Mariah Carey’s 1994 lucrative seasonal song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” continues to make a cultural impact. The Library of Congress has inducted the festive tune into the National Recording Registry to be preserved for all time based on its “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is one of 14 singles among the class of 2023 and now one of 625 titles preserved in the archives since 2002. Additionally, it’s Carey’s first recording to be stored in the National Recording Registry.
“I wanted it to be a love song because that’s kind of what people relate to, but also a Christmas song that made you feel happy,” Carey told the Library of Congress of the modern holiday classic.
She added, “I’m most proud of the arrangements, the background vocal arrangements. ‘All I Want for Christmas’ is sort of in its own little category, and I’m very thankful for it.”
Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, stated, “The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture. The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
Here is some history on “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” The seasonal favorite is lifted from Carey’s 1994 album, Merry Christmas.
Nearly six years after its release, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 83 in the Jan. 8, 2000 issue.
Twelve years later, after Billboard adjusted its rules to include recurrent tracks, Carey’s carol reentered the popular singles chart at No. 29 the week of Dec. 29, 2012.
It wouldn’t be until the week that ended Dec. 30, 2017, that “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reached the Hot 100 top 10 at No. 9, giving Carey her 28th top 10 hit.
Late in 2019, during the 25th-anniversary cycle of Merry Christmas, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time. It ended her tie with Elvis Presley, making her the only solo artist in history with the most No. 1s and second to The Beatles, who have 20 No. 1 hits.
Since then, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has dominated annually, peaking at No. 1 for 12 non-consecutive weeks, the most of any seasonal release.
Moreover, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is now 12x multi-platinum with over 12 million equivalent units sold. It first earned diamond status in December 2021.
It was the same time the song surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. It now has 1.4 billion plays on the streaming platform at the time of publication.
It’s also worth noting that “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is Carey’s only song release to join the RIAA’s exclusive diamond club, with two albums, 1995’s Daydream and 1993’s Musicbox, already members.
Carey isn’t the only woman named in the National Recording Registry’s class of 2023. Queen Latifah and Madonna were announced, as well as other acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Police, Daddy Yankee, Eurythmics and Koko Taylor.
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See the full list of inductees below.
The Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry (Class of 2023)
- “The Very First Mariachi Recordings” — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
- “St. Louis Blues” — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
- “Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)
- Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
- “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)
- “Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)
- “What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)
- “Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)
- “Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)
- “Déjà Vu” — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
- “Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)
- “Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)
- “Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)
- “Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)
- “Flashdance…What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)
- “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)
- “Synchronicity” — The Police (1983)
- “Like a Virgin” — Madonna (1984)
- “Black Codes (From the Underground)” — Wynton Marsalis (1985)
- Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1985)
- “All Hail the Queen” — Queen Latifah (1989)
- “All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)
- “Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)
- “Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)
- “Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)
