The Christmas Song

The Christmas Song, sometimes referred to as "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" after the opening line of the lyrics, was written in 1945 by singer Mel Torme and Robert Wells.

In May 1946 the Nat Cole Trio (Nat "King" Cole piano & vocals, Oscar Moore guitar and Johnny Miller bass) were playing at the Trocadero club in Los Angeles.

The trio was managed by Carlos Gastel, who was also managing Mel Torme & His Mel-Tones.
One night after the final set by the Trio, Mel approached them with a Christmas song he had co-written and sat down at the piano and played it for them.
They were very enthusiastic about the song and did it several times themselves. In later years Cole stated that Oscar Moore did the Jingle Bells line on his guitar at the end of the song the very first time they attempted to play it and, as anyone with ears knows, that became a part of the song ever since.
In the following weeks it was decided that the Trio would record it, but both the Trio and manager Gastel were emphatic that it needed more orchestration than the Trio could provide.
However, Capitol Records wouldn't hear of it, so on the 14th of June, 1946, when the Trio was in New York City performing at Kelly's Stable, they had them record the song at the WMCA radio studios. Upon hearing the playback for the first time, Nat proclaimed his unhappiness with it and finally convinced Capitol it needed more music than the Trio could provide. Capitol chose not to release it.

The Christmas Song (June 14, 1946)

 

On 19 August 1946, the Trio returned to the same studio to record the song again, only this time Capitol agreed to add a not-very-big orchestra of four violins, a harp and drums. 

The Christmas Song (August 19, 1946)

 

The recording was released around Thanksgiving 1946 and it became an immediate cross-over hit, something that was very uncommon at that time. Of course, by cross-over it meant that white people were listening to and buying a recording by black people. Yes, sounds a bit ridiculous,  but that's how it was at that time.

For the next seven years, the King Cole Trio's recording of The Christmas Song remained a holiday hit across the USA. However, both recordings in 1946 were made to mechanical masters so on the 24th of August 1953, Capitol had Nat "King" Cole, now a star on his own, record a new version on magnetic tape and for the next 8 years that recording would be what was found in the record shops every Christmastime.

 

Eight years later, on the 30th of March, 1961, Capitol had Nat record The Christmas Song a fourth time so that it could be recorded onto either a 3 or 4-track machine from which a stereo master could be made.....and to this day 52+ years later, this is the version of The Christmas Song by Nat "King" Cole that you hear every holiday season.

 

 

Nat "King" Cole died on the 15th of February 1965. Since 1946 hundreds of people have recorded The Christmas Song, but Nat was the first, and in my mind the song always was and will always be, a Nat King Cole song.