This bilingual holiday classic comprises a simple English verse with a Spanish chorus, "Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad," which translates as "Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness." The song's composer, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano, told Billboard magazine: "If I had left in Spanish only, then I knew the English stations might not play it, so I decided to write an English lyric, 'I want to wish you a merry Christmas.' And then there was no way the stations could lock that song out of the programming."
Feliciano's original recording is the title track of his 1970 album. Other artists that have covered the tune include Boney M, Michael Bublé featuring Thalía and Celine Dion. It has also been performed on Glee.
The song is one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs in the USA, and features in the performance rights organization ASCAP's December 2014 list of the top 30 most performed holiday songs of all time, coming in at #21.
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