| Personally, I try to avoid listening to Christmas music but it’s an impossible task due to seasonal songs blaring in every store and in my house. Despite my Scroogelike demeanor I do enjoying learning about how these songs came to be. Here are some Christmas music factoids. After composing “White Christmas”, Irving Berlin told his secretary that he just written the best song of all-time. However, when Berlin played it for Bing Crosby, the crooner was indifferent and casually commented “I don’t think we have any problems with that one, Irving.” Ironically, Crosby’s “White Christmas” has become the best-selling single of all time, with over 50 million copies sold. Berlin so despised Elvis Presley’s 1957 version of “White Christmas” that he tried to get it banned from the radio. Berlin also composed “Happy Holidays” and “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm”. Mel Tormé and Bob Wells wrote “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) on a blistering hot summer day as a way to stay cool. “Silver Bells” was inspired by Salvation Army bell ringers. It was originally titled “Tinkle Bells” until composer Jay Livingston’s wife pointed out the unsavory connotation of “tinkle,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was written as a prayer for peace by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. “Oh, Holy Night” was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847. The hymn became the first song ever transmitted wirelessly during the first radio show ever broadcasted. On Christmas Eve,1906 host Reginald Fessenden broadcasting from Brant Rock, Massachusetts played the song on his violin. Fessenden, an employee of Thomas Edison, was a genius who held over 500 patents. The German hymn, “Stille Nacht” was first performed on Christmas Eve,1818. The hymn was then translated into other languages including the English version, “Silent Night”. British troops, shivering in their Northern France trenches on Christmas Eve 1914, heard German soldiers singing “Stille Nacht”. The Brits began singing the English version and soon both sides emerged from their trenches to meet, exchange gifts, and even play soccer. The brutal warfare resumed on December 26. Quick question: How old do you think Brenda Lee was when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1960. (answer below). Voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the 1966 TV movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Ravenscroft also did excellent work as the voice of Tony the Tiger in Frosted Flakes commercials. On December 16, 1965, aboard NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight, “Jingle Bells” became the first song to be played in space. The first Christmas song to top Billboard’s top 100 pop singles was 1958’s “The Chipmunk Song” (Christmas Don’t Be Late). The Chipmunks also won three Grammy’s that year. So much for those who believe the 1950s were America’s most sophisticated decade. The Chipmunk Song was the only Christmas song to top the Billboard charts until 2019, when Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” finally hit number one. Mariah Carey and co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, reportedly wrote “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in just fifteen minutes. The song provides Mariah with roughly $500,000 in additional income every year. The Pogues allegedly earn 1M per year for “Fairytale of New York”. Slade’s “Merry Christmas Everybody” also rakes in an estimated 1M per holiday season. Angus Wielkopolski, considered to be Britain’s most prolific goat farmer, claims that his goats produce 20% more milk when listening to Mariah’s hit. Angus had previously experimented with heavy metal tunes and “Old Macdonald had a farm” before settling on “All I want for Christmas”. Trivia Answer: Brenda Lee was thirteen when she sang that Christmas hit. Finally Finally, if you are ever hired by forces of evil that want to extract sensitive information from me, know that there is an extended version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” called “The “179 Days of Christmas”. It runs for 8 hours and 56 minutes but I would probably start spilling my guts by the start of the third verse. Have great weekend. If you are looking for the perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer, check-out my book “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Visit www.tedcurtinstories.com for to see reviews and connect to online retailers. |
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