ORIGINS OF POPULAR CHRISTMAS SONGS

B Y : J A N E X I O N G

So what started the tradition of holiday music?

.Music is a universal concept that draws many different cultures together and gathers international influences. A popular genre of music are holiday songs that are played in every restaurant, shop, and car radio during the holiday season. You and your family might sing these tunes at your annual Christmas gathering. You might know all the lyrics to these songs by heart, but the Wha orit's gins in o tf hthis ese songs become a large question mark. Here are the origins of 4 Christmas songs n that ews h le ave tter b: ecome iconic melodies throughout the times. SEASONAL

HOME VALUES

Winter Wonderland PEAK- 3

Winter Wonderland was written by Richard Smith in the early 1930’ s and originated in Pennsylvania. At the time, Smith was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and while he was being treated, he daydreamed about carefree winter days and playing in fresh snow. That ultimately sparked his interest in writing a poem that descriptively portrays the images inside his head.

After being satisfied with his poem, Smith shared it with another musician, Felix Bernard. In 1934, Bernard set out to compose a melody to go along with the words. After that, the song found its way to Richard Himber (a violinist and composer) who then recorded the very first version of Winter Wonderland. Finally, Guy Lombardo, a band leader and show man, heard the recording and modified Himber ’ s rendition of the song, causing it to gain tremendous popularity. Sadly, Smith passed away from tuberculosis at age 34, thus never getting to see his work come into fruition.

Let it Snow

Despite its clear winter themed lyrics, Let It Snow never actually references Christmas specifically and was in fact written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn on one of the hottest days in Hollywood, which was in July of 1945. Styne and Cahn tried to get their minds off the heat by thinking about cooler weather and things associated with the winter, such as snow. In the same year Let It Snow was first written, Vaughn Monroe recorded the first version of the song, in which it instantly became a hit and even made it to #1 on the charts!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Here Comes Santa Claus was first written and performed by Gene Autry. Autry ’ s first inspiration for the song developed in 1946, where he rode his horse in the 1946 Santa Claus Lane Parade in Los Angeles(now known as the Hollywood Christmas Parade), in which crowds repeatedly chanted “Here comes Santa Claus!” . After Autry wrote the song, Oakley Hadelman set out to compose it. Autry ’ s first recording of the song was in 1947 and it was released as a single by Columbia Records, when it simultaneously became a pop hit. In 1949, Autry performed the song in his movie The Cowboy and the Indians and re-recorded it for Columbia in 1953 and, for his own label, Challenge Records, in 1957

Rockin ' Around the Christmas Tree

Rockin ' Around the Christmas tree was written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958, and since Lee had a mature sounding voice, she was asked to record the song despite the fact that she was only 13 years old at the time! When the song was initially released in 1958 and in 1959, it was unsuccessful, until Brenda Lee started becoming popular from her first singles in 1960. During Christmas of 1960, Rockin ' Around the Christmas Tree gained a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and kept climbing the charts. By the song ' s 50th anniversary in 2008, the song had sold over 25 million copies with the 4th most digital downloads sold amongst all other Christmas singles.