Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to May's original story than Marks' song, which had not yet been written. It was reissued in 1951 with the song added. May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, adapted the story of Rudolph into a song. Gene Autry's recording of the song hit No. 1 on the "Billboard" pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949. Autry's recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s. DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications, published a series of 13 annuals titled "Rudolph the
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was pondering how best to craft a Christmas story about a reindeer, while staring out his office window in downtown Chicago, a thick fog from Lake Michigan blocked his view—giving him a flash of inspiration. "Suddenly I had it!" he recalled. "A nose! A bright red nose that would shine through fog like a spotlight." The cultural significance of a red nose has changed since the story's publication. In 1930s popular culture, a bright red nose was closely associated with chronic alcoholism and drunkards, so the story idea was initially rejected. May asked his illustrator friend at Montgomery Ward, Denver