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Do You Know the Story Behind This Christmas Classic?

Do You Know the Story Behind This Christmas Classic?

By Movieguide® Contributor

You may be dreaming of a white Christmas this year, but do you know the story behind the song?

Irving Berlin originally wrote the song for the movie HOLIDAY INN, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Legend has it that he wrote the wintery hit from sunny La Quinta, California, which might explain some of the original lyrics:

The sun is shining, the grass is green

The orange and palm trees sway

There’s never been such a day

In Beverly Hills, L.A.

But it’s December the 24th

And I’m longing to be up north …

But it got its start before the movie was released, its popularity exploding after Crosby performed it live.

The crooner introduced “the song in its first public performance when he sang it on Christmas Day 1941, as part of NBC’s Kraft Music Hall radio show.”

The performance came just days after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, making “White Christmas” Crosby’s most-requested song when he performed for troops overseas during WWII.

“I hesitated about doing it because invariably it caused such a nostalgic yearning among the men, that it made them sad,” he said in an interview. “Heaven knows, I didn’t come that far to make them sad. For this reason, several times I tried to cut it out of the show, but these guys just hollered for it.”

READ MORE: THE SURPRISING STORY BEHIND 4 CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SONGS

“Crosby would then record the song for Decca Records in May 1942, and it would go on to be featured in HOLIDAY INN, released in August of that same year. By October 1942, ‘White Christmas’ was at the top of the charts on the popular radio show Your Hit Parade. The song stayed on the Billboard charts for 11 weeks in 1942 and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song,” Reminder reported.

A few years later, it inspired the 1954 hit movie WHITE CHRISTMAS, starring Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

The song is still one of the most popular Christmas songs ever.

“…the Bing Crosby recording of the song has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide,” America Comes Alive! reported. “When the recordings by other artists are added to Crosby’s, the sales of the song reach a very impressive 150 million.”

READ MORE: DON’T LISTEN TO THIS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC WHILE YOU DRIVE — HERE’S WHY


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