Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Christmas in Hollis

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B-side
  
Peter Piper

Format
  
Vinyl, Cassette

Length
  
2:59

Released
  
November 25, 1987

Recorded
  
1987

Genre
  
Hip hop, rap rock, comedy, Christmas, children's music

"Christmas in Hollis" is a single by Run–D.M.C. that was included on two 1987 Christmas compilation albums featuring various artists: A Very Special Christmas (A&M 3911) and Christmas Rap (Profile 1247). A&M Records originally released the song as a single in 1987 off of the A Very Special Christmas album. The track was produced by the group along with Rick Rubin, and has become popular during the holiday season. It reached number 78 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2000, 13 years after it was first released. The title refers to Hollis, the neighborhood in Queens where the members of Run-D.M.C. grew up. When Bill Adler first asked Run-D.M.C. to be involved with "A Very Special Christmas" they refused. After Bill gave the band the idea for "Christmas in Hollis" they changed their minds and agreed to be on the album.

Contents

The track samples Clarence Carter's 1968 holiday song "Back Door Santa", as well as "Frosty the Snowman", "Jingle Bells", and "Joy to the World". The song features a slide whistle.

Media usage

  • The song was used in the 1987 movie Less Than Zero.
  • The song was used in the 1988 film Die Hard, played by the limousine driver Argyle while he drives John McClane to Nakatomi Plaza.
  • The song was used as part of UK catalogue retailers Argos Christmas 2014 campaign.
  • It was also used in the TV shows The Office, Chuck, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lip Sync Battle, Orange Is the New Black, Hindsight, The Simpsons, How to Be Single, Lethal Weapon and The Night Before.
  • The music video can be seen on UP TV Network during December.
  • In 1996 Run-D.M.C. performed "Christmas in Hollis" on "All That".
  • "Christmas in Hollis" was included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of "Tougher Than Leather".

    • The song was used in the 2015 holiday comedy "The Night Before" featuring stars such as Seth Rogan and Joseph Gordon Levitt.

    The song was also used in the 2015 Christmas ad for the Nissan car lineup.

    Music video

    The music video for "Christmas in Hollis" takes place at The North Pole and Hollis, Queens, New York. At the end of the video Santa is seen flying away with his sled being pulled by a dog. The video was directed by Michael Holman with cinematography by Mark Richardson, both NYU film students at the time. "Christmas in Hollis" went on to win Rolling Stone Magazine's Best Video of the Year award in 1987 beating out Michael Jackson's "Bad" directed by Martin Scorsese.

    A-side

    1. "Christmas in Hollis"
    2. "Walk This Way"

    B-side

    1. "Peter Piper"
    2. "King of Rock"

    References

    Christmas in Hollis Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA