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Cover of Collective Soul by Collective Soul
Cover: Collective Soul

Song · Collective Soul

“December” by Collective Soul

From the album Collective Soul (1995)

“December” by Collective Soul appears on 55 radio countdowns from 34 stations between 1995 and 2026. It was first released in 1995 on the album Collective Soul. Its best result is #3 on the WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #14 alternative song of 1995, #1,350 alternative song of all time and #204 of the '90s.

55countdowns
34stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
2top 10 finishes
1995–2026years charted

Watch

Collective Soul - December (Official HD Music Video)

Video from YouTube (Collective Soul). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"December" comes from Collective Soul's self-titled 1995 album, and it went to album rock radio that March. Ed Roland wrote it and produced it with Matt Serletic, and he has said it grew out of a sour patch with the band's first manager: the group had a hit before it had a label or even a real lineup, and Roland poured out his feeling of being used and never measuring up.

The sound matches the mood: a moody, circling guitar figure from Roland, Ross Childress and Dean Roland, Will Turpin's bass and Shane Evans' drums, and a string section of violin, viola, cello and double bass darkening the edges, all mixed by Bob Clearmountain. It spent nine weeks at number one on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, the most successful song on that chart in 1995.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 41 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 107
1995 34 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995 91
1995 12 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 101
1995 23 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 100
1995 14 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95 103
1995 3 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104
1995 8 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 95
1995 22 WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 107 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 763 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 783 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 186 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 825 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 399 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 771 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 933 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 761 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 30 DC101 DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s 101
2000 36 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 346 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 352 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 1376 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2005 418 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2009 389 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2010 237 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2015 434 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 387 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 416 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 349 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 214 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 413 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 247 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 488 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 135 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 850 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 135 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 893 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 170 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 334 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 312 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 595 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 136 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 588 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2023 312 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 205 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 500 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 137 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2024 232 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 314 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 596 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 485 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 361 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 301 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 133 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 292 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1995

Best songs of 1995 →
  1. 1You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette
  2. 2LumpThe Presidents of the United States of America
  3. 3Lightning CrashesLive
  4. 4Bullet With Butterfly WingsThe Smashing Pumpkins
  5. 5NameGoo Goo Dolls
  6. 6My FriendsRed Hot Chili Peppers

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