Did you know that some of the Christmas Songs that have become Classics
have some pretty interesting stories behind them?
Here are some of them
"Silent Night"
The story of this song follows the young priest Joseph Mohr from the small Austrian town of Oberndorf, back in 1818, who wrote it inspired by the difficult life of that period. He wanted to give people some kind of comfort and new hope, after the Napoleonic Wars, and he considered Christmas time to be the perfect time for something like that. It was composed on Christmas Eve, Mohr wrote it together with his organist Franz Xaver Gruber, and due to a malfunction in the church organ, they performed it for the first time with guitar accompaniment. It was the beginning of the musical journey of the song that has been translated into almost all languages of the world and is a symbol of Christmas.
"Jingle Bells"
Jingle Bells is one of the most popular holiday songs, loved by both the youngest and the slightly older, but what is interesting is that it was not written for Christmas. It was written by James Lord Pierpont in the 1850s, and was originally titled “The One Horse Open Sleigh” and was intended as a song to celebrate American Thanksgiving. Until it became a popular Christmas tune. It was renamed "Jingle Bells" in 1857, and 108 years later, on December 6, 1965, it became the first song played in space, which was done by the Gemini 6 crew, after they secretly brought jingle bells and an accordion onto the spacecraft.
"White Christmas"
The song, which consists of only 54 words and 67 notes, was written by the Russian-Jewish immigrant and composer Irving Berlin in 1938 or 1939, it is not known for sure, while he was living and working in New York. He went there to earn a living, and he missed the family he left behind in Russia so much that he dedicated the lyrics that are now very famous to them. It was broadcast on the radio shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, arousing the nostalgia of the surviving soldiers who longed for their homes and their loved ones.
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
This song was first performed on Eddie Cantor's radio show in 1934, and was written by American composer James "Haven" Gillespie. It is one of the more cheerful Christmas melodies, but it was inspired by the great sadness that its author felt after the loss of his own brother. It was Cantor who called Gillespie and asked him to write a Christmas song for the show after hearing the sad news. He initially refused because he thought he would not be able to write a cheerful Christmas song, but he changed his mind after remembering his childhood and memories of his brother and mother warning him as a boy that Santa Claus was watching him. Feeling inspired, he wrote the lyrics in about 15 minutes and hired John Coots to compose the music. Within 24 hours of its debut, the song became a huge hit, which it remains to this day.
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
When songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine originally wrote this holiday classic for the 1944 cult film, "Meet Me in St. Louis," its lead star, actress Judy Garland, didn't like it. She found it so sad and said that her co-star Margaret O'Brien would cry for her, which is why the writers changed the version of the song to the one that can be heard in the film. In the original lyrics, the tone of the song was much darker and more melancholic, as the song was meant to convey emotions during difficult times (the film takes place during World War II). However, Judy was too depressed for the scene where she comforts her younger sister with the song. Therefore, Martin and Blane changed the lyrics and transformed it into a more optimistic and Christmas-appropriate version. Today, it is a symbol of hope, nostalgia and holiday spirit, and is one of the most listened to Christmas songs.
"Let It Snow!"
Or "let it snow" is probably what composer Jule Styne and songwriter Sammy Cahn desperately wanted in July 1945 when they wrote this song in Los Angeles. It was so hot that they imagined an idyllic winter day, and the song, although not directly related to the Christmas holidays, has become one of his trademarks. The first known version of the song was recorded in 1945, performed by Vaughn Monroe, and later included in their repertoire Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald and others.
"Last Christmas"
It was created quite by accident in 1984 by the legendary musician George Michael, who wrote and produced it one weekend in his bedroom. He got the inspiration for the melody completely spontaneously while watching television, after which he got up and went to the keyboard and played the now recognizable melody of his group Wham. Interestingly, although the song is often considered a Christmas classic, it is not about Christmas, but about a love story, betrayal and emotions, and it never reached the top of the British music charts because it was surpassed by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, in which George also participated. This happened only in 2021, 36 years after the original release. What is certain is that "Last Christmas" is one of the most broadcasted and best-selling Christmas songs of all time as a symbol of the holiday season and that it is revived every year thanks to the radio stations, films and playlists on which it is included.
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