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Step into Christmas

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"Step into Christmas"
side-A label
Late 1970s US reissue
Single by Elton John
B-side"Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas)"
Released23 November 1973 (1973-11-23)
Recorded11 November 1973
StudioMorgan (London)
GenrePop rock, Christmas music
Length4:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
(1973) 		"Step into Christmas"
(1973) 		"Bennie and the Jets"
(1974)
Official video
"Step into Christmas" on YouTube

"Step into Christmas" is a Christmas song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973 with the song "Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas)" as the B-side. Upon its original 1973 release, the song peaked at No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart, and it reached a new peak of No. 8 on the same chart in 2019.[1] In the United States, the single reached No. 56 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart[2] and No. 1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart.[3][note 1]

"Step into Christmas" was later included as a bonus track on the 1995 remastered reissue of the album Caribou, even though it was released in the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road era. It also appears on the albums Elton John's Christmas Party, Rare Masters, To Be Continued, Diamonds and various Christmas compilation albums. Two versions with different vocals are known to exist: the original single mix and a version recorded for John's 1973 performance of "Step into Christmas" on The Gilbert O'Sullivan Show television programme (which featured his friend and lyricist Bernie Taupin standing in for Ray Cooper on percussion).[5]

In 2009, "Step into Christmas" was listed as the ninth-most-played Christmas song of the 2000s in the UK.[6] In December 2023, the song was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales and streams of 1,800,000 units. In September 2021, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales and streams of 500,000 units.

Recording

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According to liner notes about the song (in Rare Masters and Elton John's Christmas Party), the track and its B-side, both produced by Gus Dudgeon, were recorded during a session on 11 November 1973 at London's Morgan Studios,[7] which was owned by drummer Barry Morgan, who had played on several of John's early albums. "Step into Christmas" was mixed to sound like one of producer Phil Spector's 1960s recordings, using compression and imitating his trademark wall of sound technique. This was intentional according to both John and Taupin, and an homage of sorts to Christmas songs by Spector-produced groups such as the Ronettes.

Music video

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The music video produced to promote the single features the band playing the song in a recording studio, with John playing at a piano adorned with a red feather boa. It is notable for its cameo appearance of Taupin, who is seen briefly during the song's bridge playing tubular bells, although they are played on the track by the band's percussionist Ray Cooper. John is also seen playfully holding his supporter's card for Watford F.C., the football club he would later own. Later in the video John is seeing playing a guitar alongside drummer Nigel Olsson and then embracing him, and briefly with drum sticks inserted into the ends of his mouth.

In 2024, over 50 years after the song's original release, the video was remade as a behind-the-scenes reimagining starred Cara Delevingne as John. Delevingne wears an identical suit and glasses as John wore in the original video.[8] Delevingne and John had wanted to work together and thought of the idea while at Glastonbury Festival 2024. John stated: "When someone suggested the idea of her playing me in a riff on the 1973 'Step Into Christmas' video, I just thought it was the perfect opportunity. Thank God Cara thought the same, because it came out great."[8]

Chart performance

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Chart performance on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
Year Peak
position 		Chart run
1973 24 Seven weeks (8 December 1973 – 19 January 1974)[9]
2007 53 Three weeks (15–29 December 2007)[10]
2011 64 Three weeks (17–31 December 2011)[11]
2012 75 Two weeks (15–22 December 2012)[12]
2014 84 Four weeks (13 December 2014 – 3 January 2015)[13]
2015 58 Three weeks (17–31 December 2015)[14]
2016 37 Four weeks (15 December 2016 – 5 January 2017)[15]
2017 11 Four weeks (14 December 2017 – 4 January 2018)[16]
2018 10 Four weeks (13 December 2018 – 3 January 2019)[17]
2019 8 Four weeks (12 December 2019 – 2 January 2020)[18]
2020 8 Seven weeks (26 November 2020 – 7 January 2021)
2021 11 Six weeks (2 December 2021 – 6 January 2022)
2022 18 Six weeks (1 December 2022 – 5 January 2023)
2023 16 Six weeks (30 November 2023 – 4 January 2024)

Charts

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Chart performance for "Step into Christmas"
Chart (1973–2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 31
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 66
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[21] 41
Germany (GfK)[22] 69
Global 200 (Billboard)[23] 46
Lithuania (AGATA)[24] 57
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 61
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 36
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[27] 81
Portugal (AFP)[28] 123
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 67
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 42
UK Singles (OCC)[31] 8
US Billboard Christmas Singles[3] 1
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[32] 64
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[33] 56

Certifications

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Certifications for "Step into Christmas"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34] Platinum 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[35] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[36] Platinum 90,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[39] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ In years when Billboard published a Christmas Singles chart, Christmas singles were not listed on the Hot 100 chart.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Step into Christmas | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending DECEMBER 29, 1973". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–1996 (1997):316
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–1996 (1997):xi
  5. ^ Elton John – Step into Christmas (Gilbert O’Sullivan Show, 1973) on YouTube
  6. ^ "Mariah Is Our Christmas Number 1". Prsformusic.com. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  7. ^ Moments: 'Step Into Christmas' Retrieved 19 December 2017
  8. ^ a b "Cara Delevingne plays Elton John for Step Into Christmas video remake". The Guardian. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 50: 30 December 1973 - 05 January 1974". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 23 December 2007 - 29 December 2007". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020. The chart listed Elton John's Christmas E.P. instead of solely the song itself.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 11 December 2011 - 17 December 2011". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 09 December 2012 - 15 December 2012". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 28 December 2014 - 03 January 2015". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 25 December 2015 - 31 December 2015". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 30 December 2016 - 05 January 2017". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 29 December 2017 - 04 January 2018". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 28 December 2018 - 03 January 2019". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 27 December 2019 - 02 January 2020". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  19. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  24. ^ "2021 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  26. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  27. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 22.12.2023–28.12.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  29. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Elton John – Step into Christmas". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  32. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Holiday 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  33. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending December 29, 1973". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  34. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  35. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Elton John – Step into Christmas". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  36. ^ "Danish single certifications – Elton John – Step into Christmas". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  37. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Elton John – Step into Christmas". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  38. ^ "British single certifications – Elton John – Step into Christmas". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  39. ^ "American single certifications – Elton John – Step into Christmas". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
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