The Christmas Song



"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.

According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born. "I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells') piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in spring 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made later the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

Nat King Cole recordings
First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, June 14, 1946. Label credit: The King Cole Trio (Nat King Cole, vocals & piano; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist). Not issued until 1989, when it was (accidentally) included on the various-artists compilation Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954) Rhino R1 70637(LP) / R2 70637(CD).

Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocals & piano; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Jack "The Bear" Parker, drummer; Charlie Grean, arranger and conductor of 4 string players and a harpist). Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311 (78rpm). This recording is available on the 2000 Cole compilation CD Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety-Two, as well as on a CD called The Holiday Album, which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby.

Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1953. This was the song's first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocals; Buddy Cole, pianist; John Collins, guitarist; Charlie Harris, bassist; Lee Young, drummer; Charlie Grean, Pete Rugolo and Nelson Riddle, orchestral arrangement; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor). Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the "new" Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat "King" Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the 1990 Cole compilation CD Cole, Christmas, & Kids, as well as on the various-artists CD Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the 1991 Mosaic Records box set The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio. This version is sometimes (though quite rarely) played on the radio during the Christmas season and is nearly identical to the popular 1961 recording. Aside from being in mono, it is easy to tell apart from the 1961 version in that the final notes (the "Jingle Bells" guitar coda) sounds faster and more rushed.

Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, March 30, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo, is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and has become the most popular/familiar version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocals; Hank Jones, pianist; John Collins, guitarist; Charlie Harris, bassist; Lee Young, drummer; Charlie Grean, Pete Rugolo and Ralph Carmichael, orchestral arrangement; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor). The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical to the 1953 version, but the vocals are much deeper and more focused. Originally done for The Nat King Cole Story (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole's earlier hits), this recording was later included in a reissue of Cole's 1960 holiday album The Magic of Christmas replacing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Retitled The Christmas Song, the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of "The Christmas Song" is also available on numerous compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. For example, it is available on WCBS-FM's Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3. An alternate take of the 1961 recording, featuring a different vocal and missing the solo piano on the instrumental bridge, appears on the Deluxe Edition of the 2014 compilation The Extraordinary Nat King Cole.

There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on the Decca label, but his was released first – not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Howard was a big Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want to Thank Your Folks" and "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons", among others.

Mel Tormé recordings
Mel Tormé himself made several recordings of the song, including versions released in 1955 (on his live Coral Records album At the Crescendo), 1961 (on his Verve Records album My Kind of Music), 1970 (on a Columbia Records promo single), 1990 (in a medley with "Autumn Leaves", on his live Concord Records album Mel Tormé Live at the Fujitsu–Concord Festival 1990), and 1992 (on his Telarc Records album Christmas Songs).

The 1970 Columbia version of the song adds an opening verse, written in 1963 while Tormé was working as musical arranger for The Judy Garland Show. He first performed and introduced the opening verse while duetting with Garland on the song for the show's Christmas Special, which aired on December 22, 1963:

Additionally, his recordings typically include a coda adapted from "Here We Come A-wassailing":

Other notable renditions
"The Christmas Song" has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres. It has charted by the following:
 * Christina Aguilera on the 2000 album, My Kind of Christmas: No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart; No. 22 on the Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles chart
 * Michael Bublé in 2003: No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart) - included on the EP Let It Snow (EP) Also, covered by Joan "The Big Mama of Music" (Feat. Joey Sontz) in 2017: Released as a Charity Single for The American Cancer Society (Digital Single).
 * Lauren Daigle in 2018: No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Christian Songs chart.

Other artists who have recorded the song include:


 * Justin Bieber, in a duet with Usher, from his 2011 album Under the Mistletoe.
 * Vince Guaraldi Trio for their 1965 soundtrack album A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 * Kenny Burrell for his 1966 album Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas.
 * Bishop Caines for his 1978 album Christmas Memories of Nat King Cole.
 * Rosemary Clooney recorded this song twice. Her first recording appeared on the 1978 album Christmas with Rosemary Clooney, while the second recording first appeared on her 1996 album White Christmas.
 * Perry Como also recorded the song twice, once in 1953 for both the Christmas Joy single and his album Around The Christmas Tree and again in 1959 for the album Season's Greetings from Perry Como.
 * Bing Crosby recorded the song on March 19, 1947 with the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra. Their version was released as a single later that same year.
 * John Denver for his 1975 album Rocky Mountain Christmas.
 * Celine Dion for her 1998 album These Are Special Times. The instrumental track for Celine's version was later sampled on Michael Bublé's 2003 version.
 * Billy Gilman for his 2000 album Classic Christmas.
 * Dexter Gordon for his 1970 album The Panther!.
 * Jessie, James, and Meowth for their 2001 album Pokemon Christmas Bash.
 * Whitney Houston for her 2003 album One Wish: The Holiday Album.
 * Liberace, with his brother George Liberace and his orchestra, for their 1954 album Christmas at Liberace's
 * Frank Sinatra for his 1957 album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra.
 * Stevie Wonder for his 1967 album Someday at Christmas.
 * The Jackson 5 for their 1970 album Jackson 5 Christmas Album.