Welcome to our Ninth Annual tribute to Ole Blue Eyes.
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! -
This was written by the lyricist Sammy Cahn and the Broadway songwriter Jule Styne in 1945. Although this song is associated with Christmas, there is no mention of the holiday in the lyrics. It's about making the most of a snowy day by spending it with a loved one by the fire.
Whatever Happened to Christmas -
The song was written by Jimmy Webb and first appeared on the album, The Sinatra Family Wish You A Merry Christmas. Jimmy Webb related the story of having dinner with Frank Sinatra to discuss the recording of an entire album of Webb songs. But Webb's father was also there, and Sinatra and the senior Webb got caught up in comparing memories from their younger days, so the discussion about the album, and indeed the album itself, never happened.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day -
On Christmas day, 1864, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow received word that his son, a soldier in the Civil War, had been wounded. Just two years before, Henry had lost his wife in a fire. As Longfellow sat alone with his grief, he penned words of hope to challenge his own despair. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day was set to music by composer John Baptiste Calkin in 1872.
O Little Town of Bethlehem -
On Christmas Eve 1865, a young minister stood on the hill overlooking Bethlehem where the shepherds had watched their flocks on the night Jesus was born. The impression of that starry night never left Phillips Brooks. Three years later he was asked to write a hymn for the children of his Philadelphia parish for their Christmas service. The words "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" were already in his mind. Brooks' church organist, Lewis Redner, set the words to music, declaring that the tune was "a gift from heaven."
Acme would like to bring you this 1957 Christmas episode of The Frank Sinatra Show - Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank
The special was filmed in color, although ABC originally broadcast it in black and white. The special was directed by Frank Sinatra himself. He and Bing Crosby team up for several musical numbers celebrating the holiday season. Because Bing Crosby liked to pre-record his music in the morning and lip synch on film and Frank Sinatra preferred to record live in the evening, the musical "duets" were recorded ten hours apart with only soft piano accompaniment. Nelson Riddle overrode the piano with the orchestra during editing.
I'm like Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in that I have a respect for life - in any form. I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky, in everything I can see or that there is real evidence for. If these things are what you mean by God, then I believe in God.
Demand Euphoria!
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