"Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by

Felix Bernard Felix William Bernard (April 28, 1897 – October 20, 1944) was an American conductor, pianist and a composer of popular music. His writing credits include the popular songs "Winter Wonderland" (with lyricist Richard B. Smith) and "Dardanella". B ...

and lyricist

Richard Bernhard Smith Richard Bernhard Smith (September 29, 1901 – September 29, 1935) was an American composer who wrote the lyrics to the popular Christmas song "Winter Wonderland", which was composed by Felix Bernard. Smith was born on September 29, 1901, ...

. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. Since its original recording by

Richard Himber Richard Himber (born Herbert Richard Imber; February 20, 1899 – December 11, 1966) was an American bandleader, composer, violinist, magician and practical joker. Early life He was born as Herbert Richard Imber in Newark, New Jersey to the owne ...

, it has been covered by over 200 different artists. The song's lyrics were about a couple's romance during the winter season. A later version of "Winter Wonderland" (which was printed in 1947) included a "new children's lyric" that transformed it "from a romantic winter interlude to a seasonal song about playing in the snow." The snowman mentioned in the song's bridge was changed from a minister to a circus clown, and the promises the couple made in the final verse were replaced with lyrics about frolicking. Singers like Johnny Mathis connected both versions of the song, giving "Winter Wonderland" an additional verse and an additional chorus.Lankford, pp. 110-111

History

Smith, a native of

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recr ...

, was reportedly inspired to write the lyrics after seeing Honesdale's Central Park covered in snow. Smith wrote the lyrics while being treated for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in the West Mountain Sanitarium in

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. The song was originally recorded in 1934 for RCA Victor. At the end of a different recording session by Himber and his Hotel Ritz-Carlton Orchestra, with extra time to spare, RCA Victor suggested arranging and recording "Winter Wonderland" using some additional members of its own orchestra, which included

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

and other established

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

studio musicians.

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...

’s version that same year would go on to be one of the biggest hits of 1934. In Mathis' version, heard on his 1958 LP '' Merry Christmas'', the introduction is sung between the first and the second refrain. In 1960, Ella Fitzgerald recorded a jazz arrangement of the song for her

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

release, '' Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas''. In 1999,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

recorded a version of Winter Wonderland on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

release, ''

I Wanna Be Santa Claus ''I Wanna Be Santa Claus'' is the 12th studio album by Ringo Starr. A Christmas album, it was issued in 1999. Background and recording Ringo Starr and musical partner Mark Hudson composed "Dear Santa" and "Christmas Eve" in July 1998 at Starr' ...

''.

Awards and achievements

's version was the highest on the charts at the time of introduction. Johnny Mercer's version of the song placed #4 on the '' Billboard'' airplay chart in 1946. The same season, a version by

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

hit the retail top ten; Como would re-record the song for his 1959 Christmas album. In November 2007, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) listed "Winter Wonderland" as the most-played ASCAP-member-written holiday song of the previous five years, citing the Eurythmics' 1987 version of the song as the one most commonly played.ASCAP Announced Top 25 Holiday Songs
November 12, 2007

Charts

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 ...
version

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...
version

Certifications

Tony Bennett version

References

{{Authority control 1934 songs American Christmas songs Pop standards Songs about marriage Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Songs with music by Felix Bernard Air Supply songs Amy Grant songs Andy Williams songs The Andrews Sisters songs Bing Crosby songs Darlene Love songs Frank Sinatra songs Guy Lombardo songs Gwen Stefani songs Johnny Mathis songs Percy Faith songs Aly & AJ songs