Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" is a novelty Christmas song written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner (1913-2004) while teaching music at public schools in Smithtown, New York. He asked his second grade class what they wanted for Christmas, and noticed that almost all of the students had at least one front tooth missing as they answered in a lisp. Gardner wrote the song in 30 minutes. In a 1995 interview, Gardner said, "I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country." The song was published in 1948 after an employee of Witmark music company heard Gardner sing it at a music teachers conference.
The song was originally recorded by Spike Jones & His City Slickers on December 6, 1947, with lead vocal by George Rock. That version reached the top of the pop charts in 1948, and again in 1949. The song has also been recorded by numerous other singers and performers, including Ray Stevens,[4] George Strait, Danny Kaye with The Andrews Sisters, The Platters, Dread Zeppelin, The Kelly Family, Nat King Cole (reportedly Gardner's favorite version), The Chipmunks, the Hampton String Quartet, The Three Stooges, and Count von Count of Sesame Street.
In the versions by Spike, The Chipmunks (Theodore on lead vocals), and Ray Stevens, the song ends with the performer shouting the words "Happy New Year!!!"
Drag performer and singer RuPaul parodied the song on his Christmas album Ho, Ho, Ho. In RuPaul's version, which is an up-tempo electronica/disco style, he lists the various plastic surgery procedures he wants for Christmas, so he can, as he sings, "Look real purdy!".
Country music parodist Cledus T. Judd parodied the song on his 2002 Christmas album Cledus Navidad. Titled "All I Want for Christmas Is Two Gold Front Teef", Judd's parody is performed in rap.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
Suddenly I heard a strange noise down below
So, in my flannel pajamas I went tippy-toe
I could see old Saint Nick from the spot where I stood
So I slid down the banister just as fast as I could
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth, see, my two front teeth?
Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Chritmas
It seems so long since I could say
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle."
Every time I try to peak
Huh, all I do is whistle
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth see my two front teeth?
Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
Good ole Santa Clause and all his reindeer
Huh, they used to bring me lots of toys and candy
Gee but, but now when I go out and call
"Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Blitzen"
None of 'em can understand me
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth, see, my two front teeth?
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
So I can wish you Merry Christmas
Chrismas, Chrismas
Aww, for goodness sakes
Happy New Year
"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" is a novelty Christmas song written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner (1913-2004) while teaching music at public schools in Smithtown, New York. He asked his second grade class what they wanted for Christmas, and noticed that almost all of the students had at least one front tooth missing as they answered in a lisp. Gardner wrote the song in 30 minutes. In a 1995 interview, Gardner said, "I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country." The song was published in 1948 after an employee of Witmark music company heard Gardner sing it at a music teachers conference.
The song was originally recorded by Spike Jones & His City Slickers on December 6, 1947, with lead vocal by George Rock. That version reached the top of the pop charts in 1948, and again in 1949. The song has also been recorded by numerous other singers and performers, including Ray Stevens,[4] George Strait, Danny Kaye with The Andrews Sisters, The Platters, Dread Zeppelin, The Kelly Family, Nat King Cole (reportedly Gardner's favorite version), The Chipmunks, the Hampton String Quartet, The Three Stooges, and Count von Count of Sesame Street.
In the versions by Spike, The Chipmunks (Theodore on lead vocals), and Ray Stevens, the song ends with the performer shouting the words "Happy New Year!!!"
Drag performer and singer RuPaul parodied the song on his Christmas album Ho, Ho, Ho. In RuPaul's version, which is an up-tempo electronica/disco style, he lists the various plastic surgery procedures he wants for Christmas, so he can, as he sings, "Look real purdy!".
Country music parodist Cledus T. Judd parodied the song on his 2002 Christmas album Cledus Navidad. Titled "All I Want for Christmas Is Two Gold Front Teef", Judd's parody is performed in rap.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
Suddenly I heard a strange noise down below
So, in my flannel pajamas I went tippy-toe
I could see old Saint Nick from the spot where I stood
So I slid down the banister just as fast as I could
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth, see, my two front teeth?
Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Chritmas
It seems so long since I could say
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle."
Every time I try to peak
Huh, all I do is whistle
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth see my two front teeth?
Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
Good ole Santa Clause and all his reindeer
Huh, they used to bring me lots of toys and candy
Gee but, but now when I go out and call
"Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Blitzen"
None of 'em can understand me
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
My two front teeth, see, my two front teeth?
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
So I can wish you Merry Christmas
Chrismas, Chrismas
Aww, for goodness sakes
Happy New Year
![Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians - The Meaning Of Christmas Medley [Album] (Capitol Records 1961)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ez0aZYbJung/mqdefault.jpg "Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians - The Meaning Of Christmas Medley [Album] (Capitol Records 1961)
The Meaning Of Christmas Medley is a double sided album with the first side of the record consisting of choral settings of 13 familiar Christmas tunes strung together by Warings spoken reflections on the meaning of Christmas. Christmas means many things to many people, Waring intones in his introduction to the joyful Holiday. It means gifts, glamour, celebration, meditation, reunion, reminiscence, old friends...a time of great joy. The second side consists of only two tracks. The first is the Pennsylvanians jolly six-minute rendition of Twas the Night Before Christmas, which is probably the most famous musical adaptation ever recorded of that everlastingly popular holiday staple. The record concludes with The Song of Christmas, a 17-minute medley of sacred carols sequenced to tell the Biblical Christmas story. Let us not forget that to all men of goodwill who would pray for peace, Christmas means Christ, Waring suggests in an introduction tainted slightly by unintentional religious chauvinism. The record contains several charming performances, but among the highlights are the pretty Carol of the Bells and a snappy piano rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that recalls Warings jazzy roots.
The Meaning of Christmas Medley was composed by Fred Waring, Boland, Frank Cunkle, Jerry Toti, Johnny Marks, Leo M. Tellep, Mark Lawrence, Moe Jaffe, Mykola Leontovych, Roy Ringwald, Sherman Feller, and Victor Herbert
Fredrick Malcolm Waring (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was a popular musician, bandleader, and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as Americas Singing Master and The Man Who Taught America How to Sing. He was also a promoter, financial backer and eponym of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market.
Warings Pennsylvanians was a dance band that was founded at Penn State University by Fred Waring.
First named the Collegians, the group was formed in 1918 at Penn State by the brothers Fred and Tom Waring and their friends Freddy Buck and Poley McClintock. They had a hit in 1925 with the song Collegiate. Other popular novelty songs were Ive Never Seen a Straight Banana and I Wonder How I Look When Im Asleep.
In 1929 they appeared in the movie Syncopation and on stage in The New Yorkers the following year. Their popularity increased in the 1930s with their presence in radio and movies. During the 1940s, they performed on Broadway and at the Worlds Fair and became the first band to broadcast its own TV show. From 1950–1970, they became a corporation that branched into workshops, real estate, and a magazine.
From 1923 until late 1932, Warings Pennsylvanians were among Victor Records best-selling bands. In late 1932, Waring abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, You Gotta Be a Football Hero was performed on radio to great acclaim. His 1930 recording of Love For Sale by Cole Porter is one of the only period versions of this popular song.
Adding a mens singing group to his ensemble, he recruited Robert Shaw, recently out of the Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the Robert Shaw Chorale and directed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Pembroke Davenport (1911–85) was Warings pianist and arranger.
During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. He composed and performed dozens of patriotic songs, his most famous being My America. In 1943, he acquired the Buckwood Inn in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania, and renamed the resort the Shawnee Inn. To promote the inn, he centered his musical activities at the inn itself. He created, rehearsed, and broadcast his radio programs from the stage of Shawnees Worthington Hall throughout the 1950s.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, Waring and His Pennsylvanians produced a string of hits, selling millions of records. A few of his many choral hits include Sleep, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Button Up Your Overcoat, White Christmas, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, and Dancing in the Dark.
The song, Breezin Along with the Breeze was used as a signature tune by Fred Waring")
