"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

and composer

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also becam ...

in July 1945 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. The song was first recorded that fall by

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

, was released just after

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

, and became a hit by

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. Despite the lyrics making no mention of any holiday, the song has come to be regarded as a

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

worldwide due to its winter theme, being played on radio stations during the

Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late Novemb ...

, and having often been covered by various artists on Christmas-themed albums. In the Southern Hemisphere, it can be played during the winter months of June, July, and August; and in New Zealand, some play it at Matariki.

Frank Sinatra version

American singer

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

released a version as a single in 1950 that featured The B. Swanson Quartet.

Certifications

Dean Martin version

American singer

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

released a version of the song in 1959, as part of his album ''

A Winter Romance ''A Winter Romance'' is a 1959 long playing album by Dean Martin, accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Gus Levene. While not exclusively a Christmas album, it features several songs associated with Christmas as part of its larger ...

'', and a re-recorded version in 1966, as part of '' The Dean Martin Christmas Album''. The song entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the first time in 2018.

Certifications

Jessica Simpson version

American singer

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

released a version of the song in 2004, as part of her album '' Rejoyce: The Christmas Album''. Her version was produced by

Billy Mann William H. Mann (born William Isaiah Erlichman; December 20, 1968) is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter, record producer and founder of independent music publishing company Green & Bloom/Topline, as well as chairman of management firm Man ...

. The song has a music video. Simpson's version reached No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart.

Other charting recordings

Glee Cast version

Michael Bublé version

Other notable versions

Widely heard recordings of the song include: * 1945 (first recording) –

for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, which became a popular hit, reaching No. 1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' "Best Sellers" music chart for five weeks from late December into early 1946. Vaughn later re-recorded the song in stereo for his 1958 album ''There I Sing/Swing It Again''. * 1946 –

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, which eached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' chart. Other 1946 versions were recorded by Connee Boswell for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

and

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

for

ARA Records The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers ...

. * 1962 –

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, on his album ''

I Wish You a Merry Christmas ''I Wish You a Merry Christmas'' was a long-playing vinyl album of Christmas themed songs recorded by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records, and issued by Warner Bros. (W-1484) in 1962. The tracks were arranged by Bob Thompson, Peter ...

''. * 2005 –

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Th ...

, on a CD single. Her version is unusual in being sung from the point of view of the host instead of the guest. It peaked at No. 6 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

. * 2012 –

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, on his album '' Merry Christmas, Baby''. Stewart's version reached No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Adult Contemporary chart in December 2012 and remained there for a total of five weeks, tying it for the longest leading rendition of a holiday title in the history of the chart.

References

{{authority control 1945 songs 1946 singles 1993 singles 2004 singles American Christmas songs Pop standards Songs about weather Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn Songs with music by Jule Styne Chicago (band) songs Vaughn Monroe songs Dean Martin songs Rod Stewart songs Winter in culture Bing Crosby songs Frank Sinatra songs Carly Simon songs Margaret (singer) songs Columbia Records singles Capitol Records singles

Frank Sinatra version

Certifications

Dean Martin version

Certifications

Jessica Simpson version

Other charting recordings

Glee Cast version

Michael Bublé version

Other notable versions

See also

References