Those old Christmas songs and where they came from

1.  Santa Baby (1953)

This song was originally recorded by Eartha Kitt in with Henri Rene and his orchestra on October 6, 1953.   It was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer (2).  

2.  Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1949)

The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer started as a coloring book created by Robert L. May for the department store Montgomery Ward  in 1939, which at the time was giving out free coloring books every Christmas in its stores.  That year, rather than buy them they chose to create one in house, which was the assignment given May.    The story appeared in a poem borrowing the metrical structure of  Moore's "A Night Before Christmas"  

Ten years later, Johnny Marks, May's brother in law wrote the song of the same name.  Harry Brannon sang the song on the radio in 1949, but it was Gene Autrey, the singing cowboy, who made it a hit single in the Christmas season of 1949.

3.  Jingle Bell Rock (1958)  

The song was first recorded by Bobby Helms.  The song was written by Joseph Beale and James Boothe.   Beale worked in PR and lived in Atlantic City, NJ.  and Boothe was an advertising copy writer from Texas.   Since then it has become a perennial favorite covered by dozens of well known artists. 

4.  Christmas Time is Here (1965)

The song was originally written by Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi for the 1965 television special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  The instrumental version was recorded by The Vince Guaraldi Trio and the vocal version was sung by the choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael California.    Vince Guaraldi was only in his 30's when he co-created the song.  He died of either a heart attack or an aortic aneurysm in 1976 at the untimely age of 46.(1)

5.  Baby it's Cold Outside (1944)

This song was written performed on an informal basis  by Frank Loesser and is a duet between the "wolf" and the "mouse", the wolf trying to persuade the mouse to stay and the mouse insisting that she needs to go home.  In 1948 he sold the song to MGM which inserted it into the film "Neptune's Daughter" in 1949 where it was performed on screen by Ricardo Montalban and Esther Williams.  It has been covered many times since.  

Frosty the Snowman (1950)

This song about a snowman magically brought to life  by receiving a hat, was written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson and first recorded by Gene Autry in 1950, after the success of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer the year before.  It has spawned animated cartoons, children's books, and parades in Armonk, NY (3). 

Hard Rock, Coco, and Joe (1950s)

 This is probably a bit more obscure, but it was created in the 1950s using the best available technology for stop action video at the time by animator Wah Ming Chang for WGN-TV in Chicago.  

Another Christmas short was "Suzy Snowflake" produced about the same time.   It was popularized by Rosemary Clooney in 1951. 

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! (1945)

This song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in July 1945, and first recorded by Vaughn Monroe.  Dean Martin recorded a very popular version of this song which is featured above.

Walking in the Winter Wonderland (1934)

It was written by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith in 1934.  Smith wrote the lyrics while in a tuberculosis sanitarium in Scranton, PA.   The song really has no mention of Christmas in it, of course, but features lovers enjoying an early winter snowfall.  Strangely enough, early on, some objected to the bridge lyrics which were:

"In the meadow we can build a snowman,

then pretend that he is Parson Brown.
He'll ask 'Are You Married?' We'll say 'No man,

but you can do the job while you're in town!'"

 

A "parson" is a traveling minister who travels a circuit in rural areas where not enough people are around to form a full time congregation.  However this lyric, where two young people spur of the moment seemingly decided to get married was seen as inappropriate for children and an alternative lyric came out (4) :  

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
and pretend that he's a circus clown.
We'll have lots of fun with Mister Snowman,
until the other kiddies knock 'im down!
When it snows, ain't it thrillin'?
Tho' your nose, gets a chillin'
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland.

Little Drummer Boy (1958)

Davis

The song was written by Katherine K. Davis a classical music composer in 1941.   It became popular in the 1950s when the Trapp Family Singers and the Harry Simeone Chorale recorded versions.   A poor drummer boy gains a smile from the baby Jesus even though all he can do is play a drum for him (6) (7).  




I'll Be Home for Christmas (1943)

This song was written from the point of view of an overseas soldier during WW II, was written by Buck Ram, Kim Gannon and Walter Kent and first performed by Bing Crosby.   This is another hugely popular song that has over the years been covered by hundreds of artists(6).  

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (1944)

This song was written by Ralph Blaine and Hugh Martin for the hit musical "Meet me in St. Louis" and was first recorded by Judy Garland.   The musical is about a St. Louis family at the time of its World's Fair in 1904.   The story moves along pleasantly enough until the father screws up all their lives by accepting a job promotion to New York which will uproot the family.   In the midst of this sadness, Judy's character sings a melancholy song of Christmas.  Many other recording artists considered the song a bit too depressing with lyrics such as "until then we'll all have to muddle through till then" and changed it somewhat to make it a little more upbeat. 

White Christmas (1940)

"White Christmas" was written in 1940  by Irving Berlin.  It turned out to be not only the best selling christmas single of all time, but the best selling single about anything of all time.  As was often the case, the songs were often first introduced to the public during live broadcasts on the radio.  Bing Crosby sang the song on Christmas Day, 1941 on his radio program, called the Kraft Music Hall.   This was a scant couple of weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and everyone was getting ready to go off to fight the Japanese.    He recorded the song the following May and it became part of an album released to coincide with the movie "Holiday Inn", which was about an Inn that was open only on holidays and formed the framework for a series of 12 Berlin songs.    Later, in 1954, the song was reprised in the musical "White Christmas."


The Christmas Shoes (2000)

Released by the Christian vocal group "New Song" it is a song about a little boy who is trying to buy his mom who is dying a new pair of shoes so she can look good if she meets Jesus tonight.  What this song indicates is that what you are wearing when you die is what you will meet your maker in.  

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (1952)

It was written by British songwriter Tommy Connor in 1952, and was first sung by Jimmy Boyd when Boyd was 13 years old.  At one point the kid says "What a laugh it would have been, if Daddy could have seen".   (No it wouldn't, kid, Dad has a mean temper and shotgun.)   Here is Jimmy singing the original recording of this adorable song.  

Feliz Navidad (1970)

Written by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Jose Feliciano, it has become a huge and perennial favorite at Christmastime in the inclusive spirit of this multicultural age (11).  


Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (aka "The Christmas Song") (1944)
 

The song was written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells in 1944 on a hot summer day as a way of thinking cool.  It was first recorded by the Nat King Cole trio in 1946, and went on to re-record is several times (10). 

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1934)

Completing the picture of childhood paranoia is this song, written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934.  It was first performed on Eddie Cantor's radio program that same year.  It was recorded first by Harry Reser and his band with Tom Stacks doing vocals in October 1934.  Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded it in 1935, and it became a sheet music #1 song.   (11).   

Since then it has been extensively covered and stomped on by numerous performers who can't seem to play it straight including this one by Alice Cooper:

 After which kids might not WANT Santa to come to town. 


Sleigh Ride (1946)

Leroy Anderson wrote "Sleigh Ride" in 1946-1948, Anderson being a composer of "light" orchestral pieces.  In any case one of his biggest hits was this song.  Mitchell Parish wrote  words to what was originally an orchestra piece.  Either way the composition has been a hit holiday standard since about 1950.  This is a version done by Johnny Mathis in 1958.

It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year (1963)

They heyday of  popular Christmas music apparently was the 1940s and 1950s, but this one came along in 1963.  It was written by George Pola and George Wyle.  George Wyle also wrote the theme song for the 1960s TV program "Gilligans Island".   This one was written for Andy Williams for his first Christmas Album.  Naturally being of a cynical temperament I prefer to call it the "The Most Horrible Time of the Year". 

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas (1965)

This song was written by Johnny Marks for Burl Ives and his Christmas Album of the same year.  Burl Ives was a well known folk singer, and actor of the time.  Johnny Marks, as you may recall wrote "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and was married to the sister of Robert L. May, who wrote the poem for Montgomery Ward in 1939.