Seasonal Songs - "It's Winter Again" (1932)

Here's another seasonal song, "It's Winter Again," this one from 1932, so it even predates "Winter Wonderland" by a couple of years!

"It's Winter Again" got a handful of recordings when it was published, but unlike "Winter Wonderland," it never got a big revival to transform it into a standard.

But, it's a fun tune, so let's hear it!

First up is Hal Kemp and his Orchestra with vocalist Skinnay (then billed as "Skinny") Ennis on Brunswick Records:

Fun how the arrangement (maybe by John Scott Trotter) sets a seasonal mood. It also may be John Scott Trotter playing the Schroeder-esque "Jingle Bells" notes, as he was the pianist/arranger for the Kemp band from its start as a student band at the University of North Carolina until he left to become Bing Crosby's musical director in 1937.

I like Hal Kemp's records a lot. The style just screams early 1930s to me and the vocals of Skinnay Ennis, another UNC alum, fit perfectly!

You may recall that we heard Skinnay singing the much more famous seasonal song "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" on Bob Hope's radio show back in 1945!

Another fun seasonal arrangement is served up by Felix Ferdinando and his Orchestra on the Crown label:

I like that a lot, but I have to admit that I'm not familiar with Felix Ferdinando or vocalist Al Gaudette. Or Crown Records, for that matter!

I think Felix was the brother of Angelo Ferdinando, whom we heard performing "Winter Wonderland" in 1934. I'd say Angelo won the sibling battle over more memorable seasonal song!

Much more well-remembered than either of the Ferdinandos is Isham Jones, who led a very popular band in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Here's his recording of  "It's Winter Again" with Frank Sylvano's vocal on Victor Records:

The arrangement for that record doesn't try to conjure up a seasonal mood like the first two, but it's really good!

I don't know if it's the work of Gordon Jenkins, but he worked as an arranger for the Jones band before embarking on his highly successful career as arranger/conductor/composer.

Intriguingly, Isham Jones also recorded an instrumental version of "When Winter Comes" with the same arrangement:

Apparently this instrumental version was for "theater use." Whatever the case, I think it's awesome to have the two versions!

A fun seasonal song!