Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas
Encyclopedia
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas: The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook is a two-disc audio CD collection of Bing Crosby
's Christmas music recorded for the Decca
label between 1935 and 1956. It was released by Universal Music Group
on the Decca label on October 6, 1998. Crosby's performance of Christmas songs has become legendary ever since his 1942 recording of "White Christmas", for the movie Holiday Inn
, achieved the status. The most prolific period for his Christmas recordings was between 1942 and 1955, including his Christmas songs recorded with The Andrews Sisters
. Crosby recorded more Christmas music titles for other labels later in his career.
Disc Two:
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
's Christmas music recorded for the Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
label between 1935 and 1956. It was released by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
on the Decca label on October 6, 1998. Crosby's performance of Christmas songs has become legendary ever since his 1942 recording of "White Christmas", for the movie Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn (film)
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
, achieved the status. The most prolific period for his Christmas recordings was between 1942 and 1955, including his Christmas songs recorded with The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
. Crosby recorded more Christmas music titles for other labels later in his career.
Album Information
This collection contains all of Crosby's Decca label Christmas recordings, including some duplications of titles for completion's sake ("Silent Night", "White Christmas", and "Adeste Fideles"), recorded at different points in his career. The songs are presented in a loose chronological order. Also included are two previously unreleased songs-an alternate version of his original May 29, 1942 recording of "White Christmas", and a February 21, 1935 recording of "Silent Night". This 1935 version of "Silent Night" was not released due to Crosby's feelings that a popular entertainer should not release such a religion-based song ; however, a second recording of the song was released later.Tracklisting
Disc One:- "Happy HolidayHappy Holiday (song)"Happy Holiday" is a popular song composed by Irving Berlin during 1942.The song was first performed by Bing Crosby for the 1942 film Holiday Inn. While it is often regarded as a Christmas song, in the movie it is performed on New Year's Eve, and expresses a wish for the listener to enjoy "happy...
" (recorded June 1, 1942) - "Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
" (previously unreleased, first version, recorded February 21, 1935) - "Adeste FidelesAdeste Fideles"Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...
" (recorded November 12, 1935) - "Silent Night" (recorded November 13, 1935)
- "White ChristmasWhite ChristmasA white Christmas refers to the presence of snow on Christmas Day. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere...
" (recorded May 29, 1942) - "Adeste Fideles" (recorded June 8, 1942)
- "Silent Night" (recorded June 8, 1942)
- "God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is an English traditional Christmas carol. The melody is in Aeolian mode. It was published by William B...
" (recorded June 8, 1942) - "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (recorded October 1, 1943)
- "Ave MariaAve MariaAve Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...
" (recorded July 30, 1945) - "White Christmas" (recorded March 19, 1947, this version is the most played and considered the "standard" version. This re-recording was made due to the acetate of the 1942 version becoming too degraded in quality to reproduce further copies.)
- "Silent Night" (recorded March 19, 1947)
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)The Christmas Song"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
" (recorded March 19, 1947) - "O Fir Tree Dark" (recorded March 28, 1947)
- "The First NoelThe First NoëlThe First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
" (recorded May 11, 1949) - "You're All I Want for Christmas" (recorded May 11, 1949)
- Christmas Carols (Medley): "Deck the Halls/Away in a MangerAway in a Manger"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...
/I Saw Three ShipsI Saw Three Ships"I Saw Three Ships " is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. A variant of its parent tune "Greensleeves", the earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833...
" (recorded May 31, 1949) - Christmas Carols (Medley): "Good King WenceslasGood King Wenceslas"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen . During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step,...
/We Three Kings of Orient Are/Angels We Have Heard on HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
" (recorded May 31, 1949) - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
" (recorded June 22, 1950) - "That Christmas Feeling" (recorded September 6, 1950)
- "Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter" (recorded September 8, 1950)
- "A Marshmallow WorldMarshmallow World"Marshmallow World" is a popular Christmas song that was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose . Although it has been recorded by many artists, it was first a hit for Bing Crosby...
" (recorded September 8, 1950)
Disc Two:
- "Christmas in KillarneyChristmas in Killarney"Christmas in Killarney" is an Irish Christmas song written by John Redmond, James Cavanaugh and Frank Weldon, copyright 1950. This song has been performed by many artists, most notably Bing Crosby on his album Merry Christmas. The singer Ruby Murray also recorded a version during the 1950s, as did...
" (recorded October 1, 1951) - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ChristmasIt's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a classic Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"...
" (recorded October 1, 1951) - "Sleigh RideSleigh Ride"Sleigh Ride" is a popular light orchestral piece composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946; he finished the work in February 1948. Lyrics, about a person who would like to ride in a sleigh on a winter's day with another person,...
" (recorded November 17, 1952) - "Sleigh Bell Serenade" (recorded November 12, 1952)
- "Christmas Is A-Comin'" (recorded November 22, 1955)
- "The First Snowfall" (recorded November 22, 1955)
- "Is Christmas Only a Tree" (recorded November 23, 1955)
- "I Heard the Bells on Christmas DayI Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1864 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.- Origin :...
" (recorded October 3, 1956) - "Jingle BellsJingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded September 27, 1943) - "Santa Claus Is Coming to TownSanta Claus Is Coming to Town"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....
" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded September 27, 1943) - "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded May 10, 1949)
- "Here Comes Santa ClausHere Comes Santa Claus"Here Comes Santa Claus " is a Christmas song written by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman.Autry got the idea for the song after riding his horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade in Los Angeles, during which crowds of spectators chanted, "Here comes Santa Claus". This inspired him to write a song...
" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded May 10, 1949) - A Crosby Christmas (Medley) - Part One: "That Christmas Feeling/I'd Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus" (recorded September 5, 1950)
- A Crosby Christmas (Medley) - Part Two: "The Snowman/That Christmas Feeling/I'd Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus" (recorded September 5, 1950)
- "Poppa Santa Claus" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded September 7, 1950)
- "Mele KalikimakaMele Kalikimaka"Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song that takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase, "Mele Kalikimaka," meaning "Merry Christmas." The phrase is borrowed directly from English, but, since Hawaiian has a different phonological system "Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas...
" (with The Andrews Sisters, recorded September 7, 1950) - "Silver Bells" (with Carol Richards, recorded September 8, 1950)
- "Little Jack Frost, Get Lost" (with Peggy Lee, recorded November 17, 1952)
- "White Christmas" (with Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, and Trudy Stevens, recorded April 10, 1954)
- "Snow" (with Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, and Trudy Stevens, recorded April 10, 1954)
- "White Christmas" - (previously unreleased, alternate take, recorded May 29, 1942)
- "Let's Start the New Year Right" (recorded May 25, 1942)
See also
- Holiday Inn (film)Holiday Inn (film)Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
- White Christmas (soundtrack)
- White Christmas (film)White Christmas (film)White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...
- The Andrews SistersThe Andrews SistersThe Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...