Sensational '70's (Christmas) Tune for Tue, Dec. 16th, '08

The Beatles never released a commercial Christmas record during their career, though they recorded holiday messages for their fan club each year. With the group disbanded, former Beatle John Lennon determined to make a Christmas record in 1971, combining the seasonal sentiments with his antiwar activism. In December 1969, Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, had put up billboard advertisements in major cities around the world declaring, "War is over! (If you want it)," and they reiterated this statement two years later in their Christmas song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." Characteristically, Lennon was not going to let his listeners off the hook, even if it was holiday time. "And so this is Christmas," he sang, "and what have you done?" Employing a slow tempo and an elaborate arrangement and production devised by Phil Spector, the song delivered a message of holiday greeting and antiwar political sentiments. Released as a single in December 1971, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" reached the Top 40 on regular record charts as well as placing high in the Christmas charts, to which it returned upon reissue in 1972, 1983, 1984, and 1985. In England, the single was not released until 1972, when it reached the Top Five, returning to the charts in 1975, 1980, 1981, and 1982. Gradually, the song began to be accepted as a seasonal standard, a development hastened by covers recorded by the likes of such mainstream artists as Neil Diamond (who replaced "Xmas" in the title with " Christmas") in 1992 and Celine Dion in 1998.