For some reason, many of us associated Christmas with snow and it may be just because of this song. Written by Irving Berlin in 1940, this song became THE Christmas song and still remains one of the most popular songs ever. Legend has it that Berlin was known to stay up all night writing songs and after writing this one, he told his musical secretary “Grab your pen and take down this song. I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written – hell, I just wrote the best song that anybody’s ever written.”
Berlin was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who had very little experience with Christmas, so he struggled with the song at first. But he wrote “White Christmas” after hearing Los Angeles residents, transplanted from the North, long for snow – something never found in sunny LA. In fact, an original verse poked fun at those who longed for a snowy Christmas in palm tree riddled LA, but it was removed before recording.
Bing Crosby first performed the song for the public on The Kraft Music Hall in December of 1941. He recorded the song in May 1942 and was an instant hit. Its sense of melancholy and sentimentality really hit home during the time – World War II was in full swing. It was at the top of the charts for eleven weeks, and then returned to number one again in 1945 and 1946. It has sold more than fifty million copies. The Guinness Book of Records lists “White Christmas” as having sold the most singles (although they list Elton John’s Princess Diana tribute, Candle in the Wind, as the biggest selling single since records began).
Some people may think that the movie White Christmas was the first to feature Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas,” but it was actually featured first in Berlin’s movie Holiday Inn. It received the Academy Award for Best Song in 1943.
We all are probably familiar with the Bing Crosby version of “White Christmas,” but did you also know that over 75 others have recorded it including The Beach Boys, Air Supply, Chicago, Crash Test Dummies, Al Green, Reba McEntire, the Partridge Family, Leon Redbone, Twisted Sister, and oddly enough, the California Raisins.