Nat King Cole The Christmas Song ( Live The Danny Kaye Show 1963)

The Christmas Song (commonly subtitled Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire or, as it was originally subtitled, Merry Christmas to You ) is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé. Nat King Cole recorded the song 4 times partly due to the fact that in the first pressing of the King Cole Trios 1946 version, he sang the last line of the bridge: To see if reindeers really know how to fly. The song had already become a seasonal hit when Tormé and Wells pointed out the grammatical error. Tormé recalled Nat, a true gentleman, and a dogged perfectionist, stewed over this mistake, and sure enough, at the end of another recording session, with the samesized orchestra at hand, he rerecorded our song, properly singing reindeer. The second version is virtually identical to the first, but those early first pressings have become collectors items. Versions: First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New Yor