How did I miss this Christmas song! It was the song that we would always hear on the radio or on TV when I was a kid. Not too many people know that the music and some of the lyrics were written by the singer Mel Tormé, with most of the lyrics produced by Bob Wells back in 1944. Tormé talked about how the song got created in his autobiography “It Wasn’t All Velvet.” It was a ridiculously hot summer in Southern California, so he and Bob Wells made an effort to, as he put it, “stay cool by thinking cool.” Tormé continues: “I saw a spiral pad on Bob Wells’ piano with four lines written in pencil. They started, ‘Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’ Bob didnt 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.” According to Ace Collins in his book “Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas,” when the song was completed, Tormé immediately thought of his friend Nat King Cole. The two songwriters then drove to Cole’s house in Los Angeles and played it for him. Cole liked the song, and asked the writers to hold it for him while he made arrangements to record it. Cole actually recorded the song four times between 1946 and 1961. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded it on June 14, 1946. At Cole’s request – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made later the same year utilizing a small string section. This version became a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. It is that last recording that is most often played on the radio and in stores during the holiday season. The original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. It’s not really Christmas without Nat King Cole singing this song in his rich baritone voice. I’ve included the 1961 version for your enjoyment. https://youtube/watch?v=I5s8h2d1RK8
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:54:30 +0000
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