"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby

"White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin and originally performed by Bing Crosby, is arguably the most successful Christmas song of all time. It remains the best selling single of all time, with the possible exception of "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John. It also remains the most recorded Christmas song, with more than 500 versions in various languages existing. It might come as a surprise to many that originally it was not regarded as anything special, even after its debut in Holiday Inn (1942).

Stories vary as to precisely where and when Irving Berlin wrote "White Christmas". the December 21 1954 issue of The Los Angeles Mirror states that Irving Berlin wrote the song's melody in August 1938 and then set it aside until later. In the December 14 1954 issue of The Los Angeles Examiner Irving Berlin said that he had written it for a revue he had planned on producing, then changed his mind about it and set it aside. One story about the writing of "White Christmas" is that Mr. Berlin wrote it in 1940 in La Quinta, California while he was staying at the La Quinta Hotel. Another version of this story is that he wrote it in 1940 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.

It was in May 1940 that Irving Berlin signed a contract with Paramount Pictures to write songs for a film based around his idea of an inn that opened only on holidays. Holiday Inn (1942) would be shot from November 18 1941 to January 30 1942. While "White Christmas" was included prominently in the film, Bing Crosby would actually perform the song well before shooting began on Holiday Inn. It was on the Christmas edition of The Kraft Music Hall, December 25 1940, that Bing Crosby first performed "White Christmas". Bing Crosby would later record the song with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers for release in conjunction with the movie Holiday Inn. "White Christmas" was released, along with other songs from the movie, on July 30 1942, only a few weeks before the release of Holiday Inn on August 4 1942.

While "White Christmas" would go onto arguably be the most successful song of all time, Irving Berlin originally did not have high expectations for it. In fact, the consensus at the time was that the big hit from Holiday Inn would be "Be Careful, It's My Heart", the song used for St. Valentine's Day in the film. Even Bing Crosby didn't see anything special about "White Christmas." Initially "Be Careful, It's My Heart" did outsell "White Christmas" by a long shot, but the latter song eventually gained momentum. By October 31 1942 "White Christmas" was no. 1 on the Billboard Best Selling Retail Records chart. It would go onto be the best selling record of 1942. It would later win the the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The success of the song would lead to the movie White Christmas (1954), often regarded as a loose remake of Holiday Inn. While no exact sales figures exist for the song, it is estimated that it has sold at least 50 million copies. Versions of the song have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, The Drifters, Andy Williams, Otis Redding, and many, many others.

In the end there is perhaps no other song more closely associated with Bing Crosby, certainly no other Christmas song. He would perform it many, many times over the years. Indeed, nearly every Christmas TV special made by Mr. Crosby ended with a performance of the song. Here from his final Christmas special (Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, which aired on November 30 1977), is Bing Crosby performing "White Christmas."