All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" was written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner, a music teacher in Smithtown, New York. Gardner was inspired to write the song after observing that nearly all of his second-grade students were missing at least one front tooth and spoke with a lisp when asked what they wanted for Christmas—he reportedly composed the song in just 30 minutes. The song was published in 1948 after an employee of the Witmark music company heard Gardner perform it at a music teachers' conference. The first recording was made by Spike Jones and His City Slickers on December 6, 1947, featuring lead vocals by George Rock, and it became a major hit, reaching the top of the pop charts in both 1948 and 1949 and selling almost two million copies. The song was first introduced to a wider audience by the singing group The Satisfiers on Perry Como's radio show.