About The Song
“Sleigh Ride” is a festive pop classic by The Ronettes, released on November 22, 1963, as part of Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. Originally composed by Leroy Anderson in 1946 as an instrumental, with lyrics added by Mitchell Parish in 1950, the Ronettes’ 3:00 cover transformed it into a holiday staple. It peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2023, marking the group’s first top 10 hit since “Be My Baby” (No. 2, 1963), and was certified 3x multi-platinum by the RIAA in April 2023. The track’s joyful “Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!” backing vocals, whinnying horses, and clip-clopping hooves, paired with Spector’s Wall of Sound, create an exuberant vibe, as Billboard noted: “It’s the definitive ‘Sleigh Ride,’ bursting with holiday cheer.” Ronnie Spector told Billboard in 2019, “I get goose pimples hearing ‘Sleigh Ride’—it’s Christmas in my heart.” Despite its release coinciding with President Kennedy’s assassination, a 1972 Apple Records reissue elevated its status, hitting No. 6 on the Christmas Albums chart.
Recorded in 1963 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the track was produced by Phil Spector, with Jack Nitzsche arranging and Jeff Barry assisting. Musicians included the Wrecking Crew—Ray Pohlman on bass, Hal Blaine on drums, Leon Russell on piano—plus backing vocals by Cher, Darlene Love, and Bobby Sheen, per Genius. The dense orchestration, with sleigh bells and glockenspiel, embodies Spector’s signature sound, as Smooth Radio notes: “It’s a sonic sleigh ride, unmatched in energy.” The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 in January 2024. The D-A-G chord progression and “lovely weather for a sleigh ride” refrain, per MusicNotes, ensure its annual chart re-entry. Featured in Hacks (2024) and Happy! (2017), it remains a holiday playlist cornerstone, per Songfacts.
The Ronettes—Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett (Spector), Estelle Bennett, and Nedra Talley—formed in 1957 in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, evolving from the Darling Sisters. Signed to Spector’s Philles Records in 1963 after hits like “Be My Baby,” they brought a multiracial (African-American, Cherokee, Irish, Puerto Rican, Chinese) edge to girl-group pop, per Wikipedia. “Sleigh Ride” was a live favorite, performed at their 1964 UK tour with the Rolling Stones and 1966 Beatles US tour, with a YouTube clip capturing Ronnie’s dynamic stage presence. Covers include Ella Fitzgerald (1960), Mariah Carey (2020), and Gwen Stefani (2020), among 94 versions, per Vulture. Reddit fans on r/popheads in 2024 called it “the ultimate Christmas bop,” with X posts like @RonnieSpectorGS in 2021 celebrating its top 10 return. ASCAP ranks it among the top 10 most-performed holiday songs, per Wikipedia.
Despite no explicit Christmas references, its sleigh imagery ties it to the season, thriving on Spotify and Light-O-Rama sequences for holiday displays. Nedra Talley recalled the grueling recording sessions in Smooth Radio: “I thought I’d lost it mentally—Phil pushed us to perfection.” The Ronettes disbanded in 1967; Ronnie died in 2022. “Sleigh Ride” endures as their festive legacy, a vibrant, snow-dusted joyride.
Video
Lyric
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring tingle tingling too
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling “Yoo hoo!”
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy and cozy are we
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
We’re snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Let’s take the road before us and sing a chorus or two
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)
(Ring-a-ling-a ding-dong-ding!)