Frosty the Snowman

By Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson
1950

If you'll indulge me with a belated Christmas standard, I'd like to place the (not-too-hot) spotlight on "Frosty the Snowman", mainly due to my two-year-old son's current obsession with both the song and the 1969 Rankin-Bass animated special narrated by Jimmy Durante. Introduced by the great singing cowboy Gene Autry, Frosty was a follow-up to Autry's mega-hit of the previous Christmas, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". In addition to the song, which has become a modern Christmas classic, the snowman's popularity has endured due to a series of animated cartoons based on him, most notably the aforementioned 1969 chestnut, as well as a beloved Little Golden Book edition of the story, also published in 1950. The lyrics supposedly takes place in Armonk, New York, a town which has an annual parade in Frosty's honor to this day.

Lyrics:

Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And his eyes made out of coal

Frosty the Snowman
Made the children laugh and play
And were they surprised when
Before their eyes
He came to life that day

There must have been some magic
In that old silk hat they found
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around

Frosty the Snowman
Was alive as he could be
And the children say
He could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me

Frosty the Snowman
Knew the sun was hot that day
So he said let's run
And we'll have fun
Now before I melt away

So down to the village
With a broomstick in his hand
Running here and there all around the square
Saying catch me if you can

He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler stop

Frosty the Snowman
Had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye
Saying don't you cry
I'll be back again some day

Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Look at Frosty go
Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump

Over the hills of snow

Recorded By:

Nat King Cole
Perry Como
Guy Lombardo
Jimmy Durante
The Ronettes

Monster Mash

By Leonard Capizzi and Bobby Pickett
1962

A Halloween staple ever since it was first recorded in the summer of 1962, "Monster Mash" might well be the song most associated with the spooky season to this day. Pickett, an aspiring actor and member of the band The Cordials, had been entertaining audiences with his Boris Karloff impression when bandmate Capizzi had the idea of building a novelty song around said impression. Born out of the dance fad craze of the era, the "Monster Mash" was intended to lampoon such popular dances as the "mashed potato". The original record went to number-one during Halloween week of 1962, and has been re-released several times, and even recorded by other horror icons Vincent Price and punk band the Misfits.

Lyrics: 

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash

Then you can monster mash

Recorded By:

Bobby "Boris" Pickett
The Beach Boys
Vincent Price
The Misfits
Zacherley

Silver Bells

By Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
1950

A warm, fuzzy Christmas classic of the post-war era, this charming chestnut was composed for the film The Lemon Drop Kid, in which it was introduced by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. A major hit recording by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards released before the film was so successful it caused the film producers to re-shoot the scene more elaborately prior to the release of the movie. Conflicting reports indicate that the inspiration for the song came either from the bell-ringing Salvation Army Santas on NYC streetcorners, or a bell that was kept on Livingston and Evans' shared office desk. Incidentally, the songwriting team of Livingston & Evans were also responsible for such post-war classics as "To Each His Own" and "Mona Lisa".

Lyrics:

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day

City sidewalks busy sidewalks .
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There's a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you'll hear...

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day

Strings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
home with their treasures

Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa's big scene
And above all this bustle
You'll hear...

Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day

Recorded By:

Perry Como

Dean Martin

Frank Sinatra

Martina McBride

Andy Williams

I'll Be Home for Christmas

By Walter Kent & Kim Gannon
1943

A warm yet melancholy Christmas standard that dates back to World War II, during which the lyric held a special meaning for soldiers stationed overseas for the holidays. Bing Crosby introduced the tune in time for Christmas 1943, and his version was shipped directly to those soldiers. A controversy ensued over the copyright when poet Buck Ram alleged that the title was stolen from a poem he had written. Some songwriting credits include Ram for this reason. Since WWII, it has become a standard expression of Christmas longing for families everywhere.

Lyrics:

I'll be home for Christmas,
You can count on me.
Please have snow
And mistletoe,
And presents under the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas,
If only in my dreams.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Perry Como
Al Green
Leon Redbone
Joe Williams

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

By Meredith Wilson
1951

A warm and fuzzy holiday classic from the idyllic '50s, this tune was introduced by Perry Como, joined by the Fontane Sisters and the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra. It's original title was "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas". Legend has it that writer Wilson was inspired to write the song by a stay at the Grand Hotel in Yarmouth, Novia Scotia. The Johnny Mathis version became very popular in more recent years thanks to its inclusion in the 1992 movie Home Alone 2. Today it remains one of the most ubiquitous modern-day secular carols.

Lyrics:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben;
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen;
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

Recorded By:

Alvin & The Chipmunks
Michael Buble
Johnny Mathis
Bing Crosby
Perry Como

America the Beautiful

By Samuel A. Ward & Katharine Lee Bates

1910

An extremely popular song of American patriotism--so much so that it has often been suggested as a replacement for the more cumbersome "Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the U.S.A. It began life as a poem called "Pike's Peak", written by Bates and published on July 4, 1895 in the periodical The Congregationalist (it was published under the title "America"). The poem became quite popular, and in 1910 was combined with a melody written by church organist Ward--written in 1882 and published in 1892 as "Materna", part of the hymn "O Mother Dear, Jerusalem". It was introduced on record in 1910 by Louise Homer, and by far the most popular and inspirational version of modern times would have to be the amazing rendition of Ray Charles.

With words specifically written to commemorate the Fourth of July, this is the perfect tune for enjoying this blessed holiday. Happy Independence Day from Standard of the Day!

Lyrics:

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassion'd stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness

America! America!

God mend thine ev'ry flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country lov'd,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness,

And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Recorded By:

Ray Charles
Elvis Presley
Whitney Houston
Barbra Streisand
Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Easter Parade

By Irving Berlin
1933

By the same man who gave us the ultimate Christmas standard, Irving Berlin, came this tune--which has become the ultimate Easter standard. Originally written for the Broadway revue As Thousands Cheer, in which it was introduced by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb, it later gained even more notoriety thanks to being sung by Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn, and in 1948 an entire musical film was built around it, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. A true holiday classic from one of America's most cherished composers.

Lyrics:

In your Easter bonnet,
With all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.

I'll be all in clover,
And when they look you over,
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.

On the avenue,
Fifth Avenue.
The photographers will snap us,
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.

Oh, I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet,
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.

Recorded By:

Al Jolson
Bing Crosby
Fred Astaire
Jimmy Lunceford
Perry Como

Auld Lang Syne

By Robert Burns
1788

For anyone who grew up from the 1930s through the 1970s, there was one man who epitomized New Year's in America, and that was Guy Lombardo. Although a popular folk song going back centuries, Lombardo is credited with popularizing this song as the theme for New Year's celebration (earlier reports of it being used thus do go back, however, as far as the 1890s). Lombardo kicked off his annual New Year's show tradition on the radio in 1929, switched to TV in 1956, and kept going until his final New Year's Eve, in 1976. Let's raise a cup of kindness for Mr. New Year's...

Lyrics:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
For the sake of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindess yet,
For auld lang syne.

Recorded By:

Bobby Darin
James Taylor
The Beach Boys
The Drifters
Lou Rawls

God Bless America

By Irving Berlin
1918

A patriotic ballad taking the form of a prayer, this classic by Berlin is more popular with many than the more musically complex "Star-Spangled Banner". It was written at the end of World War I, and has become one of the nation's most beloved "modern anthems". Kate Smith's 1930s version will forever resonate with Americans.

Lyrics:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam--
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Recorded By:

Ray Charles
Leontyne Price
Connie Francis
Celine Dion
Ronan Tynan

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

By Frank Loesser
1947

Loesser composed this holiday standard as a stand-alone song, before his highly lucrative career as a Broadway composer began in earnest with Where's Charly in 1948. Margaret Whiting was the first to record, and it has remained one of the most endurant of all holiday standards, still recorded regularly to this day. Turn on the TV tonight, and you're likely to hear it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, from SOTD!

Lyrics:

 

When the bells all ring and the horns all blow,
And the couples we know are fondly kissing,
Will I be with you, or will I be among the missing?

Maybe it's much too early in the game,
But I thought I'd ask you just the same:
What are you doing New Year's,
New Year's Eve?

Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night.
Welcoming in the New Year,
New Year's Eve.

Maybe I'm crazy to suppose
I'd ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations
You received.

But in case I stand one little chance,
Here comes the jackpot question in advance:
What are you doing New Year's,
New Year's Eve?

Recorded By:

Johnny Mathis

Diana Krall

Harry Connick Jr.

Rufus Wainright

Nancy Wilson