The Christmas Song
One of the most memorable songs of the season, The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting on an open fire...) always succeeds in conjuring up a feeling of winter chill, Christmas spirit, warmth and love.
Which is pretty funny, considering the men who wrote it in 1946, Mel Tormé and Bob Wells, did so on a swelteringly hot and sunny day in California, in an attempt to cool themselves down by coming up with the most wintery things they could think of!
Mel Tormé was a child prodigy who first began performing at the age of 4. From the age of 8, he starred in a couple of radio series, The Romance of Helen Trent, and Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy. He wrote his first song at 13, and at age 16 his first published song, Lament to Love, became a hit for bandleader Harry James.
By 17 years old, he was a member of a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers, and by 18 he made his movie debut in none other than Frank Sinatra's first film, Higher and Higher! Before he was 20 he formed the quintet Mel Tormé and his Mel-Tones which was modeled on Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers, and then in 1947, his appearance in the film musical Good News made him a teen idol.
He had his own radio show the Mel Torme Show in the 1950s and also worked with Judy Garland as a musical advisor, writing special musical material, and appearing as a guest on the program.
We're all much more familiar with Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song, but you can watch Mel Tormé and Judy Garland sing the classic together below, which includes the opening to the song (before the bit about the chestnuts) which you almost never hear anymore.
Happy listening my friends,