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Christmas Songs Made in America: Favorite Holiday Melodies and the Stories of Their Origins
Covers "Away in a Manger," "Jingle Bells," "White Christmas," and "Jingle Bell Rock"
Exploring the origins of 50 American Christmas songs from the Civil War to present day, the husband-and-wife writing team presents a treasury of stories to celebrate the season's heartfelt cheer. Two-color art.
Exploring the origins of 50 American Christmas songs from the Civil War to present day, the husband-and-wife writing team presents a treasury of stories to celebrate the season's heartfelt cheer. Two-color art.
- GenresMusicChristmasNonfiction
178 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1999
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 27, 2015
I'm re-reading this in December of 2013. I don't remember reading it in 2002. I'm enjoying it and I think I can write a review this time after I read it. Maybe even up the stars.
December 4, 2023
AN EXCELLENT HISTORICAL PRESENTATION OF THE BACKGROUNDS OF THESE SONGS
Authors Albert & Shirley Menendez wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “Many of the great Christmas songs have a vitality and universality of appeal, such that the season would be incomplete without them. for [this book]. we have selected some of the most hallowed and familiar Yuletide songs from many idioms---popular, folk, rock, sacred, and country. We tell the history behind these songs---the circumstances of their composition, anecdotes from those who composed or recorded them, and some reasons for their enduring popularity. It is hoped that these stories will add to your enjoyment when you hear the songs or sing them with family and friends. All the songs selected herein were written by Americans and thus constitute a uniquely American contribution to the festive season.
They say of ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’: “This 1951 carol conveys a mood of pleasantry and of seasonal celebration… It invariably appears on radio and in public places as the Christmas shopping season begins (earlier every year, it seems). Some of the words clearly belong to a simpler time and place. The song mentions, for example, five-and-ten-cent stores… as well as a tree in the ‘Grand Hotel.’ … The great Meredith Wilson gave us this song… His claim to musical fame rests largely on the success of ‘The Music Man’ in 1957,l his first stage musical.” (Pg. 11)
They tell of ‘The Christmas Song’: “This 1946 ballad composed by lyricist Robert Wells and singer-songwriter Mel Torme is a good example of the Christmas-in-July syndrome. This slow-tempo, wintry-feeling song first saw the light on a broiling July afternoon… Torme remembered driving to Wells’ … home… walking to the piano, Torme spotted a writing pad … with the first four lines of a Christmas ditty… [Wells] said it was so hot that he ‘wrote something to cool myself off, and all I could think of was Christmas and cold weather. [Torme] wrote, ‘We sat down together at the piano, and, improbable as it may sound, ‘The Christmas Song’ was completed about forty-five minutes later.’ … The duo… promptly drove into Hollywood and played it for several friends, including Nat King Cole… Cole recorded the song with strings and a studio orchestra, and the public loved it… Cole’s biographer… wrote that Cole’s version …. ‘set a new fashion in standard Christmas tunes, selling so well that other popular singers rushed to record it. But it was forever after associated with Cole.” (Pg. 28-29)
They note, “In his ‘Stories of Christmas Carols,’ Ernest K. Emurian suggested that Christmas music… could be divided into three parts---hymns, carols, and songs. Christmas hymns, he said, were ‘religious poems written to be sung and addressed to or descriptive of one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.’ Carols were not quite as formal or spiritual in content, format, and style. And songs were, well, more popular and secular in nature… earlier generations tended to accept this division and to judge Christmas music accordingly. Music historians do not agree on which song or hymn is America’s first Christas carol. Some have argued for the ‘Huron Carol’ (‘Jesus is born’), written in the early seventeenth by a French missionary in a native Indian language, though this more properly belongs to Canada than to the United States… A good case can be made that ‘Shout the Glad Tidings’ was the first American Christmas hymn…” (Pg. 41-42)
They recount, “Many people will be surprised to learn that ‘Away in a Manger’ is American in origin and was not written by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century… The myth was repeated until a brilliant work refuting it was written by Richard S. Hill in the ‘Music library Association Notes’ in December 1945. Through painstaking and exhaustive research, Hill concluded that there was no German original of ‘Away in a Manger’ in Luther’s voluminous writings…:” (Pg. 43-44)
They turn to ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’: “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poem’s author… was no stranger to sorrow. His first wife was burned to death when candles in their … home ignited her clothing in 1861… he was inconsolable in this grief. Longfellow’s bereavement was accentuated when his son, Charles, was gravely wounded during the Civil War. It was that sorrow that led to his writing the poem, ‘Christmas Bells,’ a year later… A note of hopefulness and triumphant idealism returns in the sixth stanza … because ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep,’ a memorable evocation of faith in the ultimate triumph of righteousness. ‘The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,’ the author proclaims. Longfellow clearly identified the Union cause as synonymous with right and the Confederate cause as totally evil, which made his poem highly unpopular in the South. Stanzas reflecting these sentiments were soon removed from the musical version, which was written in 1872.” (Pg. 48-49)
They say of ‘Jingle Bell Rock,’ “In a 1990 interview [Bobby] Helms recalled that he was unsure about whether Christmas and rock’n’roll would meld as a concept. But this song, the first one to employ rock in the service of Christmas, proved popular. Ironically, it was written one hundred years after ‘Jingle Bells.’” (Pg. 82)
They note of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: “This might be the only Christmas song in musical history to have begun life as an advertising venture. In … 1961, Robert L. May, a young advertising copywriter at Montgomery Ward… was asked by his boss to write a short children’s book for Christmas… The boss liked [the second] version and it was printed in an enchanting edition that reached nearly 2.5 million people… Publishers … wanted to cash in on the charming tale… May’s brother-in-law, the prolific composer Johnny Marks, adapted the story to a musical format … Marks’s song resonated with a public eager to support underdogs and to see the worthy confound the wise… Merchandise spin-offs and television specials enhanced its success.” (Pg 97-98)
They tell the story of ‘White Christmas’: “It is, perhaps, a tribute to the ecumenical spirit of American that a Russian Jewish immigrant … should have written America’s most cherished Christmas song… one of his biographers … helps explain… that Berlin ‘had nostalgic memories of childhood Christmases on the Lower East Side, and especially of the Christmas tree belonging to his neighbors… He, too, shared in its charms and warmth.’ … Berlin consciously strove to make ‘White Christmas’ simple, universal, and unforgettable… he never paused to ponder the irony of a cantor’s son writing an anthem about a day celebrating the birth of Jesus.” (Pg. 126)
This book will be of great interest those wanting to know more about the background of these songs.
Authors Albert & Shirley Menendez wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “Many of the great Christmas songs have a vitality and universality of appeal, such that the season would be incomplete without them. for [this book]. we have selected some of the most hallowed and familiar Yuletide songs from many idioms---popular, folk, rock, sacred, and country. We tell the history behind these songs---the circumstances of their composition, anecdotes from those who composed or recorded them, and some reasons for their enduring popularity. It is hoped that these stories will add to your enjoyment when you hear the songs or sing them with family and friends. All the songs selected herein were written by Americans and thus constitute a uniquely American contribution to the festive season.
They say of ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’: “This 1951 carol conveys a mood of pleasantry and of seasonal celebration… It invariably appears on radio and in public places as the Christmas shopping season begins (earlier every year, it seems). Some of the words clearly belong to a simpler time and place. The song mentions, for example, five-and-ten-cent stores… as well as a tree in the ‘Grand Hotel.’ … The great Meredith Wilson gave us this song… His claim to musical fame rests largely on the success of ‘The Music Man’ in 1957,l his first stage musical.” (Pg. 11)
They tell of ‘The Christmas Song’: “This 1946 ballad composed by lyricist Robert Wells and singer-songwriter Mel Torme is a good example of the Christmas-in-July syndrome. This slow-tempo, wintry-feeling song first saw the light on a broiling July afternoon… Torme remembered driving to Wells’ … home… walking to the piano, Torme spotted a writing pad … with the first four lines of a Christmas ditty… [Wells] said it was so hot that he ‘wrote something to cool myself off, and all I could think of was Christmas and cold weather. [Torme] wrote, ‘We sat down together at the piano, and, improbable as it may sound, ‘The Christmas Song’ was completed about forty-five minutes later.’ … The duo… promptly drove into Hollywood and played it for several friends, including Nat King Cole… Cole recorded the song with strings and a studio orchestra, and the public loved it… Cole’s biographer… wrote that Cole’s version …. ‘set a new fashion in standard Christmas tunes, selling so well that other popular singers rushed to record it. But it was forever after associated with Cole.” (Pg. 28-29)
They note, “In his ‘Stories of Christmas Carols,’ Ernest K. Emurian suggested that Christmas music… could be divided into three parts---hymns, carols, and songs. Christmas hymns, he said, were ‘religious poems written to be sung and addressed to or descriptive of one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.’ Carols were not quite as formal or spiritual in content, format, and style. And songs were, well, more popular and secular in nature… earlier generations tended to accept this division and to judge Christmas music accordingly. Music historians do not agree on which song or hymn is America’s first Christas carol. Some have argued for the ‘Huron Carol’ (‘Jesus is born’), written in the early seventeenth by a French missionary in a native Indian language, though this more properly belongs to Canada than to the United States… A good case can be made that ‘Shout the Glad Tidings’ was the first American Christmas hymn…” (Pg. 41-42)
They recount, “Many people will be surprised to learn that ‘Away in a Manger’ is American in origin and was not written by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century… The myth was repeated until a brilliant work refuting it was written by Richard S. Hill in the ‘Music library Association Notes’ in December 1945. Through painstaking and exhaustive research, Hill concluded that there was no German original of ‘Away in a Manger’ in Luther’s voluminous writings…:” (Pg. 43-44)
They turn to ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’: “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poem’s author… was no stranger to sorrow. His first wife was burned to death when candles in their … home ignited her clothing in 1861… he was inconsolable in this grief. Longfellow’s bereavement was accentuated when his son, Charles, was gravely wounded during the Civil War. It was that sorrow that led to his writing the poem, ‘Christmas Bells,’ a year later… A note of hopefulness and triumphant idealism returns in the sixth stanza … because ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep,’ a memorable evocation of faith in the ultimate triumph of righteousness. ‘The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,’ the author proclaims. Longfellow clearly identified the Union cause as synonymous with right and the Confederate cause as totally evil, which made his poem highly unpopular in the South. Stanzas reflecting these sentiments were soon removed from the musical version, which was written in 1872.” (Pg. 48-49)
They say of ‘Jingle Bell Rock,’ “In a 1990 interview [Bobby] Helms recalled that he was unsure about whether Christmas and rock’n’roll would meld as a concept. But this song, the first one to employ rock in the service of Christmas, proved popular. Ironically, it was written one hundred years after ‘Jingle Bells.’” (Pg. 82)
They note of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: “This might be the only Christmas song in musical history to have begun life as an advertising venture. In … 1961, Robert L. May, a young advertising copywriter at Montgomery Ward… was asked by his boss to write a short children’s book for Christmas… The boss liked [the second] version and it was printed in an enchanting edition that reached nearly 2.5 million people… Publishers … wanted to cash in on the charming tale… May’s brother-in-law, the prolific composer Johnny Marks, adapted the story to a musical format … Marks’s song resonated with a public eager to support underdogs and to see the worthy confound the wise… Merchandise spin-offs and television specials enhanced its success.” (Pg 97-98)
They tell the story of ‘White Christmas’: “It is, perhaps, a tribute to the ecumenical spirit of American that a Russian Jewish immigrant … should have written America’s most cherished Christmas song… one of his biographers … helps explain… that Berlin ‘had nostalgic memories of childhood Christmases on the Lower East Side, and especially of the Christmas tree belonging to his neighbors… He, too, shared in its charms and warmth.’ … Berlin consciously strove to make ‘White Christmas’ simple, universal, and unforgettable… he never paused to ponder the irony of a cantor’s son writing an anthem about a day celebrating the birth of Jesus.” (Pg. 126)
This book will be of great interest those wanting to know more about the background of these songs.
January 4, 2020
I kind of loved this book, but I wish I read it before Christmas. It is full of interesting facts about all those Christmas songs you are delightfully bombarded with every year. Did you know that the Chipmunk song spawned the Chipmunks cartoon and not the reverse? That Silver Bells was almost Tinkle Bells? That Jingle Bells was a Thanksgiving song composed by JP Morgan’s uncle? That White Christmas, the most popular Christmas tune, was created by a Russian Jewish immigrant named Israel Baline? That We Need a Little Christmas is about trying to cheer up during the depression? Or that Let it Snow was written by a duo to cool off in the summer?
Want to read
August 18, 2023I. Celebrating the Season
Caroling, Caroling
A Holly Jolly Christmas
It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas
Jingle Bells
A Marshmallow World
Sleigh Ride
Winter Wonderland
II. Hearth and Home
Blue Christmas
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
I’ll be Home for Christmas
Let It Snow!
Pretty Paper
There’s No Christmas Like a Home Christmas
III The Holy Season
Away in a Manger
Do You Hear What I hear
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
The Little Drummer Boy
O Little Town of Bethlehem
There’s a Song in the Air
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Caroling, Caroling
A Holly Jolly Christmas
It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas
Jingle Bells
A Marshmallow World
Sleigh Ride
Winter Wonderland
II. Hearth and Home
Blue Christmas
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
I’ll be Home for Christmas
Let It Snow!
Pretty Paper
There’s No Christmas Like a Home Christmas
III The Holy Season
Away in a Manger
Do You Hear What I hear
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
The Little Drummer Boy
O Little Town of Bethlehem
There’s a Song in the Air
We Three Kings of Orient Are
December 27, 2020
I was expecting a bit more excitement out of the stories behind the songs but it was an absolute delight to read for the week coming up to Christmas and Christmas day. I found the perfect way for me to read it was to read the background first and then listen to the song while reading the original lyrics.
December 29, 2020
I found this little book to be quite delightful. It is full of interesting facts about all those Christmas songs you are bombarded with every year. I found some fun facts about the songs, people who wrote the words and music: now I would love to learn a bit more about all of the songs
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews