Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé.
According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born. "I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells') piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."
The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made later the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
Night Lights is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons recorded in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.
AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars with its review by Scott Yanow stating, "One of his first recording sessions after he returned to the scene following a rather severe jail sentence was this tribute to Nat King Cole... was quickly forgotten as Ammons recorded some more commercial material and this set was not released for the first time until 1985. Ammons is in excellent form".
Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R&B, but his career was hampered by two incarcerations on drugs charges.
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh,
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
(Repeat)
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé.
According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born. "I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells') piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."
The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records – a second recording was made later the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
Night Lights is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons recorded in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.
AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars with its review by Scott Yanow stating, "One of his first recording sessions after he returned to the scene following a rather severe jail sentence was this tribute to Nat King Cole... was quickly forgotten as Ammons recorded some more commercial material and this set was not released for the first time until 1985. Ammons is in excellent form".
Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R&B, but his career was hampered by two incarcerations on drugs charges.
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh,
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
(Repeat)
![Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians - The Meaning Of Christmas Medley [Album] (Capitol Records 1961)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ez0aZYbJung/mqdefault.jpg "Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians - The Meaning Of Christmas Medley [Album] (Capitol Records 1961)
The Meaning Of Christmas Medley is a double sided album with the first side of the record consisting of choral settings of 13 familiar Christmas tunes strung together by Warings spoken reflections on the meaning of Christmas. Christmas means many things to many people, Waring intones in his introduction to the joyful Holiday. It means gifts, glamour, celebration, meditation, reunion, reminiscence, old friends...a time of great joy. The second side consists of only two tracks. The first is the Pennsylvanians jolly six-minute rendition of Twas the Night Before Christmas, which is probably the most famous musical adaptation ever recorded of that everlastingly popular holiday staple. The record concludes with The Song of Christmas, a 17-minute medley of sacred carols sequenced to tell the Biblical Christmas story. Let us not forget that to all men of goodwill who would pray for peace, Christmas means Christ, Waring suggests in an introduction tainted slightly by unintentional religious chauvinism. The record contains several charming performances, but among the highlights are the pretty Carol of the Bells and a snappy piano rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that recalls Warings jazzy roots.
The Meaning of Christmas Medley was composed by Fred Waring, Boland, Frank Cunkle, Jerry Toti, Johnny Marks, Leo M. Tellep, Mark Lawrence, Moe Jaffe, Mykola Leontovych, Roy Ringwald, Sherman Feller, and Victor Herbert
Fredrick Malcolm Waring (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was a popular musician, bandleader, and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as Americas Singing Master and The Man Who Taught America How to Sing. He was also a promoter, financial backer and eponym of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market.
Warings Pennsylvanians was a dance band that was founded at Penn State University by Fred Waring.
First named the Collegians, the group was formed in 1918 at Penn State by the brothers Fred and Tom Waring and their friends Freddy Buck and Poley McClintock. They had a hit in 1925 with the song Collegiate. Other popular novelty songs were Ive Never Seen a Straight Banana and I Wonder How I Look When Im Asleep.
In 1929 they appeared in the movie Syncopation and on stage in The New Yorkers the following year. Their popularity increased in the 1930s with their presence in radio and movies. During the 1940s, they performed on Broadway and at the Worlds Fair and became the first band to broadcast its own TV show. From 1950–1970, they became a corporation that branched into workshops, real estate, and a magazine.
From 1923 until late 1932, Warings Pennsylvanians were among Victor Records best-selling bands. In late 1932, Waring abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, You Gotta Be a Football Hero was performed on radio to great acclaim. His 1930 recording of Love For Sale by Cole Porter is one of the only period versions of this popular song.
Adding a mens singing group to his ensemble, he recruited Robert Shaw, recently out of the Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the Robert Shaw Chorale and directed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Pembroke Davenport (1911–85) was Warings pianist and arranger.
During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. He composed and performed dozens of patriotic songs, his most famous being My America. In 1943, he acquired the Buckwood Inn in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania, and renamed the resort the Shawnee Inn. To promote the inn, he centered his musical activities at the inn itself. He created, rehearsed, and broadcast his radio programs from the stage of Shawnees Worthington Hall throughout the 1950s.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, Waring and His Pennsylvanians produced a string of hits, selling millions of records. A few of his many choral hits include Sleep, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Button Up Your Overcoat, White Christmas, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, and Dancing in the Dark.
The song, Breezin Along with the Breeze was used as a signature tune by Fred Waring")
