The official start to winter may be Dec. 21, but people have already gotten used to shorter days and bitter cold nights.
Winter is a time for cozying up in a blanket and being warmed by a roaring fire and perhaps a hot toddy. It can be a challenging time, and music plays a big role in thwarting the seasonal blues.
To determine the song of the winter the year you were born, 24/7 Tempo reviewed songs released during December, January, and February of every year between 1958 and 2021. The song with the highest Billboard Hot 100 weekly ranking was chosen as the song of winter, with the total number of weeks on the Billboard chart used to break ties.
You might be surprised to see no holiday songs on the list. And most songs of the winter on this list don’t even reference the season. Even one of pop music’s most famous songs dreading the colder weather, “California Dreamin’,” was not the most popular song in 1965’s winter season, the year of its release. (These are the most covered songs in music history.)
Mariah Carey, whose “All I Want for Christmas” single first came out in 1994 and has charted on Billboard several times since, has three songs on the list — “Emotions” (1992), “Dreamlover” (1994), and “We Belong Together” (2006).
Other artists who scored multiple winter song hits, either as solo artists or accompanied by other performers, are Boyz II Men, Fergie, Nelly, and Diana Ross. (Find out which of these musicians are also among the artists with the most No. 1 hits.)
Many of these songs had staying power beyond the winter season – 17 of them were on the Billboard chart for 40 weeks or longer.
Click here to see the song of the winter the year you were born
1958: Rock-in Robin by Bobby Day
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 21
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1959: To Know Him, Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 23
1960: Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 26
1961: Stay by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (tie)
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 18
1961: Save The Last Dance For Me by The Drifters (tie)
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 18
1962: The Twist by Chubby Checker
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 33
1963: He’s A Rebel by The Crystals
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 18
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1964: I’m Leaving It Up To You by Dale & Grace (tie)
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 15
1964: Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison And The Candy Men (tie)
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 15
1965: Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 15
1966: Poor Side Of Town by Johnny Rivers (tie)
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 15
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1966: Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees (tie)
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 15
1967: To Sir With Love by Lulu
> Released: Dec. 2
> Weeks on chart: 17
1968: Incense And Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock
> Released: Dec. 2
> Weeks on chart: 16
1969: Sugar, Sugar by The Archies
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 22
1970: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head by B.J. Thomas
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 18
1971: Maggie May/Reason To Believe by Rod Stewart
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 21
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1972: Brand New Key by Melanie
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 18
1973: I Am Woman by Helen Reddy
> Released: Dec. 2
> Weeks on chart: 22
1974: The Most Beautiful Girl by Charlie Rich
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 22
1975: Cat’s In The Cradle by Harry Chapin (tie)
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 19
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1975: Laughter In The Rain by Neil Sedaka (1975) (tie)
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 19
1976: A Fifth Of Beethoven by Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 28
1977: You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show) by Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. (tie)
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 25
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1977: Disco Duck (Part I) by Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots (tie)
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 25
1978: You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 25
1979: Hot Child In The City by Nick Gilder
> Released: Dec. 2
> Weeks on chart: 31
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1980: Please Don’t Go by KC And The Sunshine Band
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 26
1981: Another One Bites The Dust by Queen (tie)
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 29
1981: Upside Down by Diana Ross (tie)
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 29
1982: Endless Love by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 27
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1983: Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 27
1984: Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 29
1985: Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) by Billy Ocean (tie)
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 26
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1985: I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder (tie)
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 26
1986: Take On Me by a-ha
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 27
1987: You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 24
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1988: Here I Go Again by Whitesnake
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 28
1989: Red Red Wine by UB40
> Released: Jan. 28
> Weeks on chart: 40
1990: (Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection by Nelson
> Released: Jan. 1
> Weeks on chart: 26
1991: Close To You by Maxi Priest
> Released: Jan. 1
> Weeks on chart: 30
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1992: When A Man Loves A Woman by Michael Bolton (tie)
> Released: Jan. 7
> Weeks on chart: 20
1992: Set Adrift On Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn (tie)
> Released: Jan. 7
> Weeks on chart: 20
1992: Cream by Prince And The N.P.G. (tie)
> Released: Jan. 7
> Weeks on chart: 20
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1992: Emotions by Mariah Carey (tie)
> Released: Jan. 7
> Weeks on chart: 20
1993: End Of The Road (From “Boomerang”) by Boyz II Men
> Released: Jan. 5
> Weeks on chart: 32
1994: Dreamlover by Mariah Carey
> Released: Jan. 4
> Weeks on chart: 29
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1995: I’ll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men
> Released: Jan. 3
> Weeks on chart: 29
1996: Kiss From A Rose by Seal
> Released: Jan. 2
> Weeks on chart: 36
1997: Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio
> Released: Jan. 2
> Weeks on chart: 60
1998: I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans Featuring 112
> Released: Jan. 6
> Weeks on chart: 33
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1999: Too Close by Next
> Released: Feb. 14
> Weeks on chart: 53
2000: Unpretty by TLC
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 32
2001: With Arms Wide Open by Creed
> Released: Dec. 2
> Weeks on chart: 42
2002: Fallin’ by Alicia Keys
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 34
2003: Dilemma by Nelly Featuring Kelly Rowland
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 29
2004: Shake Ya Tailfeather by Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 30
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2005: Goodies by Ciara Featuring Petey Pablo
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 36
2006: We Belong Together by Mariah Carey
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 43
2007: Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 35
2008: Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 43
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2009: Viva La Vida by Coldplay
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 41
2010: I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 36
2011: Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars (tie)
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 30
2011: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry (tie)
> Released: Dec. 4
> Weeks on chart: 30
2012: Rolling In The Deep by Adele
> Released: Dec. 25
> Weeks on chart: 58
2013: Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye Featuring Kimbra
> Released: Jan. 21
> Weeks on chart: 58
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2014: All Of Me by John Legend
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 59
2015: Uptown Funk! by Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
> Released: Dec. 6
> Weeks on chart: 55
2016: See You Again by Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth
> Released: Dec. 5
> Weeks on chart: 49
2017: Cheap Thrills by Sia Featuring Sean Paul
> Released: Dec. 3
> Weeks on chart: 52
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2018: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
> Released: Jan. 28
> Weeks on chart: 58
2019: I Like It by Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
> Released: Dec. 1
> Weeks on chart: 45
2020: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
> Released: Dec. 7
> Weeks on chart: 47
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2021: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
> Released: Dec. 14
> Weeks on chart: 63
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