Summary
Selections from Irving Berlin's White Christmas is an album with songs from the 1954 movie, White Christmas. Among the featured artists are Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Trudy Stevens (who dubbed for Vera-Ellen in the movie), with Peggy Lee, who was not in the movie, singing some parts. It is one of the last 78 rpm albums Decca produced.
| White Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1954 | |||
| Recorded | April 10 and May 4, 1954 | |||
| Genre | Vocal | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Joseph Lilley | |||
| Bing Crosby chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Background edit
For decades, an original soundtrack recording was never released. This was because Crosby had a recording contract with Decca Records and Rosemary Clooney was signed with Columbia Records and contractually could not record together. This album was issued with Columbia's Irving Berlin's White Christmas. In this album, Lee recorded the parts that Clooney sang in the movie. This was Crosby's third Decca LP album, recorded and released in 1954 and advertised as the soundtrack for White Christmas.
For the 78rpm set, the three song medley "Blue Skies/I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show/Mandy" running to 3 minutes 53 seconds was a too long for a 10" 78, so "Blue Skies" was removed.[2]
The music and lyrics were written by highly celebrated songwriter Irving Berlin. The album was released on CD by MCA in 1994. In the UK, it was released in 2002 as part of a 2-on-1 CD with studio recordings of songs from Holiday Inn (1942).[3] A special edition, combined with the DVD of the film, was sold in Starbucks stores during the holiday season in 2006.
Although Clooney and Crosby were unable to make an album together at this time, they made the albums Fancy Meeting You Here, How the West Was Won , and That Travelin' Two-Beat later in their careers. They also co-starred in a network radio show and frequently appeared together on television during the 1950s and 1960s.
Many reissues of the song "Sisters" incorrectly attribute the performance to both Lee and Stevens when both parts are sung by Lee using overdubbing.
Variety said, "Another sock talent parlay adds up to another click pic score package."[4]
An original soundtrack recording, containing the actual film performances, was finally released in 2022 on the Sepia label, as part of a two disc set which also contained original soundtrack recordings from Holiday Inn.
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Irving Berlin
| No. | Title | Performed by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Old Man" / "Gee I Wish I Was Back in the Army" | Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye with Orchestra and Chorus | 2:48 |
| 2. | "Sisters" | Peggy Lee with Orchestra and Chorus | 2:26 |
| 3. | "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" | Danny Kaye with The Skylarks, Orchestra and Chorus | 2:34 |
| 4. | "Snow" | Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, Trudy Stevens with Orchestra and Chorus | 2:40 |
| 5. | "Blue Skies" / " I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show / Mandy" | Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye with Orchestra and Chorus | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Choreography" | Danny Kaye with The Skylarks and Orchestra | 2:41 |
| 7. | "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" | Bing Crosby with Orchestra | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" | Peggy Lee with Orchestra | 3:00 |
| 9. | "What Can You Do with a General?" | Bing Crosby with Orchestra | 2:55 |
| 10. | "White Christmas" (finale) | Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee, Trudy Stevens with Orchestra and Chorus | 3:17 |
Personnel edit
- Bing Crosby – vocals
- Danny Kaye – vocals
- Peggy Lee – vocals
- Trudy Stevens – vocals
- The Skylarks – vocals
- Joseph Lilley – arranger, conductor
References edit
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "White Christmas". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Bing Crosby - Through the Years vol. 8". sleeve notes to Sepia CD 1178. 8. 2011.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Holiday Inn & White Christmas". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Album reviews". Variety. 13 October 1954. p. 54. Retrieved 23 December 2019 – via Archive.org.