No Strings Attached is the second studio album by American boy band 'N Sync, released by Jive Records on March 21, 2000. The album title is a play on the idea of independence from corporate control, with reference to the band's new-found freedom from their former management, Trans Continental. Before the release of No Strings Attached, the band split from their management and signed to Jive Records. Since its release, the album has been considered the group's landmark achievement.

With Jive, the band was introduced to a few producers who would contribute tracks for the album; but despite the split, they still collaborated with those present during their time with Trans Continental. For the album, 'N Sync wanted to distinguish their music from their label mates', with whom they shared essentially the same team of producers from Sweden. The ensuing album explores the dimensions of contemporary R&B within the pop music.

The legal battle caused the release of No Strings Attached to be delayed several times. The hype that the album's lead single, "Bye Bye Bye", created and the shifting dates served in increasing the anticipation for the album to landmark commercial success. No Strings Attached is the fastest album to sell in the United States in a week: By selling more than two million copies in its debut week, the album set a one-week sales record in the United States that is still held by the band today.

Context and background[link]

The title of the album alludes to puppets and the idea of independence 'N Sync earned following a legal battle between its then management.^[1] 'N Sync was signed by Trans Continental Management to Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) in Germany, due to a pre-existing deal, and its distribution rights in the United States were automatically bought by RCA.^[2] In 1999, 'N Sync sued Trans Continental and financier, Louis J. Pearlman, due to illicit corporate practices. They cited Pearlman's defrauding the group, which, according to MTV, was more than fifty percent of their earnings, rather than his promise of only receiving one-sixth of the profits.^[3] The band, whose self-titled debut album and its quick follow up had commercial success, insisted "they have not seen enough of the profits" that they had generated by selling eight million albums in the United States alone.^[2] On October 12, 1999, Trans Continental, along with RCA's parent, BMG Entertainment, filed a $150 million suit in a federal court to bar 'N Sync's transference to Jive and from performing or recording under their current name. The suit also forced 'N Sync to return masters recorded in 1999 in preparation of their second album.^[2] With an undisclosed settlement in 2001, 'N Sync finally severed its contract with Trans Continental and switched labels from RCA Records to Jive Records, which releases its contemporaries such as the Backstreet Boys and pop sensation Britney Spears.^[1]

The titling of the album is similar to the Backstreet Boys' who also had legal wrangling with Pearlman which concluded to a settlement in October 1998 that was not disclosed. The Backstreet Boys "took a shot" at Pearlman by titling their 2000 album Black & Blue.^[4] Meanwhile, the title No Strings Attached was announced in September 1999, during when the legal battle was still ongoing.^[5] 'N Sync's member, Chris Kirkpatrick, revealed that the title and the album's cover art have a personal meaning to them. According to him, the album was designed to show that they felt they were puppets stranded in strings, which alludes to their destiny being controlled.^[6] In an interview, he further explained the relationship of the strings to the album:

We enjoyed working on this album with the producers, and the only reasons that the strings are still attached on the album is so people can get the whole feel of the vibe of, you know, No Strings Attached. That's what we mean by the strings, so they'll understand that we're not puppets.^[6]

Recording and production[link]

While the legal suit was underway, 'N Sync kept on recording songs for the album.^[7] Despite the band switching label, it still retained its manager and mentor from Trans Continental, Johnny Wright. With Jive, the band was introduced American record producer Teddy Riley, who would remake Johnny Kemp's 1988 "Just Got Paid" with them, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, who produced "It Makes Me Ill" for the album.^[7] One of the recording sessions for the album took place in a tiny studio in Burbank. The ballad "That's When I'll Stop Loving You" written by Dianne Warren was recorded there under the production of French-born producer Guy Roche.^[8]

Accordingly, 'N Sync insisted that they choose producers and songwriters for the album.^[1] On No Strings Attached, the band commissioned Swedish and German songwriters and producers, who had produced songs for the Backstreet Boys. Aside from getting the album number one on the chart, they wanted to distinguish their music that had been attuned to the styles of the Backstreet Boys, having shared the same producers. For that direction, they told the Swedish team of Cheiron Studios to change the band's tune. Wright recalls, "We basically told them, 'We like your concepts for songs and we love the way you produce. But you're gonna have to do it in a different way so that it conforms to how we want our sound to be."^[9] This direction resulted to harder-edge songs such as "Bye Bye Bye", which production was handled by the Swedish team.^[9] Max Martin, who also came from Cheiron and known for producing songs for 'N Sync's label mates, also contributed to the album by co-writing and producing the single "It's Gonna Be Me".^[7]

Despite the new direction the band had wanted to take, early recording process found some of the producers and writers submitting tracks which were "in the vein of 'N Sync's earlier, softer sound".^[9] The band thought that if the collaborators could not produce what they were looking for, they would find it themselves. This resulted to some of the band's members contributing to a number of tracks which made it to the album.^[9] On specific songs, songwriter and producer Veit Renn collaborated with band's member JC Chasez,^[1] who co-authored the album's title track and three other songs.^[9] Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake helped pen and produce a song called "I'll Be Good for You", which also made it to the album's track listing.^[1]

Musical style and contents[link]

Justin Timberlake said that the album is a diverse body of work that explores dimensions of R&B within the pop. He added that the album "goes totally mainstream and it goes into some dance- and club-style songs".^[6] Although there are few mid-tempo and ballads in the album, songs on No Strings Attached are mostly up tempos, a direction which was a result of the band's wanting to have a fun album.^[10] Despite of it, the album retained the pop style of its predecessor.^[1] According to Entertainment Weekly, the album's musical style is that of Top 40, with a funky beat.^[11]

On its article for The New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote in 2000:

Flush with artistic freedom, 'N Sync heads straight for the past: specifically the 1980's rhythm-and-blues that sought to balance pretty melody atop hip-hop's street-level beat. Like the Rolling Stones discovering 1950's Chicago blues, 'N Sync has latched onto the highly synthesized, jigsaw rhythms of 1980's phenomena from Michael Jackson to New Edition to Zapp. In a direct tribute to the new jack swing of the 1980's, 'N Sync remakes Johnny Kemp's 1988 hit "Just Got Paid" with its original producer, Teddy Riley.^[1]

On the album, critics noted the song about video cybersex, "Digital Get Down". Accordingly, it is a clear indicator of post-pubescent consciousness of the group.^[1] In the article "Parents' Guide" published in Entertainment Weekly, Lois Alter Mark analyzes the contents of new albums at the time, including No Strings Attached. Accordingly, the album's recurring theme is about puppy love, and has sexual content that is categorized as mildly suggestive and a language that is preteen friendly.^[11]

Release and promotion[link]

Originally, No Strings Attached was due for release in the fall 1999.^[8] But because of the ongoing legal battle between the band and its management, it was delayed several times. Towards the end of 1999, it was reported that a settlement had been reached, putting aside the lawsuit that their management had filed. The settlement allowed the band to freely release the album under its current band name, with a March 7 initial schedule. "Bye Bye Bye" was solicited to radio stations on January 17, the same night the group would debut the song at the American Music Awards.^[12]

Marketing[link]

Jive went on to various means in building the anticipation for No Strings Attached. To promote the album, the group appeared on numerous national television shows. Three weeks before the album's release in March 21, 2000, 'N Sync did more media, including appearances in MTV, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and the Oscars.^[13]

The music video to "Bye Bye Bye" was heavily rotated,^[7] which the Rolling Stone magazine called a "seemingly every other half hour" on MTV.^[14] MTV Networks' then Chairman and CEO Tom Freston said, "'N Sync's clear accessibility means that they've been featured not just in heavy video rotation and mini-biographies but backstage, at the Super Bowl, and in looser studio settings like Total Request Live. Anything we can do to allow them to connect with their fans in a non-video environment."^[7]

Present TRL's studios in Times Square. The band made multiple appearances on the show in promoting the album.

Leading to the release, tracks from the album were illegally leaked onto the internet. Despite the leaking, it was seen by Johnny Wright as an aid in helping the band reached the sales record that the album held. Wright thought the early and unofficial release was the opportunity for the listeners to hear more than what the radio was playing. He surmised that the Internet "helped a lot" for the album.^[13][15]

Tour[link]

In support of No Strings Attached, the band embarked on their second tour, No Strings Attached Tour, which grossed over US$76.4 million.^[16] The national tour, sponsored by MCY.com and Nabisco and produced by SFX Touring, began on May 9, 2000, at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.^[17]

During the first day the tickets went on sale, the tour, according to Billboard, was believed to have set a single-day record . More than one million tickets were sold, and 51 of the 52 shows slated for the tour sold out during the day. In gross, the tour racked up US$40 million.^[17]

Criticisms and recognitions[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[18]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[19]

On mainstream reception, No Strings Attached received positive to mixed reviews. According to Entertainment Weekly' David Browne who gave the album a C- rating, "No Strings Attached is overstuffed with tracks clearly concocted with the concert stage in mind." He further criticized the songs as "synthetic-funk spectacles". He, however, added that the group's best performances on No Strings Attached "arrive only when they drop the pretenses".^[19] Browne's rating the album C- received a reaction from 'N Sync fans. One fan, in its mail to Entertainment Weekly, felt that Browne's review of the album was "totally uncool".^[20] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor of Allmusic, wrote, "To cynical critics, they very well might sound the same as ever, yet this really blows away their previous record."^[18] He, who gave a rating of four stars, said that the album "pulls away from the standard dance-pop formula".^[18]

Leading up to the 43rd annual Grammy Awards, the album earned the band a nomination in the Best Pop Vocal Album category.^[21] At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards, the album earned the band four awards including in the categories such as Album of the Year and Top 40 Artist of the Year.^[22]

Sales and chart performance[link]

Domestic[link]

Many retailers around the United States had predicted that, "with an impressive show of sales strength", No Strings Attached could "culminate into the biggest first week ever in the SoundScan era".^[23] Jive Records had already shipped 4.2 million units of the album, and reorders were already made shortly after the album's release in record stores.^[23] At online retailer Amazon.com, advance sales for the album were the biggest at the time. Meanwhile in the West Coast, orders for the album were aggressive. Some stores stayed opened until midnight specifically for the album.^[23]

According to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, "The sales statistics are a tribute to Jive Records' skill at building anticipation for No Strings Attached."^[1] The strength of the album's lead single, "Bye Bye Bye", its music video, along with Internet song previews for the album, provided for that build up.^[1] Both Jive Records and the band's management credited the album's early success to the anticipation amassed over the two years since they released their self-titled debut album, the highly publicized legal battle and the media blitz leading up to the release.^[14] Despite the mania that No Strings Attached stirred in the wake of its debut, MTV reported the "record week may not have been simply the result of a wide fan base and effective marketing".^[24] Accordingly, many of 'N Sync's fans were spotted buying numerous copies of the album. That trend of buying was, for some, "simply to have more than one, and others to specifically help the group break the Backstreet Boys' sales record".^[24] In 1999, Backstreet Boy's second studio album, Millenium, sold more than 1.13 million copies in its first week.^[25]

In total, No Strings Attached sold in the United States over 2.4 million units in its first week. It set the record for the first album to have sold more than two million copies in a single week, since the chart adopted Nielsen SoundScan data in May 1991.^[25] This record, which was later recognized at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards,^[22] is still held by 'N Sync.^[26][27][28] The figures surpassed the album's successor Celebrity's debut sales of over 1.88 million units, retaining the recognition as the band's highest-debut in their career.^[29] Chartwise, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one.^[30] It topped the chart for eight consecutive weeks,^[31] becoming one of the longest-running number-one albums of 2000.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified No Strings Attached seven-times platinum on April 19, 2000, becoming the highest-certified single disc album in the initial RIAA audit in that year. It broke the record previously set in 1993 by Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack, which was certified six-times platinum in the RIAA's first audit.^[32] The album shipped 10 million copies domestically in 2000 alone, of which 9,936,104 were sold, according to Nielsen Soundscan.^[33] This made No Strings Attached the bestseller album in 2000 in the United States.^[34] At the end of the decade, No Strings Attached led as the second top-selling album with 11,112,000 units sold, according to the list released by Nielsen SoundScan on December 8, 2009.^[35]

Impact[link]

By status, 'N Sync was considered as a Backstreet Boys wannabe. With the success that the band attained with No Strings Attached, that notion was obliterated, even calling them as serious rival with their label mate.^[36] Late into the year No Strings Attached was released, the Backstreet Boys issued its follow-up to Millenium, Black & Blue, their third studio album in the United States. It sold 1.6 million in its debut week, beating Millenium by best sales in a week. Despite such figures, it was still outnumbered by No Strings Attached, a fact that "should have been a triumph [for the band but] was hardly seen that way by the industry". In retrospect, the success of 'N Sync with the release of No Strings Attached was paralleled to the eventual disappearance of the Backstreet Boys, whose Black & Blue album "signaled the end of its glory days".^[37]

According to Richard Skanse of Rolling Stone, the album gave the group its landmark achievement. For Janet Kleinbaum, Jive's then-Vice President of Artist Marketing, the "yardstick is definitely extended",^[14] referring to the record by which future releases of Jive would have to be compared with. After No Strings Attached, Jive's other popular artists at the time such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys were each releasing an album.^[13] Kleinbaum thought, "We know now what the possibilities are. We're not going to compare a Britney Spears record to 'N Sync, or Backstreet Boys. However, 'N Sync has shown us what can be done."^[14]

Referring to the first day sale of the album with 1.1 million units, Josh Wolk of Entertainment Weekly said that it was "perhaps the greatest mass spending of allowances in history".^[38] Craig Seymour of the same publication said, "What has the industry buzzing is not only that 2.4 million fans rushed to the stores, but that teen-pop behemoth Jive Records was in a unique and almost unprecedented position to meet the stores' demand." This demand on physical copies of the album was met by Jive by shelving up millions of units leading to the album's release date. The label was able to ship 4.2 million copies for the album's March 21 official release date, then couriered another 2.3 million in reorders on March 22.^[13] Retailer Grandoni said, "If they hadn't been ready for it, stores would have sold out after a couple days which would have limited their first-week sales."^[13]

Track listing[link]

Chart positions[link]

Decade End Charts

Personnel[link]

See also[link]

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• Number-one albums of 2000 (U.S.)

References[link]

Look up no strings attached in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

No strings attached may refer to:

• "No strings attached", a term which means that no extra conditions are implied
• No Strings Attached (film), a 2011 romantic comedy film

• No Strings Attached: Music from the Motion Picture

• No Strings Attached (Meat Puppets album), a 1990 compilation CD by the Meat Puppets
• No Strings Attached ('N Sync album), a 2000 album by boy band 'N Sync
  • No Strings Attached Tour
• No Strings Attached (Jassi Sidhu album), a 2005 album by Jassi Sidhu
• No Strings Attached (Dom & Roland album), a 2009 album by Dom & Roland
• No Strings Attached (novel), the 170th volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Series
• No Strings Attached, a 2006 comedy tour by comedian Carlos Mencia

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé (aka The Velvet Fog), and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.

"I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, "Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob (Wells, co-writer) didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Nat King Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49,^[1] while Cole's original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.^[2] Mel Tormé recorded the song himself in 1954, and again in 1961, 1966 and 1992.

The Nat King Cole recordings[link]

First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, June 14, 1946. Label credit: The King Cole Trio (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist). Not issued until 1989, when it was (accidentally) included on the various-artists compilation Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954) Rhino R1 70637(LP) / R2 70637(CD).

Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist, Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Charlie Grean, conductor of 4 string players, a harpist and a drummer) Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311 (78rpm). This is featured on a CD called The Holiday Album, which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby. In 2005 Capitol restored and re-released it for the 25 bit re-mastered Cole album "The Christmas Song", which also contains tracks from his 1960 and 1963 holiday albums.

Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1953. This was the song,s first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Actual artists: Nat King Cole, vocal; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor) Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the "new" Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat "King" Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the 1990 CD Cole, Christmas and Kids, as well as the various-artists compilation Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the 1991 Mosaic Records box set The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio.

Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, March 30, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo, is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and is probably the most famous version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocal; Charles Grean and Pete Rugolo, orchestration; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor). The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical with the 1953 version, but the vocals are much deeper and more focused. Originally done for The Nat King Cole Story (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole's earlier hits), this recording was later appended to a reissue of Cole's 1960 holiday album The Magic of Christmas. Retitled The Christmas Song, the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of "The Christmas Song" is also available on numerous compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. It's available on WCBS-FM's Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3, for example.

There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on the Decca label, but his was released first – not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Howard was a big Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want to Thank Your Folks" and "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons", among others.

Selective list of notable recordings[link]

	"The Christmas Song" by CeCe Peniston noicon Peniston recorded the composition for the Merry Arizona II: Desert Stars Shine at Christmas compilation in 1996.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

"The Christmas Song" has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres, including:

• Aaliyah
• Trace Adkins
• Christina Aguilera (#18 in US, #22 in Canada)
• Clay Aiken
• Herb Alpert
• Thomas Anders
• India.Arie and Stevie Wonder (winner of the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2003)
• Aska
• Babyface
• Tony Bennett
• Polly Bergen (who sang the song on the December 14, 1957 airing of her NBC variety show, The Polly Bergen Show)^[3]
• Justin Bieber and Usher (#58 in US, #59 in Canada)
• Michael Bolton
• Toni Braxton
• Garth Brooks
• James Brown
• Les Brown and his Orchestra (with Doris Day on lead vocal)
• Michael Bublé (his version, bearing close similarities to Celine Dion's recording of the song, reached #6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in December 2003.)
• Kenny Burrell
• The Canadian Brass (from their 1985 Christmas album A Canadian Brass Christmas)
• The Carpenters (from their 1978 Christmas album Christmas Portrait)
• Celtic Woman
• Charice
• Chicago
• Christmas Who? (a SpongeBob Christmas special. SpongeBob and Patrick in a Christmas song sing as a lyric "...chestnuts roasting and burns in the third degree" before the ending of their song.)
• Charlotte Church
• Rosemary Clooney
• Natalie Cole
• Bing Crosby
• Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass (1970)
• Sammy Davis, Jr.
• Doris Day (from her 1964 Christmas album The Doris Day Christmas Album)
• Gavin DeGraw
• Celine Dion
• Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Olivia Olson on the album Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites)
• Bob Dylan
• Gloria Estefan
• Connie Francis
• Aretha Franklin
• Judy Garland, who sang the song in a duet with its composer, Mel Torme, on a Christmas-themed episode of her television show in December 1963.
• Amy Grant (from her 1983 Christmas album A Christmas Album)
• Josh Groban (from his 2007 holiday album, Noël)
• Robert Goulet
• Hampton String Quartet
• Eddie Higgins
• Hootie and the Blowfish
• Whitney Houston
• Ramon "RJ" Jacinto (from his 1988 Christmas album Pasko Na Naman)
• The Jackson 5
• Alan Jackson (from his 2007 Christmas album Let It Be Christmas)
• Joni James (from her 1956 Merry Christmas from Joni). Joni's version alters the lyric: "I'm offering this simple phrase, for kids from one to ninety-two" to "... kids from one to ninety-one".
• Al Jarreau
• Joe
• Wynonna Judd
• Peggy Lee
• Damien Leith (from a special limited Christmas edition of his 2007 album Where We Land)
• The Lettermen
• Lovedrug
• Aimee Mann (from her 2006 album One More Drifter in the Snow)
• Johnny Mathis
• Martina McBride
• Reba McEntire
• Brian McKnight
• *NSYNC
• Ricky Nelson (on the episode of TV's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet titled "A Busy Christmas")
• Aaron Neville
• New Kids on the Block
• Des O'Connor (from a Tesco Christmas advert)
• Alexander O'Neal
• Olivia Olson (from a 2010 Christmas album Phineas and Ferb: Holiday Favourites)
• The Partridge Family (from their 1971 Christmas album A Partridge Family Christmas Card)
• Les Paul
• CeCe Peniston (from the 1996 Christmas album Merry Arizona II: Desert Stars Shine at Christmas)
• LeAnn Rimes (on her first holiday album What a Wonderful World)
• Raven-Symoné
• Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (from their 1963 Christmas album Christmas with The Miracles)
• Linda Ronstadt (from her 2000 Christmas album A Merry Little Christmas)
• SWV
• Diane Schuur (nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female in 1990)
• Neil Sedaka (from his 2008 first-ever holiday album, The Miracle of Christmas)
• Jessica Simpson
• Frank Sinatra (including two recordings: a virtual duet with Nat King Cole, and an actual duet with Bing Crosby)
• Tom Smith (of the Editors) and Agnes Obel (on the 2011 Smith and Burrows album, Funny Looking Angels)
• George Strait
• Donna Summer
• Demi Lovato
• The Supremes (remained unreleased until their 1965 Christmas album, Merry Christmas, was re-released in 1999 with additional tracks)
• Kim Taeyeon (of the South Korean pop group Girls' Generation)
• Take 6
• James Taylor
• Team Rocket (voiced by Rachael Lillis, Eric Stewart and Maddie Blaustein on the album Pokémon Christmas Bash)
• The Temptations
• Mel Tormé – recorded by the writer four times (1954, 1961, 1966 and finally in 1992 as part of his album "Christmas Songs")
• Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
• Luther Vandross
• Andy Williams
• Stevie Wonder (from his 1967 Christmas album Someday at Christmas)
• Dwight Yoakam
• Ascap entry for song showing numerous other covers

Parodies[link]

• The title of The Simpsons episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" is a parody of the song.
• Bob Rivers parodied the song with his 2000 album, and the title track from said album, "Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire".
• Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" includes several snippets of holiday songs. One segment begins with a sincere-sounding "Chestnuts roasting..." and quickly segués into a mock 1950s radio or TV ad, for a brand of chestnuts, being described as if they were toothpaste or cigarettes.
• Twisted Sister parodied the song in his 2006 album A Twisted Christmas.

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Evanier on Tormé and "The Christmas Song"