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Talk:White Christmas (song)

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A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on May 29, 2012.

In the article it mentions Bing Crosby singing the song with Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn. While she was the actress, her singing was dubbed by Martha Mears, I've already altered the article to this end. However, it seems there is no article for Martha Mears, who actually dubbed a number of actresses in a number of popular movies, an article should be made for her.

"Also atheists also happen to dislike the song due to its relation to Christianity." Is this really neccessary? Could it not be said about anything Christmas related, Christmas is based in Christianity I do believe. I suggest this be removed, it just seems to not belong in such a reference as wikipedia. If we could find a verifiable quote, specifically about 'White Christmas', MAYBE it could remain. It is poorly written and reads like gossip.

Or we could add such disclaimers to all articles: "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is disliked by North Koreans due to its relation to the United States." Seems silly, but that is what the line in the article sounds like to me. --BarenakedKevin 20:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

Tagged it. There's no cite and it seems to have POV problems; it might also not be notable enough for inclusion. WindAndConfusion 14:07, 15 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm an atheist and this is one of my favorite songs. I sing every year at Christmas, along with "I'll be home for Christmas," and "The Christmas Song." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.121.13.188 (talk) 05:48, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I always thought Jews and atheists liked the song because it's NOT Christian. There you go! Santamoly (talk) 05:34, 8 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Was not this song written on an anniversary of his son's death? His son died on a Christmas day. Cema 01:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The song may be about Christmas, but that's no guarantee that the song was written on Christmas Day. -- Ventura 20:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I just removed the lyrics from the article. Irving Berlin has not been dead long enough for the US copyright to have expired. The lyrics should not be restored until we can document permission from the copyright holders. -- Ventura 20:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I've never understood a position like yours on items like this since the lyrics are freely available at hundreds of websites. And if anyone needs to assert control they can simply remove them from WP - just as you have done. The objective of copyright is to maintain PUBLIC access to creative works, not to restrict access as if the lyrics were private property. The creators are granted control for a limited time, but the lyrics actually belong to the world. Santamoly (talk) 05:57, 8 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

On November 26, user Jeff Fries removed the Trivia section with the fact "Irving Berlin was Jewish," stating that this information is already included in the Irving Berlin article. There are innumerable facts repeated between articles on Wikipedia, and this is in many cases appropriate. It is quite noteworthy that a Christmas song of such prominence was written by a Jew, and this is a fact which a reader should be able to glean from Wikipedia without navigating to the Irving Berlin Article. --Andy M. 02:00, 28 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Then I recommend working that observation into the main article. As it is, it's a bluntly-worded tidbit tacked awkwardly onto the bottom. It looks and feels out of place. Unless you can fit the noteworthiness of a jewish person's writing a popular Christmas song organically into the rest of the piece, then someone else is just going to come along and remove it. --Jeff Fries 09:24, 28 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I incorporated the fact into the article and removed the "trivia" section. Berlin apparently struggled with writing a Christmas song, the first reason being that he didn't celebrate Christmas, the second (according to a book written on the song) that he lost his infant son in December. I thought it was worth noting at least that the first approach he tried was more of a parody--a Hollywood type who has everything but still dreams about snow. This Guardian newspaper article has more about the book and the story. Lindmere 16:26, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Nice addition, thanks Lindmere. --Andy M. 01:17, 11 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

By chance, I heard the full version recently at a choral recital. The first verse does give it a much more light-hearted feel, and it was interesting to hear it performed. As usual, though, Berlin's instincts were golden. Lindmere 22:23, 22 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Here's an odd piece of trivia. For some reason, and I don't know why, Irving Berlin refused to allow the lyrics of "White Christmas" to be published on lyric sheets included with LPs. No album released before his death that I have encountered includes the lyrics to "White Christmas," even if the lyrics to every other song is included (including those still under copyright). Sometimes they are simply omitted; other times, some sort of comment is included such as "You know the words" or some such (I'd have to dig into my LP collection for specific examples). The first time I can remember seeing the words to "White Christmas" included with the lyrics of an album were not until 1993, on Garth Brooks' Beyond the Season Cheemo 02:07, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

any truth to the story about berlin being inspired by the story of a blind filipino-american boxer named felix destrito(sp?)? he tried to sell his dog queenie to pay for his child's medicine... the proceeds of the song payed for the treatment, he didn't have to sell the dog...

No, not in regarding this song. He wrote this song because a movie he was working on (Holiday Inn required a song for every holiday. --Sicamous 15:57, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That (enormous) list needs to be put into some sort of order, preferably alphabetical or chronological. Any comments or protestations? 64.90.198.6 00:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wasn't there a Guns N' Roses recording as well?

I have a version from KEANE. It was recorded on a BBC radio show(Marianoherreroa 05:17, 11 September 2007 (UTC))[reply]

I think it needs to be gutted or removed. I could add n Christmas albums which have White Christmas that are not listed there . Really, it's been a staple of Xmas songs repertoire for decades, it's silly to list various performances, no one will read through it. Maybe a few particularly notable recordings can be listed (properly referenced), but otherwise it's just an indiscriminate list, and does not follow the wiki guidelines.--Boffob (talk) 06:18, 7 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree there is no inclusion criteria and it has been covered thousands of times the list will just grow endlessly. 71.0.173.144 (talk) 21:24, 13 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I cleaned up the list of "Other recordings" a couple of weeks ago by placing the songs in chronological order, but also added in all versions of the song that have charted on the various Billboard magazine music charts since the song was first recorded in 1942 (that is, that weren't already listed when I came upon the article). I don't think this section should be removed at all. Some recorded versions of the song hit the Billboard charts, but it's a small percentage of all the versions that have been recorded since 1942. At minimum, the charted versions of "White Christmas" should be listed in this section. --Sliv812 (talk) 01:13, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am calling foul on that number. It is uncited (I've added the tag) and sounds way too exaggerated. Even Guinness only gave it about 25-30 million. And it is no longer listed by them as Candle in the Wind passed it, and that only sold about 35 million. Where does that number come from??? 68.146.81.123 (talk) 20:43, 18 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You put that figure in yourself didn't you68. The Guinness book still lists White Christmas as No.1. Candle has not passed it and probably never will. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.32.45.69 (talk) 14:21, 13 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Who earns on record sales of this record these days? Do earnings belong to the estate of the songwriter and/or the performer? Thanks. --TraceyR (talk) 16:18, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think mention should be made that "White Christmas" was the song played as the code for the evacuation of Saigon April 29-30 (Operation Frequent Wind) in the Vietnam War. It's a fitting cap for the end of the Vietnam War. I don't know if it was the Bing Crosby version.71.154.158.137 (talk) 19:29, 7 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone know the Solfege syllables for White Christmas? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.156.101.3 (talk) 02:27, 4 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:White Christmas - Requested move and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 03:00, 4 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]