Royalty free photo public domain @Wikimedia Commons
An event broadcast for the first time on the radio on December 25, 1941, and which, in some way, launched the tradition of Christmas songs.
“White Christmas“: a sad Christmas song that ranks number 1 in sales!
It is December 25, 1941. On this Christmas Day, the singer Bing Crosbythen at the height of his glory, hosts his own radio show, The Kraft Music Hallon the airwaves of NBC. A great showman at heart, he decides to perform a song, which will very quickly become “his monument” : “White Christmas“. If the melancholy title, which in reality tells of the tragic loss of a child, achieves a certain success, it will be necessary to wait a few months later for the title exploded the singer's career.
Accompanied by John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers, Bing Crosby records a first version of “White Christmas“on May 29, 1942 in the Decca studios. Bing doesn't know it yet, but he has just recorded his biggest success, which still holds today, the world record for singles soldwith more than 50 million copies across the world. 83 years after his release, Bing Crosby still remains number 1, even entering the Guinness World Records !
Obviously, such success is enough to attract. If Bing's version remains number one in the hearts of Christmas fans, the title will have been covered more than 500 times, as many by jazz artistsas Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding et Louis Armstrongbut also by more contemporary singers, like Celine Dion or the group Coldplay. And as the language barrier is never an obstacle in music, the song was obviously translated into French by Francis Blancheand has been covered by artists like Tino Rossi, Mireille Mathieu or even Christophe.
Also note that White Christmas received a Oscarthe one from best original song in the movie Holiday Innreleased in 1942, always sung by Bing Crosby. If the song was not at all a composition dedicated to the work, the director Mark Sandrich thought it would be a great idea to integrate it into his film. And he was right!
