Les Brown & his Orchestra feat. Doris Day : The Christmas Song
[purchase]
John Edwards: The Christmas Song
Out of print
Smokey Robinson & The Temptations: The Christmas Song
[purchase]
The Christmas Song might be the best of all Christmas songs in the pop canon. It was written in the space of 45 minutes on a hot summer’s day in 1944. Mel Tormé wrote the lyrics, Bob Wells the lyrics — on that hot day the lyricist sought to conjure images of winter in a bid to keep cool.
It was first recorded in 1946 by the King Cole Trio, also on a hot day. These recordings apparently did not make great waves. The trio recorded a new version in 1953, with an orchestral arrangement by Nelson Riddle. The version that we are most familiar with is Nat ‘King’ Cole’s 1963 recording, which is closely patterned on the 1953 take, right down to the jingle bells outro.
Tormé recorded the song he co-wrote in around 1954, and again in 1961 for the My Kind Of Music album, and in 1992. Also see this delightful video of Tormé and Judy Garland (wondering about flying rainbows) from Garland’s 1963 Christmas show. A couple of weeks ago, Glee paid homage to Garland’s Christmas special, to great effect.
But none of these versions feature here. First we have Doris Day and the Les Brown Orchestra doing The Christmas Song in 1946, around the same time the Cole Trio recorded the orignal. Note how this version incorporates strains of the "Noel" carol, and plays out with a nod to "Silent Night" where Nat would later opt for "Jingle Bells".
Then there is a slow-burning version by John Edwards from 1976, which sounds a lot like Donny Hathaway might have sung it. Edwards, an excellent soul singer in his own right who was once mentored by Curtis Mayfield, later became lead singer for The Spinners, most notably on "Working My Way Back To You".
A rather different soul version is delivered by Motown giants Smokey Robinson and The Temptations. I am unsure when they recorded it, but comments on the video on YouTube suggest the year 1987.
Normally contributors to the Star Maker Machine don't really plug their own blogs, but I think it is fair, at this time of the year when some may need a fix of new seasonal music, to make readers of this blog aware of the Christmas mixes I have posted in the past, ranging from soul to country to "Christmas in Black & White" and, of course, pop. ALL HERE.
And so, to my fellow contributors and all readers, may your Christmas be bright and may the new year bring you lots of joy.
Photo by Phill Joynes (www.wellexposed.com)
Doris Day: Here Comes Santa Claus
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I love Doris Day. I do. I love her movies, I love her voice, I love her persona. There's not much about her that doesn't seem squeaky clean and completely likable, and the fact that she's so believable at it is what seals the deal. That clear as a "bell" voice is perfect for holiday classics. Alas, while she was recording albums, she only released one full Christmas album, it was only later that her record labels compiled all the songs she had recorded for Christmas otherwise and put them together. I am so glad they did, because the one I have is just wonderful and fills me with joy...something I think Christmas music really ought to do.
Her version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" is lovely and fun, and begins with plenty of jingling bells and then continues with xylophone, which is a bell of sorts depending on who you ask. It's one of my favorite versions of this holiday classic.
Doris Day: That Jane from Maine
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No one seemed to really give a hoot last time I posted a Doris Day tune, but what the hay--I don't see anyone else piping up with a Maine song! The song comes from her 1959 film It Happened to Jane, also starring Jack Lemmon. The movie wasn't terribly successful (I also haven't seen it yet... whither Jane, TMC?), though Day had plenty to sing about later the same year when Pillow Talk came out.
I don't know. Kind of a goofy song, but in a harmless, innocent sort of way. She does have a few others that I think are fantastic, though. Probably won't be the last of Day you see around these parts...
Doris Day: (Why Did I Tell You I Was Going to) Shanghai
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Before she became the biggest star in Hollywood, Doris Day was one of the biggest big band singers in the country (that's a lot of bigness). In fact her singing career continued from the 40s through the 60s. She retired from it all in the late 60s, today living quietly in Carmel. Vanity Fair just published an excerpt from her forthcoming biography, Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door, to be published next month.
This tune comes from a double-disc anthology spanning her entire career and it's a great way to get to know Day's ouerve. Just about all of her songs are terrific fun.
