Covers – White Christmas

A white christmas is something we rarely get here near Atlanta, Georgia. The tune though has been around all my life. The song “White Christmas” was written by Irvin Berlin^[1] for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn^[2]. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards.

The song was first introduced by Bing Crosby in the film where Crosby played the character Jim Hardy. The movie that starred Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds. Crosby performed the song in a scene set on Christmas Eve. The song’s lyrics reflect a longing for a traditional snowy Christmas, evoking nostalgic and sentimental feelings. Bing Crosby’s record topped the Billboard chart for 11 weeks in 1942 and returned to the number one position again in December 1943 and 1944. His version would return to the top 40 a dozen times in subsequent years.

Since its release, “White Christmas” has been covered by many artists. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the world’s best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media), with estimated sales in excess of 50 million physical copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby’s, sales of the song exceed 100 million. Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California,

while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there. He often stayed up all night writing. One day he told his secretary, “I want you to take down a song I wrote over the weekend. Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it’s the best song anybody ever wrote.”

Crosby recorded the song for Decca Records on May 29, 1942. The 10-inch shellac single – U.S. (Decca – 18429) ran 3 minutes and 2 seconds long. The single was released later that year and became an immediate hit. The success of “White Christmas” led to the production of a film of the same name in 1954, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It has been featured in numerous films, television shows, and commercials, contributing to its enduring popularity.

Irving Berlin’s opening verse, contrasting the sunshine and warmth of Christmas in California with the narrator’s desire for a traditional holiday setting of winter snow, is often dropped in recordings. It is included on A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, sung by Darlene Love; on Barbra Streisand’s A Christmas Album; on the Carpenters’ Christmas Portrait, sung by Karen Carpenter;

on Neil Diamond’s The Christmas Album; on Bette Midler’s Cool Yule; on Libera’s Christmas Album; and on Crash Test Dummies’ Jingle All the Way. The melancholy tone of the verse is sometimes linked to the death of the Berlins’ son, Irving Berlin Jr., on Christmas Day 1928, less than one month after he was born.

There have been over 2300 cover versions that I’ll list here. Just kidding, but here are some of the notable ones. The Mel-Tones (1945), Ink Spots (1947), Perry Como and Mixed Chorus with Lloyd Shaffer and His Orchestra (1947), Kate Smith – Orchestra conducted by Jack Miller (1947), Ernest Tubb (1949), Eddy Arnold, The Tennessee Plowboy and His Guitar (1950),

Patti Page (1951), Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra and Chorus (1952), Louis Armstrong and Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (1952), Arthur Godfrey and All the Little Godfreys (1953), Les Paul and Mary Ford (1954), Rosemary Clooney with Percy Faith and His Orchestra and The Mellomen (1954), The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter and Bill Pinckney (1954),

Elvis Presley (1957), Pat Boone (1957), Johnny Mathis (1958), Dean Martin (1959), Connie Francis – Orchestra conducted by Geoff Love (1959), Peggy Lee (1960), Paul Anka (1960), Ella Fitzgerald (1960), Chet Atkins (1961), Hank Snow (1962), Kitty Wells and The Jordanaires, 1962), Walter Brennan (1962), The 4 Seasons (1962), Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Seville (1962),

Frankie Avalon (1962), Andy Williams (1963), The Miracles (1963), Darlene Love (1963), Jim Reeves (1963), The Osmond Brothers (1963), Doris Day (1964), Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme conducted by Joe Guercio (1964), The Beach Boys (1964), Burl Ives (1965), The Supremes (1965), Jimmy Dean (1965), The New Christy Minstrels (1966), Loretta Lynn (1966), Wayne Newton (1966),