"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a
Christmas song, written by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram. It was
first copyrighted on August 24, 1943, by Kent (music) and James "Kim"
Gannon (lyrics).
The two revised and re-copyrighted their song on
September 27, 1943, and it was this version that was made famous by
Crosby. The label on Crosby's recording credits "I'll Be Home for
Christmas" to Kent, Gannon, and Ram. Later recordings usually credit
only Kent and Gannon.
The discrepancy arose from the fact that on
December 21, 1942 Buck Ram copyrighted a song titled "I'll Be Home for
Christmas (Tho' Just in Memory)"—that song bore little or no
resemblance, other than its title, to the Crosby recording. According
to Ram, who was primarily a lyricist, he had written the lyrics as a
16-year-old, homesick college student.
Prior to his publishers planned
release, he had discussed the song with two acquaintances in a bar. He
left a copy with them, but never spoke to them about it again. Both he
and his publisher were shocked when the song was released by a competing
publishing house.
Per news articles of the day, Ram's publisher, who
had been holding the song back a year because they were coming out with
"White Christmas," sued Gannon and Kent's publisher and prevailed in
court. On October 4, 1943, Crosby recorded "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra for Decca Records.
Within about a
month of Kent and Gannon's copyright the song hit the music charts and
remained there for eleven weeks, peaking at number three. The following
year, the song reached number nineteen on the charts. It touched a
tender place in the hearts of Americans, both soldiers and civilians,
who were then in the depths of World War II, and it earned Crosby his
fifth gold record.
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" became the most
requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows in both Europe and the Pacific
and Yank, the GI magazine, said Crosby accomplished more for military
morale than anyone else of that era.
Sources: Unknown and Wikipedia
TTFN
CYA Later Taters
Thanks for watching.
Donnie/ Sinbad the Sailor Man
No comments:
Post a Comment