Today is the third day of 12 classic Christmas songs and our classic Christmas song of the day is “The Christmas Song,” as performed by Nat King Cole. According to performing rights organization BMI, it’s the most-performed Christmas song of all time.
Nat King Cole recorded “The Christmas Song” four different times. The first was in June of 1946, with just his Trio. Six months later, they re-recorded it with the addition of a small string section; this version became a big hit. Then, in 1953, Mr. Cole recorded it again, using a similar arrangement as the second version but with a whole orchestra, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Finally, Cole recorded a completely different version in 1961, again with a full orchestra (in stereophonic sound!), this time arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. This last version is considered the definitive one and it’s probably the one with which you’re most familiar.
All versions have their merits. The Nat King Cole Trio’s original 1946 version of “The Christmas Song” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. Mr. Cole’s 1961 version was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Many people don’t know that “The Christmas Song” was written by legendary singer Mel Tormé and his songwriting partner Robert Wells. According to legend, they wrote this on a hot summer day in July of 1945, while trying to “stay cool by thinking cool.” As Mel tells the story:
“I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells’s) piano with four lines written in pencil. 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.”
One of my favorite stories concerns an unrecognized older Mel Tormé sitting in the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper, and being approached by a group of young-ish carolers singing “The Christmas Song.” He surprised them by taking the last chorus himself; as one of the somewhat clueless carolers commented, “You know, you’re not a bad singer.” No, he wasn’t. Read the whole story here, as told by writer Mark Evanier, who witnessed (and precipitated) the whole thing.
“The Christmas Song” is a song we all know the words to, even if we sometimes get the title wrong. (Many folks just call it “Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire,” and that’s okay.) It’s a terrific song however you hear it, and it’s one of my favorites.
As a bonus, here’s the Velvet Fog himself singing the song we wrote. It’s great, as you might expect.
