Comfort and joy: Analyzing 168 hours, 1,554 tracks, 74 artists and 61 unique songs heard on Chicago’s WLIT-FM 93.9 during its all-Christmas music programming

For WLIT-FM 93.9, an adult contemporary radio station in Chicago, the weeks leading up to Christmas are, in terms of ratings, the most wonderful time of the year. Maybe that’s why the Andy Williams version of the 1963 hit song with that name was the first Christmas carol played by the station this season.

WLIT — now in its 20th year of hosting an all-Christmas music format — unabashedly breaks out its round-the-clock holiday tunes as early as Nov. 2 (in 2006 and 2007). Why? Listeners love it.

Lance Venta, publisher of RadioInsight.com, says the fall ratings period — which began Sept. 5 and concluded Dec. 2 — helps stations like WLIT determine when to bring holiday music to the airwaves.

“The reason stations switch in early November is so they can get a ratings boost for the final few weeks of the survey,” he wrote in an email.

This year, WLIT flipped the switch to Christmas music on Nov. 5, but its expected jump in the rankings won’t be known until the next ratings report is released on Dec. 21.

Christmas music ratings boost

The charts below show how rankings jump following the start of Christmas music on WLIT-FM 93.9 during the past decade — no matter the start date.

How does the COVID-19 pandemic impact stations’ decisions on when to begin playing holiday hits?

Sean Ross, who has been tracking holiday music preferences for 15 years with Edison Research and publishes the Ross On Radio newsletter, says:

Beyond the national mood, some adult contemporary stations have less to lose by switching early this year. Lite FM has done relatively well this year, and in general since it switched back to soft adult contemporary, although it was off in the last few months. Other similar adult contemporary stations that were usually reliable ratings winners have been down because of the disruption in at-work listening. Maybe you’re not at the workplace needing the station ‘the whole office can agree on.’ Maybe more disruptions at home are reducing the time you spend with the radio. In general, mainstream adult contemporary stations have been somewhat off. So they’re looking for the boost that holiday music usually gives them.”","type":"text

Sean Ross, Edison Research","type":"text

How does WLIT decide which Christmas songs to play?

How does WLIT decide which Christmas songs to play?

Lance Venta, publisher of RadioInsight.com, says stations owned by iHeartMedia — including WLIT — have a catalog of approximately 250 Christmas songs. WLIT won’t comment on how it compiles its playlist, but there are some insights available on what listeners want to hear.

MRC Data, formerly known as Nielsen Music, tracks the number of plays Christmas songs have on radio and on-demand streaming services. It also gathers the start and end dates for Christmas music on hundreds of radio stations in the United States and Canada.

More than half the list can be called holiday classics — songs often recorded decades ago. Ross credits music testing and family traditions for the consistent play of these classic songs. Beyond that, Ross said, it’s difficult for a new release to receive the same number of plays as an older one — even if it’s the same song.

“For whatever reason, I’ve noticed some of the major Christmas stations becoming more reliant, not less, on the ‘sweater’ artists, Andy Williams, Perry Como, etc., over the past few years,” Ross wrote in an email. “But those stations do seem to allow about a half dozen new interpretations through every year — in part because it lets you play ‘White Christmas’ even more if you get a new rendition occasionally.

What Christmas song do radio listeners want to hear most this year?

It’s “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms, according to an online survey of 62 popular songs conducted Oct. 10-11, 2020, by P1 Media Research of 400 radio listeners ages 18 to 54 who will likely to listen to their local all-Christmas music radio station this holiday season. The 1957 release tops the survey’s list for the fourth consecutive year.

What we learned from listening to the first week — 168 hours — of Christmas songs on WLIT

WLIT’s most frequently played song during its first week of Christmas programming

Christmas song with the most versions played on WLIT

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played 46 times during the first week of Christmas songs on the station with 12 different artists contributing their own takes on the tune. The song was originally written for the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” and performed by Judy Garland.

The original version of the song laments the fictional Smith family’s expected move away from their beloved St. Louis home:

If the fates allow","type":"text

Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow","type":"text

So have yourself a merry little Christmas now”","type":"text

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from "Meet Me In St. Louis"","type":"text

It could just be the most perfect, melancholy Christmas song for a pandemic year — but most contemporary artists have followed the lead of Frank Sinatra, who famously altered the lyrics for his 1957 album, “A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.”

It could just be the most perfect, melancholy Christmas song for a pandemic year — but most contemporary artists have followed the lead of Frank Sinatra, who famously altered the lyrics for his 1957 album, “A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.”

Here’s Sinatra’s more upbeat version:

If the fates allow","type":"text

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough","type":"text

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now”","type":"text

Frank Sinatra, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (1957)","type":"text

WLIT’s first week of Christmas music heavy on the classics

WLIT’s first week of Christmas music heavy on the classics

Program directors know listeners want to hear versions of holiday carols that they know best, which could explain why so many songs released in the 20th century continue to be popular this time of year — and have even outlived the artists who performed them.

Looking at when the 143 recordings of songs — which includes multiple versions of the same tune — aired during WLIT’s first week of the format, it’s no surprise that the number of songs released in the 1960s continue to receive significant airtime.

But wait — where’s Wham!?!

Alas, the data is flawed. The Tribune noticed some key Christmas songs by specific artists are heard on the station, but aren’t listed on WLIT’s “Recently Played” list.

An email from an unnamed WLIT representative explained the glitch could be a result of the songs’ age. “Our digital software may just not recognize them and so they don’t get listed on the website.”

Here are a few of the missing songs:

“Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson (1952)","type":"text

“Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms (1957)","type":"text

“Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney (1984)","type":"text

“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby (1942)","type":"text

“The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole (1960)","type":"text

“Run, Run Rudolph” by Chuck Berry (1959)","type":"text

“Christmas Canon” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1998)","type":"text

“Merry Christmas Darling” by the Carpenters (1978)","type":"text

“Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid (1985)","type":"text

“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” by Gayla Peevey (1953)","type":"text

Sources: Chicago Tribune reporting, archives and analysis of WLIT-FM 93.9 playlist; MRC Data/Nielsen Music; Lance Venta; Sean Ross; Robert Feder; Jon Keegan; NPR; Entertainment Weekly; Apple Music; Amazon

Sources: Chicago Tribune reporting, archives and analysis of WLIT-FM 93.9 playlist; MRC Data/Nielsen Music; Lance Venta; Sean Ross; Robert Feder; Jon Keegan; NPR; Entertainment Weekly; Apple Music; Amazon

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