Merry Christmas!
We’ve unwrapped presents, eaten food, and (as is tradition in my family) we went to the movies. Full disclosure: “Star Wars – The Force Awakens” is well worth the hype!
As I sit here, sipping wine and looking out the window at the snow, I’m reminded of another Christmas song: “White Christmas”, by Irving Berlin. Everyone at least is familiar with the singer who first introduced it: Bing Crosby.
This song (particularly Crosby’s version) holds the Guinness World Record as the best selling single of all time. EVER. Actually, the version that’s played on the radio isn’t even the original; the first master copy was worn out from so many pressings, that they had to make another!
Stories about the song’s composition are varied; Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1940, and some accounts say he wrote it while in Hollywood, while others say he was in Arizona. Anyway, it must have been a warm place. The first public performance was on Christmas Day, 1941, on Crosby’s NBC radio show. Crosby also sang it in the movies Holiday Inn and White Christmas. The lyrics are pretty straight-forward:
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
The lyrics really connected with listeners, especially soldiers, during World War II who were unable to be home for the holiday. Wikipedia also says that the Armed Forces Radio Network was getting tons of requests from servicemen to air the song, because it gave them the warm, comforting feelings of home.
“White Christmas” has been recorded by countless other artists, but it’s mostly known as Bing Crosby’s most successful song. Crosby actually dismissed his role in the song, saying that “a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully” (I don’t know what a jackdaw is, but I think I get the gist of what the quote means). I also prefer Crosby’s version overall. At the time, he may not have thought much of it, and maybe he got tired of having to perform it over and over, but his performance was the best, I can’t explain why.
I hope you enjoyed these Christmas posts. I’ve got one or two more songs to write about, and then we celebrate the New Year!
Mistress of Music 