Following the special's broadcast during the 1977 holiday season, "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" went unavailable for many years. It was finally released as a single by RCA Records in November 1982 and was a commercial success, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It became one of the best-selling singles of Bowie's career, with total estimated sales over 400,000 in the UK alone. The song has since become a Christmas classic in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom and has been referred to by "The Washington Post" as "one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history".