Elvis didn't do too many original songs and it's difficult to tell who inspired him to record Blue Christmas. His version was quite unique and remains the benchmark of the song 56 years later.
Blue Christmas was written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson and was first recorded by western singer Doye O'Dell in 1948.
The following year several recorded versions became hits. The first one, and biggest hit while remaining within the Country & Western circuit, was by Ernest Tubb.
Trombonist and orchestra leader Russ Morgan hit the charts with his version, on which he also did the vocal. Russ took the western type song and turned it into a very sappy and souless tune in the style very typical of the early 1950's. There were hundreds of great recordings made during the early 1950's, but they were all outside of the pop mainstream market. If necessity is the mother of invention, then rock 'n' roll was destined to happen by mid-decade. How much is that doggy in the window, indeed! (Of course, rock 'n' roll was around long before the mid-50's, but you know what I mean.)
Russ wasn't the only muzak master of Blue Christmas in 1949. Band leader Hugo Winterhalter recorded it twice. First during his brief stay on Columbia, from which he quickly jumped ship to Mercury where he recorded it again.
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The following year, 1950, Hugo was involved in a third recording of Blue Christmas when his orchestra backed Billy Eckstine doing the song.
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On the 5th of September 1957, Elvis recorded his version and most likely saved the song from historic obscurity.
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