Have you ever roasted Chestnuts on an open fire? Have you even had a chestnut? We tried to roast some one time, but it didn’t work out so well. Maybe next time.
This is one of the worst named Christmas songs ever, but that hasn’t stopped it from being a very popular, very loved Christmas song.
This song is another one that was written in that hot summer of 1944. There must have been something magic about that summer to bring about the writing of so many of our favorites…
Mel Tormé wrote this song along with Bob Wells in the summer of 1944. It’s commonly referred to as “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” and “merry Christmas to you.” If you use the actual title of the song, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll have to clarify with more of the lyrics.
Nat King Cole recorded the song four times. The first time wasn’t a huge success, but the second was after the addition of the strings to the arrangement. The next two just added to the songs popularity, and the song has become the most performed Christmas song according to BMI. Although, through this series, I’ve learned that there are a lot of different ways a song can be the most popular song. There have been at least 5 other most populars of one kind or another.
If you take a minute and listen to the song in Spotify, you’ll really enjoy the simplicity of the songs arrangement. You’ll certainly enjoy the flavor and character the string arrangement brings to the song. The string arranger did a great job of adding to the song, while still leaving room for the original flavor of the Trio to shine through.
(If you’d like to read the other days, you can do so by clicking here. Don’t forget I’m making a playlist in Spotify as we go through this series, you can subscribe to here.)
