The late Johnny Marks returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated Dec. 12) for a sixth total week on top, thanks to four seasonal classics on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Among his four entries are two versions of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Brenda Lee’s 1958 original leads at No. 4, up from No. 21 (after hitting a No. 2 high last holiday season), while Justin Bieber’s new cover debuts at No. 83.
Here’s a recap of all four of Marks’ songwriting credits on the latest Hot 100.
Rank, Artist Billing, Title
No. 4, Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
No. 24, Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
No. 40, Gene Autry, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
No. 83, Justin Bieber, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
Notably, Marks has sole songwriting credit on all four tracks, helping boost his placement on the Hot 100 Songwriters ranking (as he does not have to share chart points with any other writers).
Marks ruled Hot 100 Songwriters for five consecutive weeks last holiday season (Dec. 7, 2019-Jan. 4, 2020). He died in 1985 at age 75 following complications from diabetes and became the first artist to posthumously top Hot 100 Songwriters, dating to the list’s launch in June 2019. He’s also the writer of other Yuletide classics, including Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” and Ives’ “Silver and Gold.”
Other veteran talents concurrently land on this week’s Hot 100 Songwriters chart. The late Meredith Willson debuts at No. 3, thanks to his sole songwriting credit on “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Michael Bublé’s 2011 cover re-enters the Hot 100 at No. 39 and Perry Como’s 1951 original, with The Fontane Sisters and Mitchell Ayres and His Orchestra, returns at No. 45.
The late Irving Berlin re-enters Hot 100 Songwriters at No. 4, thanks to his credit (with Kay Thompson) on Andy Williams’ “Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season,” which re-enters the Hot 100 at No. 34, and Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” back at No. 37.
Other holiday re-entries on Hot 100 Songwriters include Jose Feliciano (“Feliz Navidad”) at No. 6, the late George Michael (“Last Christmas”) at No. 7 and Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”) at No. 8.
The weekly Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100; plus, genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
