1940s Christmas Playlist - Part 2 - "White Christmas" (1942)

As we move into 1942 with our 1940s Christmas music playlist, we hit the big-time with Bing Crosby and "White Christmas!"

Bing introduced the song in the Paramount picture "Holiday Inn" and it won the best song Oscar for composer Irving Berlin and Bing's record became the biggest hit ever!

Let's give a listen to Bing's original recording on Decca Records:

Sounds good!

Tommy Dorsey, John Scott Trotter and Spike Jones seem amused with Bing's attempt at drumming!

A fun note is that the drummer in John Scott Trotter's orchestra was Spike Jones! He played with Trotter on Bing's "Kraft Music Hall" radio show and Bing's recording dates before the City Slickers took off and became Spike's full-time job! 

This original record was a game-changer in that it was so popular that it made the record companies realize that there was a lot of money to be made in seasonal records, although it seemed to take a bit of time for them to realize that other holiday songs besides "White Christmas" could be hits as well!

An interesting note is that Bing re-recorded the same arrangement of "White Christmas" in 1947 and that's the version that's been most commonly (practically exclusively) heard over the last 75-ish years.

The original recording has resurfaced here and there in the past 20-odd years or so, but for a long time you had to have the 78 to hear it!

I hear/read different things about why it was re-recorded. Maybe that the original master was worn out from the record being reissued so much. Maybe there was something that Bing didn't like in the original and thought he could do it better.

Whatever the case, here's Bing's familiar 1947 remake:

I guess you can play "spot the difference," but they're pretty close!

Going back to 1942, there were some other recordings of "White Christmas" that year, but the recording ban that went into effect on July 31st of that year limited the number of other versions.

There was a great version that made it under the wire, though. It's by Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra on Columbia Records, featuring vocalist Garry Stevens:

I'm extremely partial to vintage "dance band" records, so I love this one!

Charlie Spivak was another popular leader who I think had an underrated band. He was a tremendous "sweet" trumpeter (not a jazz soloist) with a great tone. And I think Garry Stevens was an excellent band singer.

Once the recordings ban was settled, there were more recordings of "White Christmas" and new ones still come out every year.

A good one from 1947 was this version by Eddy Howard and his Orchestra on Majestic Records:

As I mentioned when discussing Eddy's record of "Ebenezer Scrooge" a while back, I think he was a terrific singer and I really appreciate that he kept a band going into the 1950s to back him on his many hit records.

The Drifters

I think the most famous version next to Bing's is the 1954 recording by the Drifters, featuring Clyde McPhatter (in center of above photo) and Bill Pinkney (at left in photo and name spelled incorrectly on record label!) on Atlantic Records:

That cut has been reissued a zillion times in the last 30-odd years since CDs came along, and I can hear the influence of the Drifters version in "White Christmas" recordings from Elvis Presley to Michael Bublé, but there was a time when you had to have the 45 or 78 to hear it, and I thought I was really hip to be onto it!

The Ravens

That being said, I was astounded later (but still 30-odd years ago) to come across this 1948 recording by the Ravens as released on National Records:

Isn't that the craziest label credit ever? "The Raven's Rendition of: White Christmas." It's a copy editor's nightmare!

Whatever the case, there's no doubt the Drifters record is totally based on that Ravens arrangement.

I will say that the Drifters sound more polished and Clyde McPhatter is a zillion times better than Ravens tenor Maithe Marshall (bottom middle of above photo, but the bass singing of the Ravens' Jimmy Ricks (at top in photo) is absolutely tremendous!

I dig both records!

For one more version, let's go to 1959 for Esquivel with his "space-age" cut from RCA Victor's "The Merriest of Christmas Pops" LP:

That is pretty merry!

But Bing Crosby and "White Christmas" still sit at the top of that Christmas music mountain almost 80 years later!