We Need a Little Christmas

"We Need a Little Christmas" is a popular Christmas song originating from Jerry Herman's Broadway musical Mame, and first performed by Angela Lansbury in that 1966 production.[1]

In the musical, the song is performed after Mame has lost her fortune in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and decides she, her young nephew Patrick, and her two household servants "need a little Christmas now" to cheer them up.[2] The original lyrics include the line, "But, Auntie Mame, it's one week past Thanksgiving Day now!" Since the time the song was written the phenomenon of Christmas creep has resulted in the normal holiday season beginning much earlier than it once did.

Notable recordings

• Percy Faith with His Orchestra and Chorus (1966)
  (Christmas Is... Percy Faith)[3]
• The New Christy Minstrels (1966)
  (Christmas with the Christies)[4]
• Skitch Henderson & The Tonight Show Orchestra (1966)
  (Broadway Tonight! Skitch Henderson & The Tonight Show Orchestra Play Music From "Mame")[5]
• Johnny Mathis (1986)
  (Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis)[6]
• The Muppets (1987)
  (A Muppet Family Christmas)[7]
• Bugs Bunny & Friends with Daffy Duck (1994)
  (Have Yourself a Looney Tunes Christmas)[8]
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Angela Lansbury (2001)[9]
  (later appeared on the choir's 2006 album, The Wonder of Christmas)
• Legacy Five (2007)
  (Little Christmas)[10]
• Kimberly Locke (2007)
  (Christmas)[11]
• Glee Cast (2010)
  (Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album and episode A Very Glee Christmas) [12]
• Ages and Ages (2012)
  (Holidays Rule)[13]
• Idina Menzel (2019)
  (Christmas: A Season of Love)[14]
• Pentatonix (2020)
  (We Need a Little Christmas)[15]

Charts

Percy Faith version
Charts (2005)	Peak position
Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents	25

Kimberley Locke version
Charts (2008)	Peak position
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	19

Glee Cast version

Chart (2010–11)	Peak position
Canada AC (Billboard)[16]	15
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17]	15
US Holiday Digital Songs (Billboard)[18]	16

Pentatonix version

Chart (2020)	Peak position
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19]	14

References

1. Crump, William D. (15 September 2001). The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 436. ISBN 978-1-4766-0573-9.
2. Collins, Ace (2010). Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas. Zondervan. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-310-32795-0.
3. Percy Faith & his Orchestra. "Christmas Is...Percy Faith". Columbia. November 1966.
4. The New Christy Minstrels. "Christmas with the Christies". Columbia. 1966.
5. Skitch Henderson & The Tonight Show Orchestra. "Broadway Tonight! Skitch Henderson & The Tonight Show Orchestra Play Music from 'Mame'". Columbia. July 1966.
6. Johnny Mathis. "Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis". Columbia. 23 September 1986.
7. The Muppets. "A Muppet Family Christmas". The Jim Henson Company/Disney. 1987.
8. Bugs Bunny & Friends. "Have Yourself a Merry Looney Tunes Christmas". Kid Rhino. 1994.
9. Mormon Tabernacle Choir. "We Need a Little Christmas...Christmas Special". 8 May 2015.
10. Legacy Five. "Little Christmas". Daywind. 18 December 2007.
11. Kimberley Locke. "Christmas". Curb. 6 November 2007.
12. Glee. "Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album". Columbia/Epic/Sony Music Entertainment. 16 November 2010.
13. Various Artists. "Holidays Rule". Hear Music. 30 October 2012.
14. Idina Menzel. "Christmas: A Season of Love". School Boy Records. 18 October 2019.
15. Pentatonix. "We Need A Little Christmas". RCA Records. 13 November 2020.
16. "Glee Cast Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
17. "Glee Cast Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
18. "Glee Cast Chart History (Holiday Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
19. "Pentatonix Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.