The Christmas Song
One of the most famous modern-day Christmas songs was written on one of the hottest California days on record. Yet, there’s something about hearing Nat King Cole singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” that tells me Christmastime is here!
Robert Wells, a lyricist, and Mel Torme were close friends. They had written together for several years and had just been hired to produce the title songs for two movies. They were getting together to work on their assignments one unusually hot day, and when Mel arrived, he found Wells trying to drive off the California heat with fans and positive thinking. The fans were doing little good, and the positive thoughts—which consisted of writing down everything that reminded Wells of cold winters in New England—were only making Wells warmer. As Torme recalled: “I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil. They started, ‘Chestnuts roasting... Jack Frost nipping... Yuletide carols... Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’” Wells wasn’t writing a song lyric; he was trying to immerse himself in thoughts of winter to cool off! Torme, on the other hand, was inspired by the visual of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” as it reminded him of the days when he saw vendors selling chestnuts on New York City street corners. Within 40 minutes, in spite of the temperature in the 90s, the two men had the lyrics on paper and drove directly to Nat King Cole’s home. The results of that visit were monumental.
Nat King Cole had begun his career as a jazz pianist and was one of the best. Yet by the 1940s, it was his smooth baritone voice that had mesmerized fans all over the world. That voice and his stage presence earned him the nickname “King.” From the moment Torme played “The Christmas Song” on his piano, Nat loved it, and wanted to record it before Torme could offer it to anyone else. Within days, Cole had rearranged the song to suit his voice and cut it for Capitol Records. Released in October of 1946, the song stayed in the Top Ten for almost two months. It charted again in 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1954. Although “The Christmas Song” was recorded by more than a hundred other artists—including Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, and even Mel Torme himself— none could ever break Cole’s “ownership rights,” and the song was instantly and forevermore a Nat King Cole classic.
No one thought about it at the time, but Cole’s cut of Torme’s song became the first American Christmas standard introduced by an African American. The success of that cut helped open the door for Lou Rawls, Ray Charles and Ethel Waters to put their own spins on holiday classics.
Cole died in his forties of cancer, while Torme lived into his seventies. But their genius lives on in a song that continues to give millions the special spirit of the season each and every year.
(Excerpts from “Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas” by Ace Collins)
