Chart, McCartney's
First #1 in 31 Years

Veteran artists have set numerous marks on this week's Billboard Hot 100 & Billboard 200:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas is in the top ten LPs for the first time. 
• Nine holiday songs are in the Hot 100 top ten, all by veteran artists, a record. 
  
• Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas is You is the first record ever to hit number 1 in three different years. 
  
• Brenda Lee, Bobby Helms and Burl Ives' records tie their highest spot ever. 
• Andy Williams' It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year achieves a new high at number 5. 
• Jose Feliciano's Felice Navidad sets a new high in its second ever week in the top ten, moving 10 to 6. 
• Dean Martin's Let It Snow hits the top ten for the first time and becomes the fourth of his career.
• Wham's Last Christmas moves to the top ten for the first time as does Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run, giving him only his third Hot 100 hit (he had a few top tens before the Hot 100 debuted). 
• The Ronettes (Sleigh Ride, #13) reaches the top 15 for the second time after Be My Baby. 
• Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home, #19) becomes Love's FIRST top twenty record. 

The following are the top albums by veteran artists (recording for twenty years or more) on this week's Billboard charts.  Actual chart position is in parenthesis:

1. McCartney III - Paul McCartney (#2)
2. Music to Be Murdered By - Eminem (#3)
3. Christmas - Michael Buble (#4)
4. Merry Christmas - Mariah Carey (#5)
5. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole (#6)
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi Trio (#10)
7. A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector - Various Artists (#12)
8. The Best of Bing Crosby: 20th Century Masters: The Christmas Collection - Bing Crosby (#15)
9. The Classic Christmas Album - Perry Como (#18)
10. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree: The Decca Christmas Recordings - Brenda Lee (#21)

The top 10 charting singles by veteran artists:

1. All I Want For Christmas is You - Mariah Carey (#1)
2. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee (#2)
   
3. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms (#3)
4. A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives (#4)
5. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams (#5)
6. Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano (#6)
7. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow - Dean Martin (#8)
8. Last Christmas - Wham! (#9)
9. Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry (#10)
10. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) - Nat King Cole (#11)