''Song Hits from Holiday Inn'' is a studio album of

phonograph record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

s by

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 ...

and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

released in July

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

featuring songs presented in the American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

''. These are the longer studio recorded versions of the songs presented in the film. For the songs that were actually in the film, see Holiday Inn (soundtrack). This album is not only notable because it is one of the greatest works of the highly regarded songwriter

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 Russ ...

, but it is only Crosby's third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

. This was also the first release of Crosby's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

" White Christmas" on shellac disc record. The 1942 version would be released only one more time, in 1945's compilation album, ''

Merry Christmas 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 ...

'', before the song was re-recorded in 1947 (because the original master recording wore out). The later version became the standard.

Reception

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 ...

was very enthusiastic saying: :Decca has scored a terrific scoop in packaging 12 songs from the Irving Berlin score for Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby's movie ''Holiday Inn'', which is already flashing on the country's screens. The album is the entire weekly release from the wax factory—and apart the music it contains, it's more than just another album, it's almost a transposition on wax of the screen score all capably executed by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire....Plattermate is the ballad hit from the picture ''Be Careful It's My Heart'', Crosby singing it softly and rhythmically. Trotter's soft strings and woodwinds paint the orchestral background…Album finishes in a blaze of vocal glory, most impressive in Bing Crosby's plaintive appeal for a ''White Christmas'', assisted by the Ken Darby Singers and Trotter's music…"

Original track listing

These newly issued songs were featured on a 6-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-306. Discs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are sung by Bing Crosby while Disc 5 is sung by Fred Astaire. On Disc 4, both sing on the track "I'll Capture Your Heart". All songs by

Re-issue track listing

In 1946, a set was released with some of the songs from the movie. It featured all of songs except for "White Christmas" and a few others because they would sell more as a single than with a set. These reissued songs were featured on a 4-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-534. Disc 1 (23820): "Happy Holiday" / "Be Careful, it's My Heart"
Disc 2 (23821): "Abraham" / "Song of Freedom"
Disc 3 (23822): "You're Easy to Dance With" / "I Can't Tell A Lie"
Disc 4 (23823): "I'll Capture Your Heart" / "Let's Start the New Year Right" The titles "White Christmas", "Easter Parade", "I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For" and "Lazy", were available separately as 78-rpm discs for US $0.75 each, during this period.

LP track listing

The 1949 10" LP album issue Decca DL 5092 consisted of eight songs on one 33 1/3 rpm record, and did not include four of the songs. All were reissues of earlier recordings. ;Side 1 ;Side 2

Other releases

In 1962, Decca released ''Selections from Holiday Inn'' on Decca DL 4256 with a new pinkish look for the set '' Bing's Hollywood''. It included all of the recorded songs. In 1998, MCA released a CD re-issue of the ''Selections from Holiday Inn''. In 2008 UMG released a CD edition of the original version with the DVD release of ''Holiday Inn''.

References

{{Authority control Bing Crosby albums Fred Astaire albums 1942 albums Decca Records albums