Frosted window panes
Candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree
Santa’s on his way
He’s filled his sleigh with things
Things for you and for me
Lyricist Sammy Cahn set the yuletide scene with those opening verses of “The Christmas Waltz,” a song written for Frank Sinatra.
Cahn contributed numerous entries to The Great American Songbook throughout his hall-of-fame career, among them “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “All The Way,” and “I Fall In Love Too Easily.”
Sinatra must’ve dug his songwriting as he recorded 89 of Cahn’s compositions throughout his six-decade career. One of Cahn’s go-to collaborators was composer Jule Styne. Together, they wrote the Christmas classic “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” in 1945.
In his autobiography, I Should Care: The Sammy Cahn Story, Cahn addressed how “The Christmas Waltz” came to be nearly a decade after “Let it Snow!”
“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.’”
“Jule, we’re not going to write any Christmas songs. After Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”? The idea is ridiculous.”
Styne insisted. “Frank wants a Christmas song!”
When the Chairman of the Board asks for something, you give it to him. So, the two met in Styne’s apartment to begin work on a song.
“Has there ever been a Christmas waltz?’” Cahn asked Styne.
“No.”
“Play that waltz of yours.”
As Styne played a melody in three-quarter time, Cahn started writing the lyrics to “The Christmas Waltz,” and a classic was born. Sinatra recorded it as the B-side to “White Christmas” on Capitol Records in 1954.
“The Christmas Waltz” is one of my favorite Christmas tunes. It’s beautiful, both musically and lyrically, and it’s nice that it’s not played to death every holiday season (Lookin’ at you, Mariah).
It’s been covered by many artists over the years. In 1992, crooner Mel Tormé, who co-wrote “The Christmas Song” back in 1945, recorded a version of “The Christmas Waltz” with extra new verses by Cahn. In 2004, Harry Connick Jr.’s swingin’ version went to #24 on the adult contemporary charts.
Let’s take a listen to three great recordings of that song in three-quarter time.
Frank Sinatra
From the 1957 album A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
The original 1954 recording featured an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. This album version was by Gordon Jenkins and featured backup vocals from The Ralph Brewster Singers, who give it an almost eerie quality. Don’t be fooled by the title, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a depressing, tears-in-the-eggnog type of holiday album. But that’s what makes it so unique. And no one did somber better than Ol’ Blue Eyes in the 1950s (e.g., In the Wee Small Hours).
Peggy Lee
From the 1960 album Christmas Carousel
Peggy Lee, perhaps best known for her sultry rendition of “Fever,” recorded “The Christmas Waltz” less than two years after that smash hit. Also on Capitol, Lee’s lovely version features an arrangement from frequent Sinatra collaborator Billy May.
Dave Koz & Friends
From the 2022 album Christmas Ballads
Contemporary jazz saxophonist Dave Koz kicks off his latest (and eighth!) holiday record, Christmas Ballads, with “The Christmas Waltz.” Koz is joined by friends David Benoit (piano), Rick Braun (trumpet) and Peter White (guitar). Check out Chris Bisha’s review of the Detroit stop of Koz’s 25th anniversary Christmas tour.
It’s that time of year
When the world falls in love
Every song you hear seems to say
Merry Christmas
May your New Year dreams come true
