Home For The Holidays (There's No Place Like)

Year: 1954

Written By: Bob Allen, Al Stillman

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Lyrically written by Al Stillman 'Home for the Holidays' is a much loved and popular song which of all seasons, is most commonly linked with the Christmas season. The music to accompany this Christmas song, was written by the world famous Robert Allen. The song was eventually published in 1954.

With many opinions, there is little variation on who is believed to have produced the best recording of 'Home for the Holidays', with Perry Como being a clear favourite with his recordings which as a result means his recording are the most well-known recordings of this Christmas classic. Perry Como actually made two recordings of the song. Perry Como completed his first recording on November 16, 1954, this recording was released as a single in time for the Christmas of 1954. The flip side to this recording was 'Silk Stockings', this flip side was successful in its own right, featuring in the Cash Box magazine top 50. 'Home for the Holidays' however, had even better success, managing to peak at number eight on the Billboard magazine chart in the United States. The success it brought in 1954, led to it being released again at the next Christmas, but this time with another Christmas hit, 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' as its flip side. The exact same recorded version was released in the United Kingdom with yet another flip side, on this occasion, the flip side being 'Tina Marie'. The popularity of this recording has led to it appearing on many compilation albums over the years.

Perry Como produced his second recording on July 15, 1959. This time, the song was in stereo and had a different musical arrangement. Its release differed between the United States and the United Kingdom and in the United Kingdom 'Home for the Holidays' was released as a 45rpm single, whereas in the United States, it was released as a 33rpm single and this included 'Winter Wonderland' as its flip side. This second recording is what Perry Como included on his album Season's Greetings from Perry Como.

Since the original, there have been a large number of cover versions. The most notable covers have come from The Carpenters and Barry Manilow. The Carpenters version was released on their 1984 album An Old-Fashioned Christmas. Barry Manilow's however, was to feature on his second Christmas-themed album in 2002, which was called A Christmas Gift of Love.