Bing Crosby recorded the biggest-selling single of all time, ‘White Christmas’, on 29th May, 1942. The session took just 18 minutes, and the song was not considered the standout from the album: everyone thought the Valentine’s-themed ballad ‘Be Careful, It's My Heart’ had a better chance of chart success.
The songwriter, Irving Berlin, was perhaps not an obv ... Show More
Yesterday
Elizabeth of Russia's Bloodless Coup
Wearing an armoured breastplate, clasping a silver cross and seizing an Army spontoon, 31 year old Elizabeth Petrovna appeared at the HQ of the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in St. Petersburg on 25th November, 1741 - intent on over-throwing Tzar Ivan VI (a baby), and seizi ... Show More
11m 23s
Dec 2023
Wham! Op. 84 “Last Christmas” with Chilly Gonzales - ICYMI
In case you missed it, Wham’s 1984 contribution to the holiday cannon, “Last Christmas,” has surprising staying power. When Grammy-winning pianist Chilly Gonzales set out to record a holiday album, “A Very Chilly Christmas,” most of the selections were over a half century old. Th ... Show More
48m 56s
Dec 2023
'Welcome Christmas' Carol Contest
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1998, two new Christmas carols debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the “Welcome Christmas” choral concert of VocalEssence conducted by Philip Brunelle.
The two carols, “Sweet Noel,” by Joan Griffith, and “The Virgin’s Cradle Hymn,” by Richard Voo ... Show More
2 m