"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" Tops ASCAP's Annual List of Most-Performed Holiday Songs; Bing Crosby and Bruce Springsteen Help

Music performance rights organization ASCAP has continued its own 100-year anniversary celebration by releasing a list of the most performed holiday songs of all time. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" took the top spot on the list.

The track was written during 1934 by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie for popular vocalist Eddie Cantor to sing during a radio airing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was an instant smash, with more than 30,000 records sold within its first day of release (a big deal at the time). Over the years its kept up steam thanks to famous versions by Bing Crosby and Bruce Springsteen keeping it playing on the charts.

Some of the bigger surprises might be that tracks such as "Jingle Bells" don't make ASCAP's Top 30 list but there's a good reason for the missing title: Although probably the most popular Christmas song of all time, "Jingle Bells" was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont...the fact that ASCAP doesn't need to protect a copyright for the song might impact whether or not it secured a place on this list. It's tough to believe Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" (the no. 30 song) gets more play than "Jingle Bells."

The results have changed over the years however. "The Christmas Song (Chestunts Roasting on An Open Fire)" was no. 1 as of 2006.

Check out the Top 10 here and the full list here.

01) "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie)

02) "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (Mel Tormé and Robert Wells)

03) "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin)

04) "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith)

05) "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin)

06) "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish)

07) "Jingle Bell Rock" (Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe)

08) "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks)

09) "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne)

10) "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Kim Gannon and Walter Kent)