A Summer Song and Let it Snow #MusicMovesMe

Welcome! It's Monday and time for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers (and perhaps also musical elves) who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only , please!)   First, there is XmasDolly,   Her co-conductors are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, and me. (All, please note XMas Dolly has a new blog location.  Please use the above link.)

For the month of December our theme is "Christmas Music" except for the last Monday, when the theme will be "Music about this Year or about New Year's".

But before I dig in, I must pay tribute to still another musician lost to us this year - Chad Stuart of Chad and Jeremy.  He had just celebrated his 79th birthday.  He died yesterday from complications of pneumonia (not COVID related) and a fall.

 So before I talk about snow, I am going to play one of Chad and Jeremy's songs - actually, one of my favorite all time songs: A Summer Song, from 1964.  Oh, those words, those harmonies...

Normally, at this time of year, I do a "Christmas Songs Written by Jews" post (a post I first wrote years back and I try to update each year".

On Wednesday into Thursday of last week, my house got about 39 inches (40 cm) of snow.  My son, who lives about 20 minutes from us, got about 43 inches.  I've lived in my house about 33 years and this is a one day snowfall record for us.  Fortunately, there was no snow already on the ground.  This was a record for the date for our area, too.

So, this year, I am going to limit myself to Christmas songs mentioning snow (or songs that make you think of snow) that were written by Jews.  This really won't be hard.

1.  Winter Wonderland: the author of this song was Dick Smith, who wrote this song in 1934, a year before he died (the day before his 34th birthday) from the tuberculosis that had plagued him for much of his life.  The man who set this poem to music, Felix Bernard, was Jewish.   

This cover is sung by Johnny Mathis (1958).

2.  Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow:  words by Sammy Cahn and music by Jule Styne.  This song dates from 1945.   Here are some fun facts about the song.

I chose, as my singer, Frank Sinatra.

3.   The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire):  The Nat King Cole version is one of my favorite songs, ever.  This brings back so many memories of the holiday season in the late 60's in midtown Manhattan and the vendors who would sell roasted chestnuts.  The fragrance carried for blocks.  And, right now, Jack Frost is sure nipping at my nose.

To me, there is only one singer for this, and it is Nat King Cole.

4.  Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  OK, it mentions fog, not snow but I bet Santa has to drive that sleigh through lots of snowstorms.  And, living at the North Pole, Rudolph must be so familiar with snow.

This song dates from 1947.  It would seem that Johnny Marks, the author of that song (and also "Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas")  was Jewish.  The Rudolph character was originated by Mark's brother in law, as part of an advertising campaign by the then catalog and retail store Montgomery Ward  (1939).  I remember buying the story book from Montgomery Ward in the early 1990's to read to my son.

The singer?  Has to be Gene Autry.

Think of the themes of these songs:  Missing your home.  Childhood nostalgia.  Enjoying a season of lights and happiness. The different child (or reindeer), scorned by others, who becomes the best of all.  These are universal themes, and this is why these songs, I think, are so appealing, no matter who wrote them. 

See you again next week, same time, same place, for New Years Eve songs. 

For those who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a meaningful and complete Christmas.  Despite all 2020 has thrown at us, may it not take your holiday away.