When A Child Is Born - Wikipedia

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Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Christmas song

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "When a Child Is Born" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

"When a Child Is Born" is a Christmas song, with a melody taken from "Soleado", a tune from 1974 by Ciro Dammicco (alias Zacar). The tune was based on Dammicco's earlier tune "Le rose blu" published in 1972. The English lyrics were written by Austrian composer Fred Jay as a Christmas song (although the song does not actually make any specific reference to Christmas). Versions of the song have been recorded by Michael Holm in 1974, Johnny Mathis, whose version was the 1976 Christmas number one in the UK, and Boney M, who included it on their hit 1981 Christmas Album.

Johnny Mathis version

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"When a Child Is Born"
Single by Johnny Mathis
from the album I Only Have Eyes for You
A-side	"When a Child Is Born (Soleado)"
B-side	"Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)"
Released	November 1976
Recorded	1976
Genre	Easy listening, popular Christmas song
Label	CBS
Songwriters	Ciro Dammicco (music), Fred Jay (lyrics)
Producer	Jack Gold

The most commercially successful version of the song is the 1976 recording by American singer Johnny Mathis, titled "When a Child Is Born (Soleado)". Released in November 1976, the single featured a cover of Charlie Rich's "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" as its B-side.

Mathis' rendition became a major hit in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Singles Chart for three consecutive weeks in December 1976. This included the coveted Christmas number one position. It remains Johnny Mathis' only chart-topping single in the UK and sold approximately 885,000 copies.[1]

In the United States, the song appeared in the Record World chart during the 1976 and 1977 Christmas seasons, peaking at No. 123 and spending a total of ten weeks on the survey. Mathis later re-recorded the song as a duet with Gladys Knight & the Pips; this version reached No. 137 on the Record World chart during the 1980 Christmas season and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 79.

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

History

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The melody was used with German lyrics by Michael Holm in "Tränen lügen nicht" (translation: Tears Don't Lie) in 1974. In German, the song is unrelated to Christmas. The singer asks a guy to reconsider breaking up with his girl because her tears don't lie. Holm recorded a new version of "Tränen lügen nicht" for the international market, with new lyrics in English by Fred Jay, and this was the first version of the English-language "When a Child Is Born". It was a minor hit in the US, reaching #53 on Billboard's Hot 100,[3] #7 on Billboard's Easy Listening Top 50.[4] The tune was also used for Mark 'Oh's 1995 dance hit, "Tears Don't Lie".

References

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1. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 334–5. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. ^ "British single certifications – Johnny Mathis – When A Child Is Born". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 391.
4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 117.

External links

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• "When a Child Is Born" on YouTube

v t e UK Christmas number-one singles in the 1970s
"I Hear You Knocking" (Dave Edmunds, 1970) "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" (Benny Hill, 1971) "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" (Jimmy Osmond, 1972) "Merry Xmas Everybody" (Slade, 1973) "Lonely This Christmas" (Mud, 1974) "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen, 1975) "When a Child Is Born" (Johnny Mathis, 1976) "Mull of Kintyre" (Wings, 1977) "Mary's Boy Child" (Boney M., 1978) "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (Pink Floyd, 1979)
Complete list

Authority control databases	MusicBrainz work

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=When_a_Child_Is_Born&oldid=1333967803" Categories:

• 1976 singles
• UK singles chart number-one singles
• Johnny Mathis songs
• Christmas carols
• 1972 songs
• CBS Records singles
• Songs about Jesus
• Songs written by Dario Baldan Bembo

Hidden categories:

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from March 2014
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• Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom
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