Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms

Album: Jingle Bell Rock (1957)

Charted: 5 2

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Songfacts®:

Released in 1957, "Jingle Bell Rock" was the first mainstream rock 'n' roll Christmas song. To this point, popular Christmas songs were traditional tunes like "Twelve Days of Christmas" or orchestral crooners like "White Christmas." Bobby Helms crashed the party by bringing rock music to the holiday, but with a country flavor and sleigh bells.

Helms was a new, relatively successful country artist at the time, with two #1 country hits in 1957, "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel," both of which were crossover hits that made it into the pop Top 40.
"Jingle Bell Rock" was recorded in Nashville on October 29, 1957, and released toward the end of November. It rose to #6 the week of Christmas and was re-released the next year, landing at #35. A 1960 re-release made #36; by this time the song was a regular on holiday playlists and getting lots of cover versions, including one by Bobby Rydell & Chubby Checker that went to #21 in 1962.

As time went by, "Jingle Bell Rock" gained a nostalgic appeal and found a permanent place as a lighthearted holiday favorite. The song runs just 2:12, so if you don't like it, don't worry - it will be over soon.
At the dawn of the Rock Era (circa 1955), songs were popping up all over the place with "rock" in the title, most notably "Rock Around The Clock," a massive hit from 1955. There was also "Mambo Rock," "Rock And Roll Waltz," "The Rockin' Ghost," "Rock And Roll Wedding," "Chinese Rock And Egg Roll" (really) and of course, "Jailhouse Rock." It was inevitable, then, that a Christmas song would appear with "rock" in the title. It's kind of surprising that it took until 1957.
Many artists have covered this song, including Brenda Lee, Chet Atkins, Hall & Oates, The Platters, .38 Special, and The Beach Boys.

The Hall & Oates version, released in 1983, was accompanied by an exceptionally campy video that got a lot of airplay on MTV, which launched in 1981. When we asked Daryl Hall why they covered the song, he said that he was in a rockabilly phase at the time and wanted to do a rockabilly Christmas song.
This songwriting credits on "Jingle Bell Rock" go to Joe Beal and Jim Boothe. Neither were full-time songwriters: Beal worked in public relations and Boothe was a copywriter. Neither wrote any other charting songs.

Bobby Helms and Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland, who played guitar on the song, claimed that they deserved credits for writing the song, insisting they made significant changes to what Beal and Boothe wrote, which was delivered to them as "Jingle Bell Hop" by Helms' label, Decca Records.

In a 1986 interview, Helms said the song originally didn't have a bridge, so he wrote one ("What a bright time, it's the right time, to rock the night away...").

Garland, who also played on Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, filed suit against Decca, but the songwriting credit didn't change. claiming that he and Helms, not Beal and Boothe, wrote the song.
Thanks to new Billboard methodology and a wave of nostalgia, "Jingle Bell Rock" returned to the charts for the 2015 Christmas season, peaking at #47. Every year since, it has returned as regularly as Santa's sleigh, reaching #3 every Christmas season from 2019-2023. This is due to streaming, which is factored into the chart. Every Christmas, many listeners call up playlists with seasonal favorites, so the chart gets peppered with recurring holiday songs, especially Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." In 2023, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" went to #1, 65 years after it was first released in 1958.
Helms' version has been used in several TV shows, including The Wonder Years, Chuck, House M.D., It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy and Once Upon A Time. It's also featured in the movies Lethal Weapon (1987), Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992), Jingle All The Way (1996), and Vanilla Sky (2001).

The Muppets performed it on the 1987 TV special A Muppet Family Christmas.
The B-side of the single is a campy Christmas obscurity called "Captain Santa Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol." In that one, the Space Patrol saves Christmas, not Rudolph.
The backing vocalists are the Anita Kerr Singers, who show up on many Nashville recordings from the 1950s, backing Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and many others.

Comments: 23

Camille from Toronto, OhPeter from Northridge, CA, I totally agree, it’s the guitar that makes this the definitive version of Jingle Bell Rock; for that reason, it can’t be topped.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 1st 1957, Sam Cooke, the Rays, Buddy Holly & the Crickets, & Bobby Helms all appeared on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
Mr. Cooke sang "You Send Me", at the time it was #1 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, the Rays did "Silhouettes", it was at #5, the Crickets sang "Peggy Sue" and it was at #10...
Bobby Helms performed "My Special Angel" and it was at #12 at the time on the Top 100; three months earlier on Sept. 22nd he had performed the song for the first time on the 'Sullivan' show {see next post below}.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 22nd 1957, Bobby Helms performed "My Special Angel" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
Two weeks later on October 8th, 1957 it entered Billboard's Top 100 chart at position #55; and on November 19th, 1957 it peaked at #7 {for 1 week} and spent 23 weeks on the Top 100...
And on December 3rd, 1957 it reached #1 {for 4 weeks} on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart; the record it replace at #1 was "Jailhouse Rock" by The King {and it was The Killer who knocked him out of the top spot with "Great Balls of Fire"}...
The Vogues covered "My Special Angel" in 1968; and their version also peaked at #7 on the Top 100 chart.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 6th 1958, production began on the movie "The Case Against Brooklyn"...
Bobby Helms appeared in the film as himself, and he also performed the song "Jacqueline"...
The song entered Billboard's Top 100 chart on May 6th, 1958 for an eight week stay; peaking at position #63...
It reached #5 on Billboard's Country/Western Music chart and #20 in the U.K.
The movie premiered in June of 1958 and its leading stars were Darren McGavin, Margaret Hayes, and Warren Stevens...
R.I.P. Mr. Helms (1933 - 1997).
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 9th, 1962, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Rydell and Chubby Check entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart for a two week stay, peaking at #92...
One year earlier in 1961 the duo spent five weeks on the Top 100 with the song, reaching #21...
In 1957 country singer Bobby Helms' original version peaked at #6 on the Top 100; and for four more Christmas seasons he charted with the song (#35 in 1958, #36 in 1960, #41 in 1961, and #56 in 1962)...
Over the years at least four other artists have placed it on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.
Terry from Spring, Tx@Peter in Northridge - It's quite likely Garland was using a Gibson, but probably a Byrdland. The Gibson Byrdland was a collaboration between guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland at Gibson's request, hence the name "Byrdland." Get it?
Peter from Northridge, CaGreat guitar by hank "Sugarfoot" Garland really makes this tune. He played a similar sound on Brenda Lee's "Rockin' around the Christmas tree" at about the same time. Gibson Les Paul?
Alan from Glasgow, United KingdomThis was also a top ten hit in the UK for english singer Max Bygraves in 1959.
Scotty from Cheyenne, WyDoes anyone know if that's Anita Kerr doing part of the backing vocals? Sure sounds like her!
Barry from Sauquoit, Ny"Jingle Bell Rock" charted five different times; in 1957 it peaked at #6, then in 1958 it was #35, in 1958 #36, in 1959 it was #41, and finally in 1961 it reached #56. {Spent a grand total of 21 weeks in the Top 100}
Barry from Sauquoit, NyAlthough his "Fraulein" only peaked at No. 36; it stayed in the Top 100 for 27 weeks!!!
Jennifer Harris from Grand Blanc, MiMy favorite Bobby Helms song! Jingle bell Rock!
Stormy from Kokomo, InChris from Arizona - It's never Christmas for me until I hear this song! Also, I believe that Bobby Helms was from Mooresville, Indiana which is just south of Indianapolis.
Camille from Toronto, OhThe opening guitar sounds followed by the jingle bells...ah! always usher in the Christmas season for me & keep it rockin' all the way thru to New Year's Day! A timeless classic which never gets old.
Camille from Toronto, OhYou couldn't ask for a more upbeat Christmas tune. One of the all-time Christmas song staples. I love it.
Dominick from New York, NyThis song has been covered many times, but there was a great version by Brenda Lee that charted in both 1964 and 1967.
Dominick from New York, NyAt the time of its release in 1957, it seemed more raucous. At that time, the big Christmas song was White Christmas.
Nichelle from Port Colborne , Canadahey i love this song this is my favorite christmas song ever !!! oh my god man
xoxox Nichelle Taylor xoxooxox
Ralph from Newton, MaI love this song. Chris, may I recommend a switch to decaf.
Steve from Toronto, CanadaI remember my Grandparents who bought the 45 rpm record Jingle Bell Rock back around 1958.They used to play this record for me when I was 3 yrs old on their hi-fi record player.Today my Grandparents have been long gone, but I still have that old 1957 record player and the same 45 rpm record song "Jingle Bell Rock" that they used to play.It still sounds great.I have known this song off by heart for the past 48 yrs and I still love to here this song by Bobby Helms.
Dennis from Anchorage, AkChris, read a book sometime. "Rock" in 1957 meant something completely different, musically, from what we think of today. You have to look at this song in an historical context. The pounding drums and ear-bleeding guitars of modern hard rock evolved from music like this.
Rick from Clare, MiMaybe by today's standards Chris, but still a popular tune at the time. When I was a kid I don't recall having a problem with this tune. It was another part of the holiday season to me. Different strokes, I guess.
Chris from Marana, AzDismal. As dismal and banal as Christmas music can conceivably get. What is "rock" about this song, I will never know. Completely unnecessary, ill-advised, a black mark against humanity.

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