Things you didn't know about The Christmas Song! Behind the Christmas Hits

The first Christmas standard ever introduced by a black singer would go on to become the most performed Christmas song ever.  This is the story behind…The Christmas Song.  

The story of how it was written is a famous one. In 1945, Mel Torme and Bob Wells would take turns going over to each other’s houses to write songs. On one smoking hot July day in Toluca Lake, California, Mel went to Bob’s house and found a spiral pad of paper sitting on the piano with four lines scribbled down. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire – Jack Frost nipping at your nose." 

Mel asked “what’s this?” And Bob said it was so blistering hot, he tried writing some wintery verse to mentally cool him off. Mel said you haven’t just cooled me off – you’ve written a song here.
 
Mel wrote the melody and helped Bob finish the lyrics…and 45 minutes later, they had a song.
 
They drove over to Van Husen Publishing to share it with the decision makers there, who weren’t impressed.

The same afternoon, they drove over to Nat King Cole’s house. They played it and Nat said “play it again.” After the second play, Nat said “that’s now my song.”

Mel Torme was a successful singer in his own right, so you’d think he have some regret over not keeping this for himself. Mel’s son James, also a jazz singer, has said that his dad’s solo career  hadn’t taken off yet…and that he and Bob recognized that in 1945, Nat King Cole was becoming the man. He was exploding in popularity and to have him sing it would give the song it’s best chance to succeed.  
 
Nat King Cole recorded FOUR different versions over the years, starting in June 1946. Cole’s record label, Capital Records, wanted him to stand and sing, but Cole decided to sit and play the piano himself while singing. 
 
He wasn’t happy with the way things went, so despite strong objections from his label, Cole went back into the studio to re-record it in August. That version added a small string section and while it was a hit that Christmas, it’s not the version that’s most played now.  

Cole would record it again in 1953 again adding a full orchestra, but we didn’t get the now iconic version until 1961. Every time Cole would go back to the studio to re-record it, he would add more players and in ’61 that trend continued…but this time, it was recorded in stereo. And according to what Mel Torme wrote in his autobiography, the rest could be called our financial pleasure.  
 
If Nat King Cole’s is the most famous, who’s version comes in second?  Going by chart performance, that would be Christina Aguilera, who recorded it for her My Kind of Christmas album 20 years ago. Her version peaked at #18 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
 
But there have been so many versions over the years. Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, John Legend, Doris Day, Justin Bieber, James Brown and countless others.  So many versions that according to Broadcast Music Inc – a performing rights organization – The Christmas Song is now the most performed Christmas song ever.  

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