White Christmas
Year: 1940
Written By: Irving Berlin
"Grab your pen and take down this song," Irving Berlin told his
secretary one night in 1940. "I just wrote the best song I've ever
written- heck I just wrote the best song that anybody's ever
written!" And so, legend has it, this is how Berlin's holiday
classic White Christmas came about.
Russian born Irving Berlin is regarded by many as one of
America's greatest ever songwriters. His list of hits is full of
timeless classics including There's No Business Like Show Business,
Puttin' on the Ritz and God Bless America.
Berlin was commissioned to write a series of songs for the 1942
film Holiday Inn; one tune for each of the major holidays in the
year. As a Jewish composer, Berlin initially struggled to pen a
song about Christmas. He was eventually inspired by his own
childhood memories of watching snowy holiday celebrations in New
York and Los Angeles. The lyrics capture a sense of Berlin's
own reminiscing. The opening lines conjure up images of a snowy
Manhattan holiday:"I'm dreaming of a white ChristmasJust like the
ones I used to knowWhere treetops glistenAnd children listenTo hear
sleigh bells in the snow."whilst Berlin's experiences in California
can be heard in a verse cut from the original draft:The sun is
shining, the grass is green,The orange and palm trees sway.There's
never been such a dayin Beverly Hills, L.A.But it's December the
twenty-fourthAnd I am longing to be up North
When the star of Holiday Inn, Bing Crosby first heard the song, he
knew Berlin was onto a winner. But no-one could have predicted just
how big the song would become. The first public performance came on
Christmas Day in 1941 when Crosby presented White Christmas on his
radio show, The Kraft Music Hall. The following year he recorded
the track for Decca Records and it was released as part of the
Holiday Inn soundtrack. By the end of 1942 it was sitting firmly on
top of the Harlem Hit Parade, Billboard and Your Hit Parade charts,
where it stayed from October through to the beginning of the new
year.
White Christmas was to receive yet another honour that year,
with the tune garnering the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
So popular was Bing Crosby's release, that the film script was
changed to accommodate his performance. The initial script for
Holiday Inn had actress Marjorie Reynolds performing the song
alone. It was quickly changed to a duet however, with the scene now
a well-known one in film history.
Today, White Christmas appears in record books across the globe. It
is estimated that Crosby's single sold more than 50 million copies
worldwide, although as the song was released before modern day
chart systems, this number is still heavily debated. This whopping
figure- in addition to a further 50 million copies of the recording
sold as a part of various albums- makes Bing Crosby's White
Christmas the highest selling single of all time.
So what makes a simple Christmas song so popular? White Christmas
was released in the midst of World War II and seemed to strike a
chord amongst a population dreaming of better times. The song
conjures up a number of warm, comforting images of home but at the
same time carries an air of melancholy, particularly in the line
"just like the ones I used to know." The song became the number one
request on the Armed Forces Network among soldiers dreaming of a
Christmas spent with loved ones.
Since its release nearly seventy years ago, White Christmas has
become a favourite amongst cover artists, carollers and partygoers
alike. Whether celebrating in sun or snow, people all around the
world are sure to be dreaming of a white Christmas for many years
to come.
Lyrics
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,
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
I'm dreaming of a white christmas,
just like the ones I used to know
May your days be merry and bright,
and may all your christmases be white
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
May your days be merry and bright,
and may all your christmases be white
And may all your christmases be white (All your christmases be
white)
And may all your christmases be white (All your christmases be
white)
And may all your christmases be
(All your christmases be white)
(All your christmases be white)
White Christmas Christmas Videos (Click to Play)
Rate Different Artist Versions of White Christmas
| Artist Name | Current Rating | Your Rating | Preview |
|---|
| Alan Jackson | | | |
| Andrea Bocelli | | | |
| Andy Williams | | | |
| Anne Murray | | | |
| Babyface | | | |
| Barbra Streisand | | | |
| Beach Boys | | | |
| Bing Crosby | | | |
| Boney M | | | |
| Brenda Lee | | | |
| Burl Ives | | | |
| Carpenters | | | |
| Celtic Woman | | | |
| Chicago | | | |
| Cliff Richard | | | |
| Coldplay | | | |
| Connie Talbot | | | |
| David Foster | | | |
| Dean Martin | | | |
| Destiny's Child | | | |
| Diana Krall | | | |
| Dolly Parton | | | |
| Doris Day | | | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | | | |
| Frank Sinatra | | | |
| Garth Brooks | | | |
| George Strait | | | |
| Hanson | | | |
| Jack Jones | | | |
| Jim Nabors | | | |
| Jim Reeves | | | |
| John Denver | | | |
| Johnny Cash | | | |
| Johnny Mathis | | | |
| Katharine Mcphee | | | |
| Kenny G | | | |
| Kenny Rogers | | | |
| Louis Armstrong | | | |
| Lynn Anderson | | | |
| Mahalia Jackson | | | |
| Manhattan Transfer | | | |
| Martina Mcbride | | | |
| Michael Bolton | | | |
| Michael Buble | | | |
| Nana Mouskouri | | | |
| Neil Diamond | | | |
| New Kids On The Block | | | |
| Oak Ridge Boys | | | |
| Otis Redding | | | |
| Patti Labelle | | | |
| Pavarotti | | | |
| Perry Como | | | |
| Phil Spector | | | |
| Rat Pack | | | |
| Ray Conniff | | | |
| Ray Stevens | | | |
| Reba Mcentire | | | |
| Roger Whittaker | | | |
| Rosemary Clooney | | | |
| Statler Brothers | | | |
| The Beatles | | | |
| The Temptations | | | |
| The Ventures | | | |
| Toby Keith | | | |
| Twisted Sister | | | |
| Vanessa Williams | | | |
| Wayne Newton | | | |
| Willie Nelson | | | |
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