Jump to content

The Christmas Song: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by Yjmggfogfdkg (talk) to last version by Ghmyrtle
m yeet
Line 11: Line 11:
}}
}}


"'''The Christmas Song'''" (commonly subtitled "'''Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire'''" or, as it was originally subtitled, "'''Merry Christmas to You'''") is a classic [[Christmas song]] written in 1945 by [[Robert Wells (songwriter)|Robert Wells]] and [[Mel Tormé]].
"'''The Christmas Song'''" (commonly subtitled "'''Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire'''" or, as it was originally subtitled, "'''Merry Christmas to You'''") is a classic [[Christmas song]] was botched in 1945 by [[Robert Wells (songwriter)|Robert Wells]] and [[Mel Tormé]].


According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to [[Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI]]) Christmas song was born.<ref>{{cite news|journal=TIME|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2012/12/17/yule-laugh-yule-cry-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-beloved-holiday-songs/|title=
According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to [[Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI]]) Christmas song was born.<ref>{{cite news|journal=TIME|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2012/12/17/yule-laugh-yule-cry-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-beloved-holiday-songs/|title=

Revision as of 18:51, 13 December 2019

This article is about the song by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé. For other uses, see Christmas music and Christmas Song (disambiguation).
"The Christmas Song"
Song
Published1945 by Burke and Van Heusen
GenreChristmas
Songwriter(s)

"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song was botched in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.

According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.[1] "I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells') piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in spring 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made later the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49,[2] while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.[3]

Nat King Cole recordings

"The Christmas Song"
File:The Christmas Song King Cole Trio 1946 78RPM vinyl 12-inch.jpg
Single by the King Cole Trio
B-side"In the Cool of Evening"
ReleasedNovember 1946 (1946-11)
RecordedAugust 19, 1946
Genre
Length3:10
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)

First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, June 14, 1946. Label credit: The King Cole Trio (Nat King Cole, vocals & piano; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist). Not issued until 1989, when it was (accidentally) included on the various-artists compilation Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954) Rhino R1 70637(LP) / R2 70637(CD).

Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocals & piano; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Jack "The Bear" Parker, drummer; Charlie Grean, arranger and conductor of 4 string players and a harpist).[4][5] Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311 (78rpm). This recording is available on the Cole compilation CDs Capitol Collectors Series and Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety-Two, as well as on a CD called The Holiday Album, which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby.

Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1953. This was the song's first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocals; Buddy Cole, pianist; John Collins, guitarist; Charlie Harris, bassist; Lee Young, drummer; Charlie Grean, Pete Rugolo and Nelson Riddle, orchestral arrangement; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor).[5][6] Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the "new" Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat "King" Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the Cole compilation CD Cole, Christmas, & Kids, as well as on the various-artists CDs Ultimate Christmas and Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the Mosaic Records box set The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio.

Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, March 30, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo,[5] is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and has become the most popular/familiar version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocals; Hank Jones, pianist; John Collins, guitarist; Charlie Harris, bassist; Lee Young, drummer; Charlie Grean, Pete Rugolo and Ralph Carmichael, orchestral arrangement; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor).[5][7] The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical to the 1953 version,[5] but Cole's vocals are deeper-sounding and more focused. Originally done for The Nat King Cole Story (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole's earlier hits), this recording was later included in a reissue of Cole's 1960 holiday album The Magic of Christmas replacing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Retitled The Christmas Song, the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of "The Christmas Song" is also available on numerous compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. For example, it is available on WCBS-FM's Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3. An alternate take of the 1961 recording, featuring a different vocal and missing the solo piano on the instrumental bridge, appears on the Deluxe Edition of the 2014 compilation The Extraordinary Nat King Cole.

There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on the Decca label, but his was released first – not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Howard was a big Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want to Thank Your Folks" and "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons", among others.

Charts

Chart (1961) Peak
position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 28
Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 51
Chart (2017–19) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 49
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 52
Latvia (LAIPA)[13] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 37
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 11

Mel Tormé recordings

Mel Tormé himself made several recordings of the song, including versions released in 1955 (on his live Coral Records album At the Crescendo), 1961 (on his Verve Records album My Kind of Music), 1970 (on a Columbia Records promo single), 1990 (in a medley with "Autumn Leaves", on his live Concord Records album Mel Tormé Live at the Fujitsu–Concord Festival 1990), and 1992 (on his Telarc Records album Christmas Songs).

The 1970 Columbia version of the song adds an opening verse, written in 1963 while Tormé was working as musical arranger for The Judy Garland Show. He first performed and introduced the opening verse while duetting with Garland on the song for the show's Christmas Special, which aired on December 22, 1963:

All through the year we waited
Waited through spring and fall
To hear silver bells ringing, see wintertime bringing
The happiest season of all

Additionally, his recordings typically include a coda adapted from "Here We Come A-wassailing":

Love and joy come to you
And to you your Christmas too
And God bless you and send you a happy New Year
And God send you a happy New Year

Other notable renditions

"The Christmas Song" has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres. It has charted by the following:

Other artists who have recorded the song include:

References

  1. ^ Wook Kim (December 17, 2012). "Yule Laugh, Yule Cry: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Beloved Holiday Songs (With holiday cheer in the air, TIME takes a closer look at some of the weird stories behind our favorite seasonal tunes)". TIME. - "The Christmas Song" (p. 4)
  2. ^ Edison Media Research: What We Learned From Testing Christmas Music in 2004 Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 29, 2011
  3. ^ Grammy Hall of Fame Retrieved November 29, 2011
  4. ^ King Cole Trio with Charlie Grean’s Orchestra (August 19, 1946). "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)". Mosaic.
  5. ^ a b c d e Zirpolo, Mike (December 15, 2018). "'The Christmas Song' and Nat 'King' Cole". Swing & Beyond.
  6. ^ Nat King Cole with Nelson Riddle’s Orchestra (August 24, 1953). "Why, etc". Capitol.
  7. ^ Nat King Cole with Ralph Carmichael’s Orchestra (March 30, 1961). "Unforgettable, etc". Capitol.
  8. ^ "NAT KING COLE – THE CHRISTMAS SONG (MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU)". Singles Top 100.
  9. ^ "Nat King Cole: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  10. ^ "Nat King Cole Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  11. ^ "Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "Mūzikas patēriņa tops gadu mijā" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  14. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  15. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "Nat King Cole Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  17. ^ "Lauren Daigle Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  18. ^ "Lauren Daigle Sings 'The Christmas Song' - Christian Music Videos". GodTube.
  19. ^ "Sarah Grace & Lauren Daigle Debut in Hot Christian Songs Chart's Top 10". Billboard.
  20. ^ Caines, Bishop. Christmas Memories of Nat King Cole (Album Notes). Mistletoe Records. 1978.
  21. ^ Clooney, Rosemary (March 4, 2014). "The Christmas Song". YouTube: Moriyama Sakiko.
  22. ^ Perry Como with Mitchell Ayres & his Orchestra (October 30, 2017). "Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)". Kokomo.
  23. ^ "Song Index". A Bing Crosby Discography. December 7, 2018.
  24. ^ Bing Crosby; et al. (November 24, 2015). "1947...The Christmas Song". YouTube: MusicProf-78.
  25. ^ Michael Bublé & Celine Dion (December 1, 2015). "The Christmas Song". YouTube: Famas-115.
  26. ^ Liberace with George Liberace and his Orchestra. Christmas at Liberace's. Columbia. 1954.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=The_Christmas_Song&oldid=930619077"