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The Christmas Song

from Austin for Christmas by Karen Mal & Will Taylor

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Sometimes called Chestnuts Roasting on the Open Fire or Merry Christmas to You is a classic Christmas song written by Bob Wells and Mel Torme in 1945.

The song was written on a blistering hot summer, by “stay cool by thinking cool”, they wrote a Christmas song writing the first four lines on his notepad. Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” image was a memory from Wells’ childhood in Boston, when there’d be vendors on street corners at Christmas, serving up paper cones full of roasted chestnuts. They completed the song in 45 minutes. Showed it to Nat Cole who loved the song! Took him a yea to get in to the studio to record it but once he did, the song came out late fall in 1946.

Cole’s version of “The Christmas Song” was the first holiday standard ever introduced by a black American. It opened the door for Lou Rawls, Ray Charles and many others to record their own takes on yuletide classics.

Source: performingsongwriter.com/Christmas-song/, Wikipedia

credits

from Austin for Christmas, released December 2, 2017
Will Taylor: guitar, violas
Karen Mal: vocals, mandolin

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Will Taylor & Strings Attached Austin, Texas

🎻 Violinist heard on The Office, NPR, & Collaborations w/Willie Nelson, Pearl Jam, and Shawn Colvin. ❤️ Will Taylor and Strings Attached has made a name for itself by reworking iconic music like the Beatles ‘White album’, as well as Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, and Jimi Hendrix—adding jazz and roots flavors along with string arrangements to lovingly assembled acoustic renditions. ... more

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