As we enter the holiday season, it’s nearly impossible to escape the sounds of holiday standards warbling through PA systems and speakers wherever you go. Holiday music is an incredibly lucrative industry with a wide-ranging and enduring appeal, and many recording artists release albums of Christmas music—which often feature the same tunes that have been in rotation for decades. Perhaps one of the most famous of these songs is “White Christmas,” the melancholy standard written by Irving Berlin.
Writing a Classic
Born to a Jewish family in the Russian Empire, Irving Berlin—born Israel Isidore Beilin—immigrated to New York city in 1893 at the age of five. After spending his teenage years performing as a singer in saloons across the traditionally working-class Lower East Side of Manhattan, Berlin got his first job as a staff lyricist with a prominent Tin Pan Alley music publisher, the Ted Snyder Company. From there, Berlin established himself as one of the most prolific songwriters of the 20th century.
Berlin played no small part in the development of the pantheon of music that comprises The Great American Songbook—though “White Christmas” is arguably one of his most widely-known and well-loved songs. Berlin authored the tune for the 1942 release of Holiday Inn, starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.
“White Christmas” and World War II
The first public performance of “White Christmas” was on the set of the NBC radio show Kraft Music Hall on December 25, 1941. Sung by host Bing Crosby with the backing of the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, this performance came just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the song did not enjoy immediate commercial success.
It was not until Decca Records released the single of the tune in May of 1942 as a part of the promotion for the film release of Holiday Inn did the song begin to gain traction on the air. As the United Status became more entrenched in World War II, the melancholic, pensive tune began to rise in popularity even more. “White Christmas” first topped the charts at the end of 1942. Soon, requests for Bing Crosby’s recording of the nostalgia-seeped song—which reflects on holidays spent in the near-distant past—became one of the most-requested songs ever on the Armed Forces Network.
The song’s success was almost inseparable from the holidays during wartime. In December of 1942, department store Neiman-Marcus decorated their Christmas tree with a theme titled “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” Featuring over $10,000 worth of war bonds and stamps, the tree was “fashioned entirely of non-priority materials,” and both the tree and its associated event were held for the benefit of the Army and Navy.
A 1942 Newsweek article reports that the song enjoyed meteoric success in Britain as well, stating that “Sheet music here and in Britan have touched a million. For a song to reach the top over there at the same time it reaches its height here, incidentally, is most unusual.” The tune remained pervasive throughout the wartime years during the holiday season.
Cinematic Release of White Christmas
In 1954, Paramount Pictures released the motion picture film, White Christmas, sharing a name with Berlin’s song. The film was a technical spectacle for the time, featuring song and dance numbers shot in Paramount’s brand-new VistaVision technology.
The film features Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye playing the parts of a famous Broadway singing duo Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who initially met while serving in the 151st Division during World War II. Through a series of comedic misadventures, the two find themselves on a northbound train to Vermont with a hopeful sister act, the Haynes Sisters, played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. Upon their arrival in Vermont, they discover that their beloved former general, General Waverly, is running a ski lodge at risk of closure.
The closing number of the film features the song “White Christmas” at a Christmas Eve concert orchestrated by Crosby’s Bob Wallace for the benefit of General Waverley.
Panoramic shots of the inn show veterans of the 151st Division in uniform paying tribute to their general. Even 13 years after its first performance just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the film echoes the same themes that led to the initial popularity of “White Christmas” in mid-century culture.
A Season Standard
While “White Christmas” rose to the top of the charts more than 80 years ago, its appeal to audiences has endured over time. Crosby’s 1942 recording of the tune would prove to become the best-selling single of all time, and the recording was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2002 as part of their National Recording Registry. This song, widely enjoyed by generations of people across the world with a history deeply tied to wartime, remains a favorite today.
Whatever you may be celebrating this holiday season, the staff at the American Heritage Center wishes that all your days be merry and bright.
Post contributed by AHC Audiovisual Archivist Jessica LaBozetta.
Sources:
- Allen, E. (2014). Trending: A White Christmas. The Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2014/11/trending-a-white-christmas/
- Marling, K. A. (2000). Merry Christmas!: Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday. Harvard University Press.
- Neiman-Marcus Christmas Tree Decorated With $10,000 In War Bonds And Stamps: “I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas,” Theme Of 1942 Gift Promenade For Benefit Of Army And Navy Camps. (1942). Women’s Wear Daily, 65(115), 3-3, 6.
- Snowed Under. (1942, Dec 28). Newsweek, 20, 74-75.