Of course, "Elvis' Christmas Album" sold extremely well in the USA. On October 7, Billboard reported that pre-orders for the LP far exceeded RCA's planned production of 200,000 copies. An RCA executive called it "the largest pre-order in the company's history." "Elvis' Christmas Album" eventually achieved gold record status. "Elvis' Christmas Album" reached #1 on the Billboard album chart during the 1957 Christmas season. Elvis' version of 'Blue Christmas', now considered a rock and roll Christmas classic, is played every December by radio stations across the country. Of course, "Elvis' Christmas Album" was reissued every Christmas season after its first release in 1957. During the 1963 Christmas season, sales of the album finally reached the $1 million mark, earning it gold record status. At the time, it was Elvis' sixth gold album. In the 45 years since, Elvis' first Christmas LP has continued to sell in a variety of repackaged records. The popularity of Elvis' first Christmas recordings has outlived most of the critics who condemned them over 50 years ago.