Daily Sparkle CD - A Review of Famous Songs of the Past “Fascinating Facts” December 2017 Track 1 Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire The Christmas Song (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed Christmas song was born. "I saw four lines written on a notepad", Tormé recalled. "They started, "Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob (Wells, co-writer) hadn’t thought 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. Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show. Cole fought racism all his life and rarely performed in segregated venues. In 1948, Cole purchased a house in an all-white neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, still active in Los Angeles well into the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving in. Cole retorted, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain. "Cole maintained worldwide popularity throughout his life and even since his death. Track 2 I Wouldn’t Trade You For The World A hit for the Bachelors in 1963. The Bachelors are a popular music group, originating from Dublin, Ireland. Originally called The Harmonichords they changed their name to "The Bachelors" in 1962. Someone recommended the name "because that’s the kind of boy a girl likes." During the 1960s, they had many successful songs in music charts in Europe Australia, South Africa, South America, parts of the USSR, and the United States. Some of the most successful were "I Believe" (1961), "Charmaine" (1963), and "I Wouldn't Trade You for the World" (1964) and "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" (1965). In 1965 they had the 'most played juke box track' with "The Stars Will Remember". Track 3 Simple Gifts Simple Gifts is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett. The song was largely unknown outside Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used its melody for the score of Martha Graham's ballet Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Voices of Liberty Voices of Liberty is a world famous, eight part a cappella group that sings Americana, Folk and Patriotic Songs. Track 4 A Handful Of Songs This track is a popular song, written by Jay Livingston with lyrics by Ray Evans was published in 1947. The song appeared in the Bob Hope and Jane Russell film, The Paleface, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Tommy Steele OBE (born Thomas William Hicks, 17 December 1936), is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. Steele shot quickly to fame in the UK as the frontman for a rock and roll band, the Steelmen, after their first single, "Rock With The Caveman," reached number 13 in 1956. Steele and other British singers would pick known hit records from the United States, record their cover versions of these songs, and release them in the UK before the American versions could enter the charts. Track 5 Mockin' Bird Hill Is a 3/4 song was written by George Vaughn Horton best known through recordings by Patti Page and by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951. The music of Mockin' Bird Hill is based closely on a Swedish waltz called "Life in the Finnish Woods," recorded by Carl Jularbo in 1915, which enjoyed some popularity in the U.S. Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theatre, television, and motion pictures. Ives expanded his appearances in films during the fifties and his movie credits include East of Eden, "Big Daddy" in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In the 1960s Ives began singing country music with greater frequency. Track 6 Fire Down Below Fire Down Below is the title song to a 1957 movie of the same name. It was performed by Jeri Southern, who had a top-30 hit with it. Shirley Bassey recorded the song shortly thereafter, and had a minor hit with it in the UK. It appears on her album "The Bewitching Miss Bassey." Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. She was born above a brothel in a docklands slum in Tiger Bay Cardiff. She was of paternal Nigerian and maternal English descent. She found fame in the mid-1950s and has been called "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century". In the US, in particular, she is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). Track 7 Walking In A Winter Wonderland Winter Wonderland is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard (music) and Richard B. Smith (lyricist). Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists. Doris Day (born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff, April 3, 1924) is an American actress, singer, and animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey", in 1945. Soon after she started her long-lasting partnership with Columbia Records, which would remain her only recording label. The contract lasted from 1947 to 1967, and included more than 650 recordings, making Day one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century. Track 8 Peggy Sue Peggy Sue is a rock and roll song written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman Petty, and originally performed, recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly in early July of 1957. The song was originally called "Cindy Lou", and was named for Buddy's niece. The title was later changed to "Peggy Sue" in reference to Crickets drummer Jerry Allison's girlfriend (and future wife), Peggy Sue Gerron, with whom he had recently had a temporary breakup. Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll”. His works and innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, notably The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton, and exerted a profound influence on popular music. Track 9 The Man from Laramie The Man from Laramie is a 1955 American Western film starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, and Cathy O'Donnell. The film is about a stranger who defies a local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals. The Man from Laramie was one of the first Westerns to be filmed in CinemaScope and Technicolour to capture the vastness of the scenery. The song is from the movie. Sir Leslie Ronald "Jimmy" Young CBE (born 21 September 1921) is a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer. He was born in Gloucestershire and served in WW2. He was signed to Polygon Records in 1950, one of the label's few stars alongside another newcomer, Petula Clark. He released numerous records on the label, all conducted by Ron Goodwin, the biggest seller of which was "Too Young" (1951) a big sheet music seller in the days before the UK Singles Chart had begun. It was a cover of Nat King Cole's American recording. There were also two duets with Petula Clark that year, "Mariandl" and "Broken Heart". Young enjoyed Top 10 successes with "Eternally", "Chain Gang" and "More. His most successful year as a recording artist was 1955, when "Unchained Melody" (from the film Unchained) and "The Man from Laramie" (from the film of the same name) were both number one hits. Track 10 Christmas Alphabet Christmas Alphabet is a 1955 Christmas song, which became a hit for the singer Dickie Valentine. It was written by Buddy Kaye and Jules Loman. It is also the first Christmas Number 1 that is actually about Christmas, a trend that has continued off and on over the next several decades. Dickie Valentine (4 November 1929[1] – 6 May 1971) was an English pop singer in the 1950s. In 1949, Valentine, who at the time was relatively unknown, was signed by Ted Heath to join his band and his career was launched. In November 1954, Valentine was invited to sing at the Royal Command Performance, and in February 1955 he was top billed at the London Palladium.