According to the Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook [1981], "In 1943 the world was at war, and many thousands of American men and women in the service would be spending Christmas far from home. As a special gift to them and their families came this lovely, tender ballad, recorded by Bing Crosby. Just a year earlier, Bing had had a best seller with Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas,' and his recording of this new song also passed the million-record mark in sales. On December 17, 1965, the Crosby recording became the first 'request' that was broadcast into outer space. As astronauts James Lovell and Frank Borman were hurtling back to earth aboard Gemini 7 after their record 206 orbits, a NASA transmitter asked if there was any music they would especially like to hear. Their immediate reply? Bing's 'I'll Be Home For Christmas.'"

Following in Crosby's formidable footsteps, nearly 250 artists and groups have recorded "I'll Be Home For Christmas," in just about every conceivable style and genre of music - Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffett, Rosemary Clooney, B.B. King, Gloria Estefan, Reba McEntire, the "Three Tenors" [Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti], Johnny Mathis, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Oscar Peterson, Elvis Presley and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra among them. Just this year, the compilation albums "Now That's What I Call Christmas" and "A Very Special Acoustic Christmas" include renditions [by Barbra Streisand and Tift Merritt, respectively]; Justin Guarini [of "American Idol"], the Irish Tenors and country music artist Kenny Chesney all released versions in 2003 as well.