Christmas Traditions - Songs to celebrate
The tradition of listening to Christmas songs play on the radio at that special time of year is as common for American families as it is for our kids to sing the carol ‘Jingle Bells.’ Three of the popular Christmas songs we hear again and again over the holidays were sung by gentlemen who have earned recognition across the world. Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, and the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley are three of many talented singers of Christmas songs.
Roy Rogers and Gene Autry are the best known as the singing cowboys from movies like “Back in the Saddle Again” which is still a favorite for many. Gene also sang several classic Christmas Songs including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” written by songwriter Johnny Marks in 1949. By 1970, the recording of “Rudolph” sold over 60 million copies, making it one of the best selling Christmas songs of all time. He also co-wrote the well known song, with Oakley Haldeman, “Here comes Santa Claus”.
The ‘granddad’ of this trio was Bing Crosby. Although he had recorded popular music classics beginning in the first half of the 20th century, it wasn’t until the recording of ‘White Christmas’ in 1942 that he became world famous. The song originally was one of many in the musical, “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Just about every other singer has taken their turn recording ‘White Christmas’, including Bing Crosby’s successor, Frank Sinatra. Elvis Presley also recorded this song in 1957, which leads to the next entertainer who made “Blue Christmas” famous.
Elvis Presley’s one million seller song , ’Blue Christmas,’ wasn’t an original song, the lyrics having been written in 1945 by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson. There are twelve traditional carols and songs on ‘Elvis Christmas Album’. Four of them, “Here Comes Santa Clause”, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”, “Silent Night”, and “White Christmas”, were all previously recorded by Bing and Gene. This shows that those Christmas songs we all love that were made popular by Bing Crosby and Gene Autry were but are continued on by Elvis Presley.
All three of these legendary singers; Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, and of course, the unforgettable king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley ; are among the few on the music talent list which became known by their first names. It’s because of them that the songs from the 1940’s and 50’s remain popular today.