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“White Christmas” could be a best-seller Christmas Song ever, but the background of the song is less concerned with tidings of comfort and happiness than with the tragedy of loss and war.
Written by composer Irving Berlin, this iconic tune is best known for its beloved version sung in 1942 bing crosbyHowever it has been covered by many other artists over the decades.
The sad tune and sad lyrics were supposed to be a nostalgic song reflecting on Christmas past – but in fact, Berlin didn’t even celebrate Christmas: he was a Russian-born Jewish man who came to America as a child.
For berlinThe holiday season commemorates her son, who died at only three weeks old on Christmas Day in 1928. The songstress visited her son’s grave every year, while other families spent time with each other and opened gifts around the Christmas tree.
The song was initially written for the 1942 film holiday InnBut Crosby first performed the song on a radio show sponsored by the Kraft Company on Christmas Day 1941 – just 18 days after attack on pearl harbor,
Although the song expressed a more secular attitude toward the holiday season than other Christmas songs of the time, its popularity increased the following year as young American soldiers were drawn to it. World War II. The Christmas tune began to be played on armed forces radio to console troops overseas as it became an anthem of hope.
Crosby traveled around the world to perform for troops and found that “White Christmas” was his most requested song, even though he was apparently hesitant to perform it due to the troops’ reaction.
The singer once said in an interview, “God knows, I didn’t come this far just to make them sad. For that reason, I tried to take it out of the show several times, but these people just kept clamoring for it.”
Crosby’s nephew, Howard Crosby, told spokesperson-review In 2016: “I once asked Uncle Bing about the hardest thing he did during his entertainment career. He didn’t have to think about it. He said that in December 1944, he was in a USO show with Bob Hope and the Andrews Sisters. They did an outdoor show in northern France.”
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He added, “At the end of the show, he had to stand there and sing ‘White Christmas’ with 100,000 GIs in tears without breaking down himself. Of course, many of those boys were killed in the Battle of the Bulge a few days later.”
“White Christmas” became one of the best-selling songs of all time, selling over 50 million copies worldwide. At Berlin’s suggestion, the song directly inspired the 1954 film During Christmaswhich starred Crosby and featured him singing the song. Guinness Book of World Records It was declared the best-selling physical single of all time in 2012.
The 1942 master recording of the song, which was the version heard by the troops, deteriorated due to overuse and had to be remastered in 1947. However, the 1942 remaster was released in 1999 and is still available today.