Johnny Mathis - Sleigh Ride (1958) (Classic Christmas Song) [Traditional Christmas Music]

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Johnny Mathis - Sleigh Ride (1958)

"Sleigh Ride" is a popular light orchestral piece composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946 finished the work in February 1948. It was originally an instrumental piece; the lyrics, about a person who would like to ride in a sleigh on a winter's day with another person, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The melody of the main strain of the tune was used (with no credit for Anderson) as the main theme of Victor Young's score for the 1949 western Streets of Laredo; it is notable that Mitchell Parrish worked with Young around this time, having recently written lyrics for Young's version of Hoagy Carmichael's previously instrumental number Stardust. Sleigh Ride was a hit record on RCA Victor Red Seal 49-0515 (45 rpm) / 10-1484 (78 rpm), and has become the equivalent of a signature song for the orchestra. The 45 rpm version was originally issued on red vinyl. The Pops has also recorded the song with John Williams, their conductor from 1979 to 1995, and Keith Lockhart, their current conductor. Over the years, the song has become a Christmas standard.
Leroy Anderson recorded his own version of "Sleigh Ride" in 1950 on Decca 9-16000 (45 rpm) / 16000 (78 rpm). The recording hit the Cashbox magazine best-sellers chart when re-released in 1952.
In 1950 The Andrews Sisters recorded the first vocal version.
Although "Sleigh Ride" is often associated with Christmas, and appears on Christmas compilation albums, the song's lyrics mention no holiday or religion (apart from certain recordings, such as those by the Carpenters, Walter Schumann and Air Supply, that substitute "Christmas party" for "birthday party" in the song's bridge). The song is noted for the sound of the horses' clip-clopping, as well as the sound of the whips used to get the horses moving. Toward the end of the piece, a trumpet makes the sound of the horse whinnying. The Ronettes' version makes use of the clip-clopping as well as the sound of a recorded horse whinnying, heard at the beginning and end of the song.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleigh_Ride
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music and jazz. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts to date. Mathis has sold well over 350 million records worldwide, according to Guinness Book of World Records writer and charts music historian Paul Gambaccini and other sources. This makes Mathis the third biggest selling artist of the 20th century.
Although he is frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes jazz, traditional pop, Brazilian music, Spanish music, soul music, rhythm and blues, soft rock, Broadway theatre, Tin Pan Alley standards, some blues and country songs, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979. Mathis also recorded six albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, Mathis cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.
In San Francisco while singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a friend's jazz sextet at the Black Hawk Club, Mathis attracted the attention of the club's co-founder, Helen Noga. She became Mathis' music manager, and in September 1955, after Noga had found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club, she learned that George Avakian, head of Popular Music A&R at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco. After repeated calls, Noga finally persuaded Avakian to come hear Mathis at the 440 Club. After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating: "Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts."
Mathis's first record album, Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album, but Mathis stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. His second album was produced by Columbia Records vice-president and record producer Mitch Miller, who helped to define the Mathis sound. Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him up with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey. In late 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not For Me To Say".
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mathis