This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the White Christmas (song) article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies |
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
This level-5 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on May 29, 2012, May 29, 2017, May 29, 2019, and May 29, 2022. |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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 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]
Moved from Template talk:Help me/doc
Dear Wikipedia. This may seem trivial but . . . Regarding Bing Crosby's recordings of White Christmas, it has for so long been rumoured that the 1942 'take' was damaged, hence the need for the 1947 re-recording. The rumour has taken hold so well that it now appears in Wikipedia. How can I prove this to be wrong? The 1947 recording has appeared on all subsequent reissues and, as stated, is the one commonly heard nowadays. In fact the 1942 recording (DLA.3009) was still available on 78 rpm in Britain until the late-1950s - I can provide a scan of the label if requested, which bears a datable purchase tax code. When Decca issued the song on 45 rpm about October 1954, the label bore the same 1942 matrix no. but the track was substituted. Again, for evidence, I can provide a scan of the 1954 disc (with wide centre, which dates the pressing). For further evidence that the master didn't get worn out with so many pressings, I can show that the 1942 recording on the flipside was still available up to about 1967 on Brunswick. (When re-issued on MCA in Britain in 1969 a different song appeared on the flipside.) I would love to see this error amended and rumour scotched in such an authoritative body as Wikipedia! Thank you for your help. 81.151.177.72 (talk) 18:24, 9 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]
In the "Bing Crosby version" section, it is pointed out that this song, as well as "God Bless America", was composed by a Jewish composer, to show how secular Christmas songs could be successful. I think it is more noteworthy to mention that Irving Berlin was in fact an agnostic, to show the supposed contradiction in him writing such songs. A Jew would not necessarily have a problem to write a song with the word "God" in it.
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on White Christmas (song). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Y An editor has reviewed this edit and fixed any errors that were found.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 07:10, 13 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Lebrsm, the citation that you added for The Drifters rendition of this song can be heard in the films Home Alone and The Santa Clause
doesn't sound likely to support that sentence. Could you quote the sentence or paragraph from the article "Jubilee! Historic Columbia celebrates African-American heritage this weekend with singing, art, dance, drama" in The Times and Democrat (Aug 26, 2004) that supports the information in the article? Thanks! Schazjmd (talk) 21:20, 28 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The article states that the song "established that there could be commercially successful secular Christmas songs..." I'm not sure how accurate this is. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" came out in 1934, eight years before "White Christmas," and I believe it would also be considered a commercially successful secular Christmas song. According to one source, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" sold more than thirty thousand records and a hundred thousand copies of sheet music within 24 hours of its radio debut. --Lebrsm (talk) 14:32, 9 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"But the whole idea of secular Christmas songs really didn't exist before Berlin. No one was actually dreaming of white Christmases before him. Composers and publishers thought, why write a Christmas song? They will only play it once a year. But, in fact, the success of this actually launched a whole genre of secular Christmas songs. And all of a sudden, we invented an American Christmas based on a mythic golden past that never existed in this rural New England that came purely out of his imagination."Schazjmd (talk) 15:40, 9 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The lede says ""White Christmas" is a 1942 Irving Berlin song ...", but the Bing Crosby Version section says "The first public performance of the song was by Bing Crosby, on his NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall on Christmas Day, 1941...".
If the song was performed a year before it was written, that's a pretty neat trick, but probably requires some explanation in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.89.176.249 (talk) 00:44, 31 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I wish someone with sufficient expertise would discuss the musicology of the song. I seem to recall hearing that the song is written in a minor key, the key of mourning. It is a bittersweet song as it recalls a time past and looks to a time present and a time future. And isn't that so much of what Christmas is about, a time to reflect on people (loved ones) who have passed on and a time to enjoy the joys of children opening presents? It is one of the most "metaphysical" songs of the season. I might add, many songs of the Christmas season are tinged with profound sadness, 'I heard the bells on Christmas Eve" as one example.StevenTorrey (talk) 15:02, 10 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
plucked from another Bing book, Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940-1946
I collect sales numbers
It sold six hundred thousand discs in the closing months of 1942 (Bing’s royalties came to $298,946, $4.4 million in today’s dollars)
and two million as of 1944.
Sales mounted year after year as it hit the number one spot again in 1945 and 1946, uniquely returning to the top thirty every year but one between its release and Christmas of 1962. By then, the record’s sales exceeded twenty-five million, the bestselling record ever.
In 2007, the Guinness Book of Records updated the number to fifty million, seventeen million more than Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,” in second place, and twenty million more than Bing’s “Silent Night,” in third.
Guinness numbers do not include Crosby LPs and CDs (his 1949 album Merry Christmas has never been out of print); their numbers registered only singles of his 1942 original and an almost indistinguishable 1947 remake.
I want to add sentence with the early sales info, leave the 50 mil alone
Tillywilly17 (talk) 09:21, 23 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
While White Christmas may well be the best selling Christmas song of all time, if there are only 500 recorded versions it would seem to be FAR from the "most recorded" Christmas song. The Wikipedia article on Silent Night claims -- with citation -- that Silent Night exists in 13,700 recorded versions.
One or the other of these articles must be wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.95.43.253 (talk) 20:57 7 June 2024 (UTC)