It's no surprise to hear classic showtunes like Mame's 鈥淲e Need a Little Christmas鈥� and Meet Me In St. Louis' 鈥淗ave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas鈥� when the holiday season rolls around. But did you know Broadway composers are also behind several holiday standards that don鈥檛 come from musicals? Here鈥檚 a look at seven holiday songs written by Broadway composers. Add them to your holiday playlist this weekend.
1. 鈥淏aby, It鈥檚 Cold Outside鈥�: Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Broadway fans know Frank Loesser best for his string of Broadway musical classics, including Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. But before coming to Broadway, Loesser worked as a songwriter鈥攑rimarily as a lyricist鈥攊n Hollywood, contributing songs to countless movie musicals in the 鈥�30s and 鈥�40s. He wrote both music and lyrics to the holiday classic 鈥淏aby, It鈥檚 Cold Outside鈥� in 1944 to perform at parties with his then-wife Lynn Garland. It was such a hit with the Hollywood crowd that he started immediately getting offers to place the song in a movie. Loesser and Garland initially wanted to keep the number as their exclusive soir茅e specialty, but Loesser eventually relented in 1949, putting the song in a largely-forgotten film called Neptune鈥檚 Daughter.
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" became a near instant classic after the film's release. In recent years, it's become somewhat controversial, with critics pointing out the male character's inappropriate coercion of a woman who keeps saying she wants to leave. But that hasn't stopped the song from being covered by a number of singers鈥攊ncluding some Broadway favorites, including Chris Colfer and Darren Criss on an episode of Glee, Idina Menzel and Michael Bubl茅 on Menzel鈥檚 Holiday Wishes album, and Will Ferrell and Zoey Deschanel in the movie Elf.
2. 鈥淟et It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!鈥�: Music by Jule Styne and Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn didn鈥檛 work together a lot on Broadway, though they did pen the score to 1947鈥檚 High Button Shoes. Styne had the better time writing for the stage, going on to write scores to such musicals as Peter Pan, Gypsy, Funny Girl, and Sugar. Styne and Cahn wrote 鈥淟et It Snow!鈥� as a standalone song in 1945, and it was premiered later that year by Vaughn Monroe. It doesn鈥檛 mention any particular holiday. But its winter setting has made it a frequent favorite for holiday albums. The song has been covered by a host of artists, including Dean Martin, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, and Carly Simon.
3. 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥�: Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin鈥檚 Broadway scores include classics like Annie Get Your Gun and Call Me Madam. But he鈥檚 also responsible for many standalone melodies in the Great American Songbook. Theatre fans might associate 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥� with the film and stage musical that share its name, but it actually originated in 1941 as a single performed by Bing Crosby鈥攁 recording that holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling single of all time. Just a few months later, the song was put into the film Holiday Inn (which has itself now received a stage adaptation). Strangely enough, "White Christmas" ended up becoming overshadowed by the success of 鈥淏e Careful, It鈥檚 My Heart.鈥� But by the time December rolled around again in 1942, "White Christmas" became a big hit and has stayed that way ever since.
4. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas鈥�: Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
Best known today for writing the book, music, and lyrics of the Broadway super-hit The Music Man, Meredith Willson wrote several well-known songs before he came to Broadway. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas鈥� was written in 1951 and was quickly covered by a number of artists. Perry Como and Bing Crosby鈥檚 recordings were the most successful and enduring renditions. Willson later incorporated the tune into the score for his 1963 Broadway musical Here鈥檚 Love (now known as Meredith Willson鈥檚 Miracle on 34th Street The Musical). The song has continued to be recorded as a Christmas tune by artists like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Johnny Mathis, and Michael Bubl茅.
5. 鈥淪leigh Ride鈥�: Music by Leroy Anderson and Lyrics by Mitchell Parish
The names Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish may not immediately strike you as Broadway names, but the former wrote the music to the short-lived 1958 musical Goldilocks (starring Elaine Stritch). The latter鈥檚 song catalogue inspired the 1987 Broadway revue Stardust. Their holiday standard 鈥淪leigh Ride鈥� began as an instrumental piece, first recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1949. Parish鈥攔esponsible for the lyrics of songs such as 鈥淪tar Dust,鈥� 鈥淪weet Lorraine,鈥� and 鈥淒eep Purple鈥濃攑enned words to the Anderson鈥檚 tune a year later in 1950 for a recording by The Andrews Sisters. The song has continued to be a hit as both a song and instrumental piece, with the most popular version arguably being The Ronettes鈥� 1963 recording.
6. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a Mean One, Mr. Grinch鈥�: Music by Albert Hague and Lyrics by Theodor 鈥淒r. Seuss鈥� Geisel
Albert Hague penned the music to a string of Broadway musicals in the 鈥�50s and 鈥�60s, including Plain and Fancy, Redhead, Caf茅 Crown, and The Fig Leaves Are Falling. Dr. Seuss is, of course, much better known as a children鈥檚 book writer and illustrator. When preparing the 1966 television cartoon adaptation of Seuss鈥檚 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Hague and Dr. Seuss collaborated on the song, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,鈥� which was recorded by Thurl Ravenscroft. This song also eventually found its way to Broadway, it was interpolated into the 2006 stage musical adaptation of the Grinch tale.
7. 鈥淪anta Claus is Comin鈥� to Town鈥�: Music by J. Fred Coots and Lyrics by Haven Gillespie
J. Fred Coots is another name that hasn鈥檛 entered the pantheon of legendary Broadway composers. But he wrote the scores to no less than 13 Broadway musicals throughout the 1920s. Together with lyricist Haven Gillespie, Coots wrote 鈥淪anta Claus is Comin鈥� to Town鈥� in 1934 and offered it to Eddie Cantor, who used it on his radio show and made it a huge success鈥攖he largest of either man鈥檚 career. It鈥檚 been recorded by a nearly endless list of artists, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Wilson Phillips, and even Justin Bieber.
