A JOLLY CHRISTMAS FROM FRANK SINATRA — Track #5: “The Christmas Waltz”

“And this song of mine
In three quarter time
Wishes you and yours
The same thing, too…”

Frank’s birthday was December 12th. There are 12 tracks on A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra — his first Christmas album, released by Capitol Records in 1957. We’ll bring them your way in order, between now and December 24.

“The Christmas Waltz” was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of “White Christmas.”

Cahn recalls, “One day during a very hot spell in Los Angeles the phone rang and it was Jule Styne to say, ‘Frank wants a Christmas song.'” Cahn wasn’t on board at first, feeling that any attempt at a holiday hit like “White Christmas” was “ridiculous”, but Styne reiterated that “‘Frank wants a Christmas song.'”

Sinatra first recorded “The Christmas Waltz” with a chorus as well as an arrangement by Nelson Riddle in 1954. For A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, Gordon Jenkins took over the arranging, with The Ralph Brewster Singers providing the backing vocal.

(source: Wikipedia)