Behind the Song: White Christmas

White Christmas is the most popular Christmas song of all time. The Irving Berlin song is reminiscing about an “old fashioned Christmas.” Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song.  He often stayed up all night writing or would ask his secretary to write down what he dictated. Both La Quinta Hotel Read More

Behind the Song: Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep

Count Your Blessings {Instead of Sheep} was the last hit for the popular composer Irving Berlin. The song was written sometime around 1952. Irving Berlin tells the story best: In the book The Irving Berlin Reader, a letter from Irving Berlin to Joseph Schenck and dated September 1952 includes the following information about the writing Read More

Easter Parade

With Easter closely approaching, I thought we’d take a look at some Easter songs. The song, Easter Parade, was introduced in the 1933 musical, As Thousands Cheer. In the musical, this song was sung by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb. Irving Berlin wrote the song for the musical, As Thousands Cheer. The melody was written Read More