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It is debated whether Irving Berlin wrote the song “White Christmas” at the La Quinta Hotel in Hollywood or Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. But it wasn’t written during Christmas time. Bing Crosby didn’t record the now-famous holiday song in the winter either.
1942 – ‘White Christmas’: Bing’s Best-Selling Single
On this day in 1942, Bing Crosby, along with the Trotter Orchestra and the Darby Singers, recorded Irving Berlin’s song, “White Christmas.” The classic song was released just in time for dog days of summer on July 30, 1942. It was to coincide with the release of the movie, Holiday Inn, which opened in theaters the following week.
Initially, “White Christmas” didn’t perform all that well. Another song from the movie (“Be Careful, It’s My Heart”) did much better at first. But by the end of October, the song topped the Billboard chart for 11 weeks. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the song spent a total of 86 weeks on the chart between 1942 and 1962.
Crosby’s singe of “White Christmas” also has the distinction for being the best-selling single for Christmas (and possibly the best-selling single ever) with at least 50 million copies sold.
Ironically, the version most often heard today is not from the original recording. After frequent use, the master became damaged, so on March 18, 1947, Crosby re-recorded the famous holiday hit.
2009: ‘Up’ is Set Into the Air
The Disney/Pixar animated film, Up was released on this day in 2009. Directed by Pete Docter, Up tells the tale of 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen who dreams of traveling to South America via his house lifted up from a large bunch of balloons and stowaway Wilderness Explorer Russell.
Rendered in digital 3-D, the film features up to 20,000 balloons that help the house take flight.
Up was the first 3D animated film to open at the Cannes Film Festival and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.
1848: Wisconsin Becomes the 30th U.S. State
1790: Rhode Island Becomes the 13th U.S. State
Movies Released
- 1954: Dial M for Murder
- 1958: No time for Sergeants
- 1961: A Raisin in the Sun
- 1963: Hud
- 1992: Sister Act
- 2009: Drag Me to Hell
- 2009: Up
- 2013: The Internship
- 2015: Aloha
- 2020: The High Note
TV Series Debuts
- 2011: Finding Bigfoot
- 2013: Love Thy Neighbor
- 2017: Still Star-Crossed
- 2019: The Inbetween
- 2020: Space Force
Famous Birthdays
- 1917: John F. Kennedy (35th president of the U.S.)
- 1903: Bob Hope (actor)
- 1953: Danny Elfman (composer)
- 1956: La Toya Jackson (singer)
- 1957: Ted Levine (actor)
- 1959: Rupert Everett (actor)
- 1961: Melissa Etheridge (singer)
- 1975: Mel B. (singer)
- 1993: Maika Monroe (actress)
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