There are many cherished, time-honored Christmas songs that have been sung for years at people's homes around their Christmas trees, by choirs and glee clubs, and by popular performers. One of them is "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. The lively, bouncy tune gets you in the holiday mood fast because it's so infectiously vibrant. But did you know that this modern Yuletide classic began as a rock song? There's a tale behind the song's evolution that merits telling as Christmas draws near.
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Mariah Carey Is A Talented Songwriter As Well As A Terrific Singer
Her Frequent Writing Partner Is Walter Afanasieff
Ten years ago, Walter Afanasieff told Billboard via Showbiz Cheat Sheet about his collaboration with Carey. "It was always the same sort of system with us. We would write the nucleus of the song, the melody primary music, and then some of the words were there as we finished writing it. I started playing some rock 'n' roll piano and started boogie woogie-ing my left hand, and that inspired Mariah to come up with the melodic [Sings.] 'I don't want a lot for Christmas.'"
He added, "And then we started singing and playing around with this rock 'n' roll boogie song, which immediately came out to be the nucleus of what would end up being 'All I Want for Christmas Is You.' That one went very quickly."
From what Afanasieff said, it sounds like the process of writing the song with Carey just flowed organically. "It was an easier song to write than some of the other ones. It was very formulaic, not a lot of chord changes. I tried to make it a little more unique, putting in some special chords that you really don't hear a lot of, which made it unique and special."
The Song Has Been Incredibly And Enduringly Popular
Carey And Afanasieff Really Hit This One Out Of The Park
Per the outlet, "'All I Want for Christmas Is You' became one of the biggest hits of all time. So far, the tune has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, lasting on the chart for 66 weeks. It's the most popular song of Carey's career in the United States."
What an achievement!
