“Christmas Island” by The Andrews Sisters [1946]

Here’s a fun little tune by the Andrews Sisters about spending Christmas on tropical Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. With cold weather nowhere in sight in much of the U.S., it almost feels like a tropical Christmas. I’m home in Minnesota and I will only need a sweater on this sunny Christmas Eve day. (This song came back in a big way when Bob Dylan covered it on his infamous Christmas in the Heart in 2009.)

Merry Christmas wherever you are!

musichistory:

“Oh, But I Do” by Margaret Whiting [1946]

Random Music History Song of the Day

Margaret Whiting died on Monday. I posted this in October, 2009, but as the rest of the original post explains, timeless music is timeless. That is true even after the performer passes away.

Margaret Whiting’s success was almost assured, being as she was the daughter of Richard Whiting (writer of “Ain’t We Got Fun” and “On the Good Ship Lollipop” among other songs) and a young acquaintance of her fathers’ friend Johnny Mercer, the founder of Capitol Records. Mercer signed young Margaret Whiting to his fresh new label without delay in 1942. In 1946, Margaret Whiting had only recently begun recording as a solo artist after spending the later War years as the featured female singer for a number of big bands.

Before the 1960s, when the trend of folk and rock musicians writing their own songs took off, pop artists searched for well-written songs in any number of places. Among the most important source pop singers looked to for music to record was musical theater (be it Broadway, Hollywood, or elsewhere). Margaret Whiting boosted her fledgling solo career when she recorded “Oh, But I Do,” a song taken from the 1946 Warner Brothers backstage musical film The Time, The Place and the Girl. Although the run-of-the-mill plot kept the film from becoming a classic, the Arthur Schwartz (music) / Leo Robin (lyrics) score held two superb songs: this and “A Rainy Night in Rio.”

Now I realize that for many people in my generation worthwhile pop music begins with either 50s rock & roll or the British Invasion (or maybe even punk or later). Although the style was quite different, there is a treasure trove of great music from the first half of the 20th century that is worth looking into. Arthur Schwartz as a songwriter and Margaret Whiting as a singer are both highly recommended!

“Oh, But I Do” by Margaret Whiting [1946]

Random Music History Song of the Day

Margaret Whiting’s success was almost assured, being as she was the daughter of Richard Whiting (writer of “Ain’t We Got Fun” and “On the Good Ship Lollipop” among other songs) and a young acquaintance of her fathers’ friend Johnny Mercer, the founder of Capitol Records. Mercer signed young Margaret Whiting to his fresh new label without delay in 1942. In 1946, Margaret Whiting had only recently begun recording as a solo artist after spending the later War years as the featured female singer for a number of big bands.

Before the 1960s, when the trend of folk and rock musicians writing their own songs took off, pop artists searched for well-written songs in any number of places. Among the most important source pop singers looked to for music to record was musical theater (be it Broadway, Hollywood, or elsewhere). Margaret Whiting boosted her fledgling solo career when she recorded “Oh, But I Do,” a song taken from the 1946 Warner Brothers backstage musical film The Time, The Place and the Girl. Although the run-of-the-mill plot kept the film from becoming a classic, the Arthur Schwartz (music) / Leo Robin (lyrics) score held two superb songs: this and “A Rainy Night in Rio.”

Now I realize that for many people in my generation worthwhile pop music begins with either 50s rock & roll or the British Invasion (or maybe even punk or later). Although the style was quite different, there is a treasure trove of great music from the first half of the 20th century that is worth looking into. Arthur Schwartz as a songwriter and Margaret Whiting as a singer are both highly recommended!