1949 HITS ARCHIVE: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry (a #1 record)

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Marks) by Gene Autry and The Pinafores Accumulating renewed sales, airplay and jukebox attention year after year (starting with this year--1949), Gene Autry’s “Rudolph” was often said to rank among the handful of top-sellers in recording history. It reached #1 on Billboard for Christmas week, pushing Frankie Laine’s “Mule Train” down to the runner-up spot. Note that some past reissues of this holiday classic were bludgeoned with some added trashy-sounding echo chamber effects. This post represents the clean original hit version. THE 1949 HITS ARCHIVE - here in one place, a good-quality library of original-release-version best-sellers and songs that made an impact that were either released or enjoyed a major chunk of their popularity within the calendar year 1949 (some were recorded in 1948).