"When a Child Is Born" is a Christmas song, with a melody taken from "Soleado", a tune from 1974 by Ciro Dammicco (alias Zacar). The tune was based on Dammicco's earlier tune "Le rose blu" published in 1972. The English lyrics were written by Austrian composer Fred Jay as a Christmas song (although the song does not actually make any specific reference to Christmas). Versions of the song have been recorded by Michael Holm in 1974, Johnny Mathis, whose version was the 1976 Christmas number one in the UK, and Boney M, who included it on their hit 1981 Christmas Album.
The best known version of the song is perhaps the Jack Gold version for Johnny Mathis. Entitled "When a Child Is Born (Soleado)" with the B-side a cover version of the Charlie Rich hit "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)", it became Johnny Mathis' sole number one single in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in December 1976, including the coveted Christmas number one slot, and selling 885,000 copies.[1] In the US, it appeared in the Record World survey in both the Christmas seasons of 1976 and 1977, reaching a maximum position of No. 123, and racking up 10 chart weeks. In addition, Mathis re-recorded the song as a duet with Gladys Knight & the Pips. This version reached Record World No. 137 during the Christmas season of 1980, and the UK Singles Chart at No. 79.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
History
The melody was used with German lyrics by Michael Holm in "Tränen lügen nicht" (translation: Tears Don't Lie) in 1974. In German, the song is unrelated to Christmas. The singer asks a guy to reconsider breaking up with his girl because her tears don't lie. Holm recorded a new version of "Tränen lügen nicht" for the international market, with new lyrics in English by Fred Jay, and this was the first version of the English-language "When a Child Is Born". It was a minor hit in the US, reaching #53 on Billboard's Hot 100,[3] #7 on Billboard's Easy Listening Top 50.[4] The tune was also used for Mark 'Oh's 1995 dance hit, "Tears Don't Lie".
