Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

• Date: 1949
• Composer: Johnny Marks
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

Robert May, a copywriter working for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores, produced the poem "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as part of a promotional gimmick for the stores in 1948. The next year, he asked his brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, to write music for it. After a sticky sweet and sentimental introduction, Marks' melody bounces along on the white notes of the piano with perfect cadences in the verses and plagal cadences in the chorus. Popularized by singing cowboy Gene Autry in the holiday season of 1949, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" sold 30 million copies in a decade and became an American Christmas classic. Marks later made a specialty of composing holiday songs, with "Holly Jolly Christmas," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" to his credit. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
A Canadian Brass Christmas
A Christmas Concert [SBC]	2006
A Christmas Festival
A Christmas Traditional Treasury	2002
A Traditional Christmas: The Gold Collection	2002
A White Christmas with Grimethorpe
American Christmas
An American Christmas [Immergent]	2008
Arthur Fiedler's Christmas Pops
Beyond Warped: Live Music Series	2005
Carousel Christmas	1999
Christmas A La Carte	1999
Christmas Album	2003
Christmas Around the World	2006
Christmas Around the World	2003
Christmas Bells of San Sylmar	2000
Christmas Celebration [2003 Box Set]	2005
Christmas Favorites	1999
Christmas Favorites	2006
Christmas Favorites [2001]	2001
Christmas Favorites [Madacy 2003]	2003
Christmas Favourites with Four Horns
Christmas Festival [Polygram]	1970
Christmas Is...	1966
Christmas Lights: A New Strand	2002
Christmas Wishes [Direct Source]	2002
Christmas at the Pops: Greatest Hits
Christmas in London [Silva]	2001
Christmas with the Choral Scholars of King's College, Cambridge	1998
Classic Christmas for Your Family	2000
Family Christmas Favorites	2004
Gloria!	2001
HSQ Does Christmas (Again)	2005
Holiday Cheer	2006
Home for Christmas	2002
Hymns, Carols and Songs about Snow
I'll Be Home for Christmas [Decca]	2007
I'll Be Home for Christmas [Happy Holidays]	1996
Joy to the World
Let It Snow & Other Favorite Christmas Melodies	1996
Longwood Gardens Christmas	1996
Merry Country Christmas [Legacy]	2000
Pops Christmas Party	1959
Reader's Digest: A Glorious Christmas	1992
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of M	2001
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town [Premiere]	1998
Save the Children: Christmas Carols & Festive	1990
Schatz, Gruber, Pierpont and others
Season's Greetings from the University of North Texas
Signature Series: A Hometown Christmas, Vol. 1	2003
Siitä tuntee Joulun: A Finnish Christmas	2008
Silent Night	1989
Swing Ye Noël: Spectacular Big Band Arrangements of Holiday Classics
The Best Of Christmas [Madacy Box]	1996
The Best of Christmas [Madacy 6]	2005
The Christmas Box [C & B]	2006
The Most Beautiful Sounds of Christmas
The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas: 2 CD Collection [2001]	2001
Totally Christmas, Vol. 2	2004
Treasury of Christmas [Box Set] [Collector's Tin]	2006
Unwrapped	2006
Weihnachten [Bild]	1998
What if Mozart Wrote 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'
White Christmas at Longwood Gardens	1996
White Christmas: A Christmas Festival [1970]	1970
Winter Wonderland [Madacy]	2002
World's Favorite Christmas Carols [Start Classics]	1999

rudolph the red nosed reindeer