"The Christmas Waltz" is a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

written by

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 premier ...

and

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 became s ...

for

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

, who recorded it in 1954 as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'' is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957. This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along w ...

'', and in 1968 for ''

The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas ''The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas'' is a 1968 Christmas album by Frank Sinatra and featuring his children, Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra. The album was released on vinyl LP, reel to reel, and 8-track, and was ...

''. Cahn recalls, "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.'". Cahn resisted. "Jule, we're not going to write any Christmas song. After

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

's ' White Christmas'? The idea's just ridiculous." Styne was emphatic, however. "'Frank ''wants'' a Christmas song.'" The two met in Styne's apartment to begin work on the project, and Cahn asked the

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, "'Hey, Jule, has there ever been a Christmas waltz?' He said no. I said, 'Play that waltz of yours.' He did so," and Cahn began work on the lyrics of "The Christmas Waltz", which many other artists have also recorded. Referring to the line that goes, "And this song of mine, in three-quarter time," Cahn writes, "You'll notice there's an impure rhyme in that lyric, 'mine' and 'time'.". He notes that another of his collaborators,

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

, would not have let him get away with such an imperfection but that Styne was not quite so rigid. For what would become the

of " White Christmas", Sinatra first recorded "The Christmas Waltz" with a chorus as well as an arrangement by

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

on August 23, 1954. On July 16, 1957,

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

took over the arranging, and The Ralph Brewster Singers provided backing vocal on the recording for ''

''. On August 12, 1968, Riddle again provided arrangements, but it was The Jimmy Joyce Singers who lent their voices to the recording for ''

''. In 1992,

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

made a recording of the song for his first-ever Christmas album, for which the liner notes indicate that "Mr. Cahn wrote a new full set of additional lyrics as a personal gift to Mel."(1992) ''

Christmas Songs 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 ...

'' by

D booklet Cleveland: Telarc CD-83315. There was not a version of the song that reached any of the various charts in ''

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 advertise ...

'' magazine, however, until the 2003 holiday season when Harry Connick Jr. reached number 26 with it on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart during a two-week stay that began in the issue dated January 3, 2004.

Covers

"The Christmas Waltz" has been covered many times over the years by a wide variety of artists, including: *

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

- '' Christmas Carousel'' (1960) *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

- '' The Doris Day Christmas Album'' (1964) * Jack Jones - ''The Jack Jones Christmas Album'' (1964) *

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 ...

- ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titl ...

'' (ABC, 1966) *

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

- ''Christmas Is a Comin (1966) *

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

- ''For Christmas This Year'' (1966) * Robert Goulet - ''Robert Goulet's Wonderful World of Christmas'' (1968) * Robert Goulet &

Carol Lawrence Carol Lawrence (born Carolina Maria Laraia; September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria on Broadway in the musical '' West Side Story'' (1957), receivin ...

- ''The Great Songs of Christmas: Album Eight'' (various artists, 1968) * David Rose - ''The David Rose Christmas Album'' (1968) * Nancy Wilson - ''The Capitol Disc Jockey Album - December 1968'' (various artists, 1968) *

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, Augu ...

- ''The Joyous Songs of Christmas'' (various artists, 1971) *

- ''An Evening with Sammy Cahn'' (1972) *

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

- ''The Osmond Christmas Album'' (1976) *

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

- '' Christmas Portrait'' (1978) *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

- ''Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis'' (1986) *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

- ''

I Still Believe in Santa Claus ''I Still Believe in Santa Claus'' is a Christmas album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released by Curb Records in 1990. It was his fourth solo album of Christmas music, following ''The Andy Williams Christmas Album'' (1963), '' ...

'' (1990) *

- ''

'' (1992) * Meredith D'Ambrosio &

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...

- ''Mistletoe Magic: Holiday Jazz Improvisations'' (various artists, 1993) *

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is a ...

- ''Christmas with Kathie Lee Gifford'' (1993) *

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

-''Christmas Songs'' (various artists, 1993) *

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

- ''A Cabaret Christmas'' (various artists, 1993) *

Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael Brecker, Michael and Randy Brecker, Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI (musical instrument), EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers ...

Steve Khan Steve Khan (born Steven Harris Cahn; April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist. Career Steven Harris Cahn was born in Los Angeles. His father, lyricist Sammy Cahn, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". He took piano lessons as a ...

- '' Jazz to the World'' (various artists, 1995) *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

- '' An Oscar Peterson Christmas'' (1995) *

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

- '' White Christmas'' (1996) * Scott Hamilton - ''Christmas Love Song'' (1997) *

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

- '' Christmas Dreams'' (1997) *

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

- ''Christmas with You'' (1998) & ''The Magic of Christmas'' (1999) *

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

- ''Christmas with the George Shearing Quintet'' (1998) *

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

(duet with

Sandi Patty Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility. Biography Early life Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...

) - '' Christmastime'' (1998) *

Beegie Adair Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. In a career that spanned 60 years, she played on more than 100 recordings. More than a third of her recordings were with the B ...

- ''Jazz Piano Christmas'' (1999) *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

- ''An Uptown Christmas'' (various artists, 1999) *

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

- ''The Best Christmas Ever'' (2000) *

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

- '' A Christmas Gift of Love'' (2002) * Harry Connick Jr. - ''

Harry for the Holidays ''Harry for the Holidays'' is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s second Christmas album, released in 2003. The album features Connick and his 16 piece Big Band and a full section of chordophones. ''Harry for the Holidays'' was the best-selli ...

'' (2003) *

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

- ''A Clay Aiken Christmas'' (NBC, 2004) & ''All Is Well'' (2006) *

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer. Biography Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...

- ''Christmas Time Is Here'' (2004) *

Jane Monheit Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977"Jane Monheit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 33. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-05-07.) is an American jazz and pop singer. Early life Monheit was b ...

- ''The Season'' (2005) *

Toni Tennille Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song is " Love Will Keep Us ...

- ''Christmas with the Pops'' (

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same ...

, 2006) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

- ''

A Swingin' Christmas (Featuring The Count Basie Big Band) ''A Swingin' Christmas'' is a Christmas album by Tony Bennett, released in 2008, that features the Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie Big Band. Bennett's daughter Antonia Bennett, Antonia duets with him on one track. The album received a Grammy A ...

'' (2008) *

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

- '' A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas'' (2008) *

Mindy Gledhill Mindy Gledhill (born March 7, 1981) is a singer-songwriter from Eureka, California who is best known for her songs "I Do Adore" and "Anchor". She is also known for her guest vocal work for DJ Kaskade. Background Gledhill spent most of her you ...

- ''Winter Moon: Songs for Christmas'' (2011) *

She & Him She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production) formed in 2006 in Portland, Oregon.Scaggs, Austin"Smoking Section: Modest Mouse, Zooey Deschanel, Kings of Leon"''Rol ...

- '' A Very She & Him Christmas'' (2011) * John Travolta - '' This Christmas'' (2012) * Susan Boyle - '' Home For Christmas'' (2013) *Norah Jones - I Dream of Christmas (Deluxe Edition) (2022) *

Laufey Laufey (Old Norse: ) or Nál is a figure in Norse mythology and the mother of Loki. The latter is frequently mentioned by the matronymic ''Loki Laufeyjarson'' (Old Norse 'Loki Laufey's son') in the ''Poetic Edda'', rather than the expected trad ...

- The Christmas Waltz (2022)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Waltz, The Songs with lyrics by Sammy Cahn Songs with music by Jule Styne Frank Sinatra songs American Christmas songs Songs about dancing 1954 songs