As mentioned, there was one new seasonal song introduced in 1945 that had lasting impact: "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne!
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| Sammy Cahn in deep thought as Jule Styne looks on! |
It was published and recorded in a number of versions in 1945, but was most popular at the beginning of 1946, as a winter song. In subsequent years, it's become co-opted as a Christmas/Holiday song, like so many others, and has been recorded so many times that it makes your head spin.
Let's get back to basics, though, and check out the "Billboard" chart from January 31, 1946, when the song hit Number One:
They mention the competing versions available, so we'll give them all a listen!
The biggest selling version was by Vaughn Monroe on Victor:
Curious that the blurb from "Billboard" has a typo and calls the Norton Sisters "Morton!"
Vaughn Monroe is an interesting case study, as he was a singing bandleader and as such was actually able to increase his popularity as the singers started taking over from the big bands. When he started recording in 1940, it was more like he was a bandleader who sang (and played trumpet), whereas by 1945 he was more like a singer who led a band - if that makes any sense!
Next up is Connee Boswell, whom we ran into in 1936 when she was a member of the Boswell Sisters (and still spelled her name as "Connie!"). By now, she was an established solo star and teamed up with Russ Morgan's band for this version on Decca Records:
Connee was a great singer and very much admired!
As seen in the lobby card above, Connee usually performed sitting down, the result of contracting polio as a child, but she overcame that disability to have a great career!
The most obscure artist of the bunch is Danny O'Neil, a talented singer when tons of other talented singers were fighting for the spotlight. He cut his take of the tune on the smaller Majestic label:
Not bad and definitely has more of an orchestral backing (courtesy of Ruby Newman) than the others, which have a "band" sound.
Speaking of band sounds, Woody Herman had assembled his "First Herd" by this time and they laid down this awesome version for Columbia Records:
Woody could really sing as well as play alto sax/clarinet and seemed more willing than a lot of veteran bandleaders to change with the times and I think Neil Hefti's arrangement on this record still has a fresh sound.
Sonny Berman has the trumpet solo here and Bill Harris plays the spectacular trombone solo!
Last up is another singing bandleader: Bob Crosby, forever known as Bing's younger brother, but a very successful performer in his own right. Here's his take on the independent ARA label:
Another solid version!
Bob sounded like Bing but I don't think tried to copy him. He had a great band before the war and formed a new group after having served in the Marines.
So, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" was a popular sing back in the day that seemed to gradually morph into a holiday standard!
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