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The Christmas Waltz

{{Short description|1954 song by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne}}

{{About|the Christmas song|the Mad Men episode|Christmas Waltz (disambiguation){{!}}Christmas Waltz}}

{{Infobox song

| name = The Christmas Waltz

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| artist = Frank Sinatra

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| A-side = "White Christmas"

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| released = {{Start date|1954}}

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| genre = Christmas

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| writer = Sammy Cahn
Jule Styne

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"The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of "White Christmas",(1954) "White Christmas/The Christmas Waltz" by Frank Sinatra [78 RPM disc label]. Los Angeles: Capitol Records CL 14174. in 1957 for his album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra,(1957) A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra by Frank Sinatra [album jacket]. Los Angeles: Capitol Records W 894. and in 1968 for The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas.(1968) The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas by Frank Sinatra featuring Frank Sinatra, Jr., Nancy Sinatra, and Tina Sinatra [album jacket]. Burbank: Reprise Records FS 1026.

Background and recording

Cahn recalls, "One day during a very hot spell in Los Angeles the phone rang and it was Jule Styne to say, 'Frank wants a Christmas song.'"{{Harvnb|Cahn|1974|p=138}}. Cahn resisted. "Jule, we're not going to write any Christmas song. After Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas'? The idea's just ridiculous." Styne was emphatic, however. "'Frank wants a Christmas song.'"

The two met in Styne's apartment to begin work on the project, and Cahn asked the composer, "'Hey, Jule, has there ever been a Christmas waltz?' He said no. I said, 'Play that waltz of yours.' He did so," and Cahn began work on the lyrics of "The Christmas Waltz", which many other artists have also recorded.

Referring to the line that goes, "And this song of mine, in three-quarter time," Cahn writes, "You'll notice there's an impure rhyme in that lyric, 'mine' and 'time'."{{Harvnb|Cahn|1974|p=139}}. He notes that another of his collaborators, Jimmy Van Heusen, would not have let him get away with such an imperfection but that Styne was not quite so rigid.

For what would become the B-side of "White Christmas", Sinatra first recorded "The Christmas Waltz" with a chorus as well as an arrangement by Nelson Riddle on August 23, 1954.{{cite web|url=http://www.blue-eyes.com/blog/frank-sinatra-discography/c/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102161605/http://www.blue-eyes.com/blog/frank-sinatra-discography/c/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 January 2013|title=Songs Recorded by Frank Sinatra Beginning with the Letter C|publisher=Blue-Eyes.com|accessdate=29 November 2012}} On July 16, 1957, Gordon Jenkins took over the arranging, and The Ralph Brewster Singers provided backing vocal on the recording for A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra. On August 12, 1968, Riddle again provided arrangements, but it was The Jimmy Joyce Singers who lent their voices to the recording for The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas.

In 1992, Mel Tormé made a recording of the song for his first-ever Christmas album, for which the liner notes indicate that "Mr. Cahn wrote a new full set of additional lyrics as a personal gift to Mel."(1992) Christmas Songs by Mel Tormé [CD booklet]. Cleveland: Telarc CD-83315.

There was not a version of the song that reached any of the various charts in Billboard magazine, however, until the 2003 holiday season when Harry Connick Jr. reached number 26 with it on the Adult Contemporary chart during a two-week stay that began in the issue dated January 3, 2004.{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2004|p=29}}.

Covers

"The Christmas Waltz" has been covered many times over the years by a wide variety of artists, including:

Notes

{{Reflist|2}}

References

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book

| last = Cahn

| first = Sammy

| author-link = Sammy Cahn

| title = I Should Care: The Sammy Cahn Story

| publisher = Arbor House

| year = 1974

| location = New York

| isbn = 0-87795-090-3

| url-access = registration

| url = https://archive.org/details/ishouldcaresammy00cahn

}}

  • {{citation

| last = Whitburn

| first = Joel

| title = Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004)

| year = 2004

| publisher = Record Research Inc.

| isbn = 0-89820-161-6

}}

{{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Waltz, The}}

Category:Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn

Category:Songs with music by Jule Styne

Category:Frank Sinatra songs

Category:American Christmas songs

Category:Songs about dancing

Category:1954 songs