John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1968 (Bettmann/Getty Images)Solo Christmas singles by former Beatles band mates John Lennon and Paul McCartney finally made their debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 this past week — even though both tunes were released in the 1970s.
Lennon’s 1971 song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” which he recorded with wife Yoko Ono, their Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir, is #45 on the tally this week, while McCartney’s 1979 tune “Wonderful Christmastime” landed at #47.
This marks the first time that Lennon has had a song on the Hot 100 since 1988, when his 1971 tune “Jealous Guy” reached #80 on the tally. John’s last solo recording to make it higher onto the chart than “Happy Xmas” was his 1984 posthumous single “Nobody Told Me,” which peaked at #5 that year.
Meanwhile, “Wonderful Christmastime” becomes McCartney’s 47th solo track to chart on the Hot 100, including his recordings with Wings. He also appeared 71 times on the tally with The Beatles.
This is also the first time ever that Lennon and McCartney have had solo singles debut on the Hot 100 simultaneously. The last time the two artists both had songs on the chart was in March 1975, when Lennon’s “#9 Dream” was at #13 and McCartney’s “Junior’s Farm” appeared at #64.
As previously reported, a variety of older holiday songs have been debuting or reappearing on the Hot 100 this year because Billboard now allows old tunes to return to the chart if they score significant sales and streams.
You can check out the full current Hot 100 at Billboard.com.
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