White Christmas

Fun Facts:

• Written by Irving Berlin in 1940.
• When he finished composing, Berlin yelled to his secretary, “I just wrote the best song I’ve ever written–heck I just wrote the best song that anyone’s ever written.”
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide.
• National Public Radio included it in its NPR 100, a list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century.
• Crosby’s version holds the distinction of being ranked #2 on the Songs of the Century, behind Judy Garland’s Over the Rainbow, as voted by members of the RIAA.

Featured Artist: Bob Marley & The Wailers

• Recored in 1965 and released as a single.
• It was included in a posthumous compilation, Destiny: Rare Ska Sides from Studio 1.
• The background vocals owe a great debt to the version done by The Drifters in 1954, who owe a debt to the version recorded by The Ravens in 1948.
• The music is more a dirge than the rock-steady, ska, or reggae that would come years later.

Notable Covers:

• Frank Sinatra, 1944
• Jo Stafford, 1946
• The Ravens, 1948
• Ernest Tubb, 1949
• Barbra Streisand, 1967
• Otis Redding, 1968
• The Partridge Family, 1971
• Dionne Warwick featuring Coro I Piccoli Musici,  2004
• Boy George, 2009
• Lady Gaga, 2011