Winter has finally arrived! But when it comes to seasonal songs from the Great American Songbook, not all winter songs are about Christmas.
This week, I'll play songs about the winter months that don't mention Rudolph, Santa, or Three Wise Men. Instead, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, June Christy, and Ella Fitzgerald will sing some songs about snow, while Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Julie London, and Eydie Gormé will keep the passion hot while the weather is cold.
Welcome to Afterglow, I’m your host, Mark Chilla.
Bundle up everyone, because winter has finally arrived! This week on the show, I’ll be saluting the chilliest months of the year with some songs of the season. However, just because a song might be a winter song does not mean it’s a Christmas song. So, this hour, I’ll play some songs mostly about winter weather, including songs about the snow by Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett and songs about the cold from Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday. Plus, singer June Christy will bring us a bit of hope as we brace for those long, cold winter nights.
It’s Songs of the Season, Winter, coming up next on Afterglow.
[Winter Weather - Jo Stafford]
[Moonlight in Vermont - Jo Stafford]
A winterized version of the classic Karl Suessdorf and John Blackburn standard “Moonlight in Vermont” performed by Jo Stafford in 1956. Before that, we heard Stafford in 1955 with the Ted Shapiro song “Winter Weather,” an especially cheery ode to a thing that many songwriters (and plenty of other folks) lament.
Mark Chilla here on Afterglow. On this show, it’s a salute to winter with some beloved and perhaps some lesser-known Songs of the Season. We’ll hear from some Afterglow favorites this hour, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Peggy Lee.
Now when we think about “Songs of the Winter Season” from the Great American Songbook, our minds probably wander towards, well, something like this…
Now, there’s nothing wrong with Christmas songs, especially something as great as Nat King Cole singing Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song.” And yes, Christmas is an important part of the winter season, but winter is about so much more than just Christmas. So this hour, I’m going to do my best to bring you songs about winter-related things other than Christmas.
One of those things, of course, is snow. And as it turns out, it’s a popular subject in the Great American Songbook. Let’s hear two snow songs right now, beginning with Tony Bennett performing Claude Thornhill’s song “Snowfall,” on Afterglow.
[Snowfall - Tony Bennett]
[Snow - Rosemary Clooney]
Ok, it’s hard to avoid the topic of Christmas altogether. That was Rosemary Clooney with “Snow” a song by Irving Berlin from the film White Christmas. Fun fact, Clooney could not perform on the official White Christmas soundtrack from Decca Records, because she was signed to Columbia. This was her version of “Snow” from Columbia in 1954. Instead, Peggy Lee, despite not being in the film, was featured on the Decca soundtrack along Bing Crosby. Before that Tony Bennett with the Claude Thornhill song “Snowfall.”
Let’s continue our snow theme for a moment with a few more songs, including a few you probably don’t know and one that you certainly do. First. here’s June Christy with a relatively unknown song, “Seven Shades of Snow,” on Afterglow.
[Seven Shades of Snow - June Christy]
[Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Ella Fitzgerald]
[Patty McGovern - I Like Snow]
Singer Patty McGovern in 1956 with her original song “I Like Snow.” That’s from her album Wednesday’s Child, recorded for Atlantic Records. Before that, the much more familiar Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” performed by Ella Fitzgerald. Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, the songwriters, wrote “Let It Snow” in the middle of a summer heatwave in California—go figure. And to start that set, another less-familiar snow song from June Christy. That was the Connie Pierce and Arnold Miller song “Seven Shades of Snow,” from Christy’s 1961 seasonal album This Time of Year. We’ll hear more from this album later in the hour.
Another certainty of winter is the cold. As far as the Great American Songbook goes, all that really matters is how “cold” works as a metaphor for love. “Warmth” equals passion and comfort, whereas “cold”... well, you certainly don’t want to be accused of having a “cold heart.”
Here’s a song playing on metaphor. This is Billie Holiday with another Irving Berlin song, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” on Afterglow.
[I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - Billie Holiday]
Billie Holiday staying inside with “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Holiday recorded that Irving Berlin very early in her career, in 1937 for Columbia records. That recording, on the other hand, comes very late in her career, in 1955 with the Verve label.
Coming up after a short break, we’ll have more songs about the winter weather. Stay warm and stay with us.
Production support for Afterglow comes from Soma Coffee House and Juice bar, specializing in juices, espressos and Fair Trade Organic Coffee. Serving from downtown at Kirkwood and Grant and on the corner of third and Jordan. Online at I Heart Soma dot com
And from Stephen R Miller C P A, in downtown Bloomington at Graham Plaza, offering personal and small business income tax preparation and financial reporting. Helping clients reach financial goals for over thirty years. 8-1-2 - 3-3-2 - 0-5-5-7
I’m Mark Chilla, and you’re listening to Afterglow
[music]
Welcome back to Afterglow, I’m Mark Chilla. I’ve been featuring some Songs of the Season this time around on the program—looking not at Christmas songs, but rather songs about Winter more generally. Coming up, we’ll hear from Bing Crosby, Hoagy Carmichael, and June Christy.
Let’s start off this next song with some songs about two winter months. We’ll start with Julie London, performing a song that’s very similar in subject to Irving Berlin’s song “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”
Here’s Julie London from her 1956 album Calendar Girl with the Bob Russell tune “Warm December,” on Afterglow.
[Warm December - Julie London]
[June In January - Teddi King]
[June Christy - Love Turns Winter Into Spring]
Some songs about keeping the passion hot while the weather’s cold. Just now, we heard June Christy in 1957 with the Matt Dennis tune “Love Turns Winter Into Spring.” Before that, we heard the Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin tune “June in January,” not sung by June Christy, but rather by Teddi King in 1959. And starting that set, Julie London with “Warm December.”
Now, the voice that we’re probably most used to hearing around this winter season is that of the great Bing Crosby.
[music clip]
Ah, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” This recording alone has sold an estimated 50 million copies. But for Bing, it wasn’t all about Christmas. He also recorded a few songs about winter and cold weather more generally.
Let’s hear two of them right now, beginning with “Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter” on Afterglow.
[Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter - Bing Crosby]
[Little Jack Frost, Get Lost - Bing Crosby Peggy Lee]
Two Bing Crosby songs about the cold. We just heard “Little Jack Frost, Get Lost” a duet with Peggy Lee. And before that “Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter.”
One of my favorite things about putting together these shows is discovering new music. When winter rolls around, though, it’s hard to find songs that I haven’t heard, especially given the ubiquity of Holiday music this time of year.
At the end of this next set, we’ll hear one of those very, very familiar winter songs, but first let’s hear a few of those more unfamiliar ones.
Let’s start with Eydie Gorme, from her 1958 album Love is a Season, with the relatively unknown, but superb song “Winter Night,” on Afterglow.
[Winter Night - Eydie Gorme]
[Winter Moon - Hoagy Carmichael]
[A Winter Romance - Dean Martin]
[Winter Wonderland - Peggy Lee]
The known and the unknowns of winter songs. We just heard the familiar “Winter Wonderland,” performed by Peggy Lee. Before that, Dean Martin with “A Winter Romance,” a song by Sammy Cahn and Ken Lane, and the title track off his 1959 album. Prior to that, Hoagy Carmichael singing his own song “Winter Moon.” And starting that set, Eydie Gorme with the underrated song “Winter Night.”
As we brace ourselves for the cold each winter, we learn from the Great American Songbook that there is no need to fear. This frigid weather won’t last. Soon, the nights will get shorter, the sun will come out, and before you know it, spring will be right around the corner.
We’ll close off this program with June Christy performing a song of this anticipatory feeling of hope. Here’s Christy with “Winter’s Got Spring Up Its Sleeve,” on Afterglow.
[Winter’s Got Spring Up Its Sleeve - June Christy]
A hopeful message for the season, that was “Winter’s Got Spring Up Its Sleeve,” performed by June Christy.
Thanks for tuning into this "Songs of the Season: Winter" edition of Afterglow.
Afterglow is part of the educational mission of Indiana University and produced by WFIU Public Radio in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. The executive producer is John Bailey.
Production support for Afterglow comes from Soma Coffee House and Juice bar, specializing in juices, espressos and Fair Trade Organic Coffee. Serving from downtown at Kirkwood and Grant and on the corner of third and Jordan. Online at I Heart Soma dot com
And from Stephen R Miller C P A, in downtown Bloomington at Graham Plaza, offering personal and small business income tax preparation and financial reporting. Helping clients reach financial goals for over thirty years. 8-1-2 - 3-3-2 - 0-5-5-7
Playlists for this and other Afterglow programs are available on our website. That’s at indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow.
I’m Mark Chilla, and join me next week for our mix of Vocal Jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook, here on Afterglow
